Shameless magazine wants to pass the torch

The forthcoming Fall/Winter issue of Shameless, the spunky Toronto-based magazine for teens and young women, will contain a letter from the editors saying that they want to find someone else to take charge of the magazine.

Like with many small, specialty magazines in Canada, while publishing it can be a joy, it can also be very hard work, given that so much of your unpaid effort has to go into fundraising to keep the publication afloat. Essentially, Melinda Mattos and Nicole Cohen, who planned and founded the magazine, are worn out after three years of doing it, but they are hoping to find someone to take over after the spring issue.

Here's what they say:

We always laugh when people ask us where Shameless HQ is located. Though we get a kick out of mentioning our headquarters in the magazine, the truth is, Shameless HQ doesn't exist.

As a grassroots independent magazine funded entirely by subscriptions, newsstand sales and limited advertising, we've simply never had the budget for an office. Over the past few years, we've worked out of dozens of bedrooms, kitchens, post offices and coffee shops — and been chased out of several restaurants for loitering. To us, Shameless HQ is wherever we happen to be sitting at any given moment.

The world of small magazine publishing is not as glamorous as you might think. Sure, we get to air our opinions in the media, spend time with smart, creative folks and throw ourselves parties to celebrate new issues. But we also lug heavy boxes of magazines across town on subways, streetcars and bikes, and come home from our stressful day jobs to be greeted with more work (this time unpaid) that keeps us up too late and sometimes makes us cranky.

Still, seeing Shameless evolve from an idea we conceived in journalism school to the success it is now has been amazing. Running the magazine has taught us a lot about publishing, media activism, grassroots marketing and event planning, and introduced us to some of the smartest, sassiest young women (and men!) in the country, from our writers and artists to the members of our teen editorial collective.

But we're tired. After almost three years of running Shameless (and a couple of years of planning before that), we both need a break. And so, if all goes according to plan, the Spring 2007 issue will be our last as co-editors and co-publishers.

On that note, we're starting our search for energetic, talented folks to take over the magazine while we shift to an advisory role and focus on other projects. We have a fantastic community of writers, artists, readers and supporters who’ve made Shameless a part of their lives (thank you!) and we want to see this community and the magazine grow.

We're seeking people who are passionate about our mandate, have a strong vision for the magazine, get along well with others and can work from home in their spare time, on a volunteer basis (and if you’re someone who can figure out how to make this magazine pay its staff and contributors, then we need you, too!). If you'd like to discuss the application process, contact us at submit@shamelessmag.com.

[Thanks to David Hayes for tipping us to this.]