John Macfarlane stepping down as Editor at Toronto Life; Sarah Fulford to succeed him

John Macfarlane, the editor of Toronto Life, will be stepping down at the end of 2007. He will be succeeded by Senior Editor Sarah Fulford, an eight year veteran of the magazine. The announcement was made today, an indication of some orderly succession planning at St. Joseph Media.

Macfarlane, 65 (shown at left), has actually been editor of the magazine twice and can rightly, and without hyperbole, be called the dean of Canadian magazine editors. He has been editor since 1992 and also edited the magazine in 1972-73. During his 15-year tenure the magazine won an unprecedented 53 gold and 58 silver National Magazine Awards. He served as President of the awards for two years and last year the awards foundation honoured him with the Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement.

"Known in the industry for nurturing writing talent and mentoring the next generation of editors, he played a key role in the search for his successor," said the company release.

“I recognized an editor-in-chief in Sarah a long time ago. And I am completely confident that she and the team she inherits will take Toronto Life to new highs. I look forward to seeing that happen, knowing that I played a part in making it possible,” said Macfarlane.

Prior to joining Toronto Life in 1999 as associate editor, Fulford (shown at left; photo by Nigel Dickson) was an assistant editor at Elm Street. The 33-year-old is married to novelist Stephen Marche and has a 19-month-old son.

“I’m thrilled to be taking on this new challenge,” said Fulford. “Toronto Life has a tradition of featuring great writing and superb photography. I hope to build on that tradition by encouraging the growth of new talent and broadening the magazine's readership.”

Macfarlane, who also serves as Vice-President for Strategic Development at St. Joseph, said he will have an on-going relationship with the company.

"But I'm ready for a change. I've been an editor for 40 years. I'm looking forward to contributing what I've learned as a journalist and on volunteer boards to other organizations in the private and public sectors."

Toronto Life Vice-president and group publisher Sharon McAuley said Macfarlane was leaving at the top of his game and the magazine has never been stronger.

“Our readers will love what Sarah brings to the magazine — she’s extraordinarily talented, smart, curious, and has a great instinct for the big, juicy story. Under her leadership, Toronto Life will continue to do what we do best — entertain and engage our readers and help them to get the most out of living in this city.”

The magazine and its companion website torontolife.com have an audience of 765,000 readers and 220,000 unique visitors each month. Its parent company publishes, in addition to Toronto Life, FASHION Magazine, Wish, Gardening Life, Canadian Family, Weddingbells, Mariage Québec, WHERE Canada magazines, Quill & Quire, Ottawa Magazine and a variety of custom publications. St. Joseph Media is a division of St. Joseph Communications, Canada’s largest privately owned communications company, with four business platforms in content, print, documents and media.

[UPDATE]James Adams in the Globe and Mail reports that Fulford has big plans to expand TorontoLife.com.

[FURTHER UPDATE] Masthead magazine (sub req'd) has published a brief online interview with Fulford and Macfarlane. Asked what he would miss most, Macfarlane characteristically said "the power", by which he means the ability to see an interesting situation and to get something done about it.