Magazines Week kicks off tomorrow

Over the years, Magazines Week has evolved to encompass many of the biggest Canadian magazine industry events. The MagNet conference runs June 5 - 8, presented collaboratively by the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors, Circulation Management Association of Canada, Kenneth R. Wilson Awards, Magazines Canada, National Magazine Awards Foundation and the Professional Writers Association of Canada.

The conference-- which presents four dozen seminars on all aspects of magazine publishing, marketing and production -- starts officially tomorrow (Tuesday 5th) with the kickoff event called MagNet Marquee, always a sellout, this time a presentation by the editor of Bloomberg Business Week, Richard Turley.  Other highlights:

• The Birth of a Typeface: Changing a Modern Classic, and Understanding Type Design for Magazines with Christian Schwartz, Partner, Commercial Type
• What It Really Takes to Get Paid for Digital Content with Kevin McKean, Vice President and Editorial Director, Consumer Reports
•  Multi-Platform Publishing: Breaking Down the Print Paradigm, and Talking in Code: 10 Lessons from the iPad -- James B. Meigs, Editor-in-Chief, Popular Mechanics
• Engaging the Influential: Creating an "Ideas Community" -- Nick Blunden, Global Managing Director and Publisher, the Economist Online
• Tumblr: The Hot New Social Media Tool for Magazines -- Mark Coatney, Media Evangelist, Tumblr
• Building Brand the Bonnier Way --Gregg Hano, Senior Vice President, Corporate Sales and Technology Group, Bonnier Corporation
• Inside Data Intelligence: How Canadians are Reading Online -- Brent Lowe-Bernie, President, Media Metrix Canada, Comscore

Among the events and celebrations that are offered throughout the week:

• The 35th annual National Magazine Awards
• The 58th annual Kenneth R. Wilson Awards (for business-to-business magazines)
• The Editors' Gala, presented by the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors (CSME)
• The Writers' Awards, presented by the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC)
• The PWAC Awards
• The Magazines Canada luncheon at which the volunteer and retailer of the year awards are handed out

All events are held at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel  at Yonge and College in Toronto -- except for the National Magazine Awards and KRWs, which are held nearby at the Carlu. (Online registration is closed but registration in person at the conference is still offered.)