The Magazine Diaries: 100 Stories of 100 Words

July 8, 2014

One of our favorite content strategists, Peter Houston, has started a project that seeks to tell the story of what it’s like creating magazines as a profession in the middle of what he calls, “the biggest disruption in publishing history.” The project will be a collection of 100 word stories from those working in the magazine industry, presented as a book called The Magazine Diaries.
Houston asks via the Magazine Diaries website: “Do you find magazine publishing today exciting? Terrifying? Boring? Are there buzzwords that drive you mad? Do you long for the past or are you desperate for the future to arrive?”
Magazine professionals can write their stories in 100 words or less to contribute to the project. The goal is to get 100 diary entries and pull them together by July 30th. Already, the stories have been coming in. With intriguing titles such as “Attention is the new battleground,” “What to do with digital,” and “Eat, sleep, publish, repeat” the project is gaining momentum and accruing well-worded histories of publishers’ struggles and successes. According to the Magazine Diaries website, to contribute your own 100 word story, simply email your 100 words, your name, your company, and your Twitter handle to 100words@magazinediaries.com.
Profits from this project will be donated to MagAid, a nonprofit in the UK that promotes literacy and the vital role magazines play in improving literacy rates.
Aside from being vastly entertaining, this project will offer a unique perspective into the variety in publishers’ opinions on and experience with the changes in the industry. Tales of excitement and hope are juxtaposed with frustration and pessimism. Some, written by natural storytellers, point to moments of raw emotion felt when manipulating or holding the final product. Others wax philosophical on the place of products in the industry as a whole. Read the submissions here, and contribute your own 100 words to the Magazine Diaries project.