Letter from the Editor
HERE’S THE REALITY.
From a nancial perspective, having Quench Magazine go back into print after the pandemic forced an unscheduled shutdown really didn’t and doesn’t make sense. In fact, all signs point against the sustainability of print and the stars seem aligned against its success.
Since the relaunch of print with the Fall 2021 issue, the cost of paper has increased by 40%, paper shortages have made sourcing paper for each issue an unexpected quest, and our printer wants to increase our cost even more if we pay by credit card. Canada Post has implemented minimum quantities per mailout for us to receive our discounted rate (despite this we attempt to do multiple mailouts to accommodate new subscribers), and advertisers, although they love the new look and renewed purpose of the print issues, prefer to spend their advertising dollars on digital. Financially, print makes no sense whatsoever and seems destined for failure.
So why stay in print?
There is a certain feel to print, a soulfulness and intimacy. It may sound old school, but the experience of receiving a quality magazine in the mail, holding it in your hands and immersing yourself in it page-by-page cannot be replicated by any other media format. There is also a credibility to print – which can be achieved digitally - but the attention, care and investment that print requires are dierent. The circumstances surrounding the production of print are enriching in a way that goes beyond the digital overload and clutter.
I still believe in print. I believe that the idea that print magazines are dead or dying is false. I believe there is a value to print that exceeds that of being an exclusively digital publication. But you tell me. The response to our editorial content and redesign has been overwhelmingly positive. But, ultimately, regardless of how much the editors, writers and readers of Quench believe in print, unless the nancial side starts to make sense, the pockets are only so deep to support a revenue decit operation (ie. money pit).
So, if, like us, you believe in print, we need more than kind words and positive feedback. If you believe that there is a value to what we are attempting to accomplish by being the most inclusive wine and food publication in the world, by expanding the voices and the audience for wine and food to be a truer reection of society, by telling the stories that need to be told, the way they should be told, by the people who should be telling them, by providing a space for underrepresented voices and ideas, and by amplifying the cultural and historical context of wine and food, then we need your support.
Subscribe, tell your friends to subscribe, support the Quench Writers’ Fund on Patreon and, if you are an advertiser, trust in print.
Quench Magazine turns 50 next year. The plan is to be around for another 50.
Gurvinder Bhatia editor-in-chief