Naturally it’ s wonderful
Promises
should never be made lightly. So we’ve taken the time to digest what’s been going on in the world and understand how a small independent publishing company can help before speaking out.
We know when we feature a shop, maker, author, artist or a small business that they get an enthusiastic response and that’s because we research and select the stories that fit best with what The Simple Things stands for. But our pages are not always as diverse as they could be.
We’ve been asking ourselves ‘How can we bring meaningful change, not just in our magazine’s words and pictures, but to the journalism and publishing industry itself?’ We believe we can do better.
And now we’re ready to make some promises: We’ll be seeking out more stories by and featuring people from BAME and wider backgrounds (join us by emailing suggestions, too). Even more importantly, we’re supporting a paid internship each year at Iceberg Press that will specifically try to help those who are underrepresented in magazine publishing to gain valuable work experience. This will also include help with living expenses – a real barrier to many would-be writers, editors and designers. Keep an eye on our social media for details.
On the subject of promises, we’ve been touched and heartened during this strange summer by your appreciation of our work and commitment to buying The Simple Things. It’s been no easy task to continue publishing each month while being confined to home, but from what you’ve been telling us, it has been worth the effort. So in return, here’s another promise from us; even in these difficult times, we won’t print fewer pages or make the paper thinner but will carry on creating our beautiful and useful magazine that we hope you’ll enjoy reading as much as we enjoy making. Thanks for sticking with us.