2016 roundup: Our favourite women’s magazines

This has been a fantastic year for independent women’s magazines. Way back in January our first Printout event of 2016 focused on new women’s magazines, with speakers from Mushpit, Ladybeard and Hotdog magazine. It was a brilliantly exciting night, and the energy and enthusiasm in the room showed that there was a keen appetite for these magazines.

And of course the same was happening elsewhere – the very next day we talked to Danielle Pender, editor of Riposte magazine, about the Riposte Presents… events she had just launched. She spoke about creating a space for women to share their expertise in different industries, and showcasing the work of brilliant women — much like the magazine’s ethos.

It’s been great to see the events take off this year, gathering an audience with themes like women in music, creative directing, and print publishing.

On 8 March, International Women’s Day, we wrote about some of the finest women’s magazines in independent publishing. The list included established names like The Gentlewoman, as well as more niche titles like our favourites from the Printout event.

In April, for our Behind the Scenes series, in which we interview magazine makers about their most recent issues, we featured Accent magazine, Filmme Fatales, and BBY magazine; three very different titles all founded by brilliant women. Accent aims to make icons out of everyday heroes, Filmme Fatales is a feminist film journal featuring personal perspectives, and BBY highlights the works of women in the male-dominated art world.

After spotlighting Sabat magazine on our Sampler service, in which new magazines are offered at 10% off and free shipping every week, we completely fell under the spell of the issue’s hidden, occult designs. Have a look at the design magic contained within the magazine to see one of the most read articles on the Stack blog this year.

When Steve returned from hosting a series of magazine events in New York he brought with him a copy of Mary — a new feminist magazine platforming women from all backgrounds. Watch his review above and find out about sexism in the industry of long-distance truck driving, a photo series of working mums, and more.

In the days after the US election, we had a timely chat with the founders of Mushpit magazine, Char Roberts and Bertie Brandes. Appropriately, their newest issue is themed ‘The Crisis Issue’ and it’s packed with sharp satire, witty graphic design, and all the jokes and fake ads we’ve come to expect from them.

It’s been good to see Char and Bertie moving the magazine on, fulfilling the promise we saw in that Printout event at the start of the year. Their fellow speakers that night have also kept things moving forward – Hotdog released their second issue and took a giant stride forward to become a fully glossy poetry magazine, while Ladybeard emerged as one of the most-mentioned magazines at the Stack Awards. They took home the prize for Best Use of Illustration, and were commended for Magazine of the Year, Launch of the Year and Stack Subscribers’ Choice. It was very exciting to see their honest, bold voice getting the recognition it deserves.

We’re looking forward to seeing all these magazines keep on growing throughout 2017, and they’ll no doubt be joined by new titles too – we’ll be keeping our eyes open for the best, most exciting titles hitting the shelves. A big thank you to everyone who has been reading and following Stack this year, and a huge round of applause for the inspiring women who are making magazines and championing different female voices from around the world.

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