How Is a Magazine Made?

About the Topic

How Is a Magazine Made?

— Building Apus, an independent bilingual literary magazine

How do people spread across different cities, working other jobs and sometimes never having met, actually make a publication?

How much money, work, and difficulty lie behind an independent magazine? Without an established publisher or full-time staff, how do contributors and paying readers become a literary community?

On October 23, we invite you to hear how Apus, an independent bilingual literary magazine produced abroad, came into being.

Rather than a formal literary lecture, we will discuss the process of making something from the beginning through the magazine’s story.

From the first idea to a printed issue sent to readers, a few people’s literary interests became a volunteer team across cities and time zones. Along the way came unexpected decisions, repeated design revisions, practical difficulties, and encounters brought about by the magazine.

We will bring the magazine’s two annual issues and share details of preparation, design, and production that are not apparent in the finished publication.

To close, we will read poems from the second issue, Symbiosis, and use a short text to discuss living abroad, relating across cultural backgrounds, and finding connections amid differences.

You need not be a literature enthusiast or have read Apus beforehand.

If you are interested in design, art, independent publishing, or making something from the beginning—or would simply like to hear a few stories and meet people on Friday—come and look through the magazine with us.