Take a walk through the magazine aisle at your local bookstore, and it’s obvious that there’s been a dramatic shift in Canadian reading habits. The number of magazines that deal with entertainment, gossip and celebrity has increased dramatically, while the number of “hard information” magazines has remained the same. The implication is that audiences are more interested in reading for entertainment than for information. The shift has created a challenge for newsmagazines, in particular. By the time the issue hits the shelf, the internet and the 24-hour news channels have covered the story from a thousand different angles.

There’s also been a significant change in magazine design in the past few years. Graphic artists used to build pages around a dominant visual; now the buzz is all about “number of entry points,” “quick-fact boxes” and “multiple side bars.” The influence of the internet has crept into almost all mainstream publications. Printed pages now look more like web pages, and the essay has given way to multiple, bit-sized chunks of information. The implication is that modern life is so busy, readers just can’t find the time—or the attention span—to get through a long article.

Though I have some trouble accepting that Canadians are too distracted to digest a longer story, I do recognize that readers have changed: you want more entertainment, real-time news, and a shorter read.

By luck more than design, the three shifts in readers’ habits have placed Storyteller in a unique and favourable position. First of all, though the number of entertainment publications has exploded, oddly enough we’re still the only Canadian magazine that exclusively features variety short fiction. That’s a good position for us: a one-of-a-kind magazine that you read for entertainment.

Secondly, though the internet has wreaked havoc on newsmagazines, thankfully we can’t get scooped by the web on our stories. There’s nothing time-sensitive about this or any other Storyteller issue. A great story is as entertaining and re-readable in ten years as it is the day it arrives in your mailbox.

Finally, there’s no question that you are more pressed for time than you were a decade ago. Once again, our format fits in nicely with your busy schedule. The short story is well suited to the demands of modern life: short and sweet.

Of course, we know you appreciate why Storyteller is a great read; that’s why you’re a subscriber, and we thank you for that. We encourage you to let your friends and family know about our magazine by purchasing a gift subscription or two. Hopefully, they’ll learn to look forward to their Storyteller issue as much as you do: digesting a whole issue in an evening, away from the rat race; or most likely, a story or two here or there between the trappings of modern life.

Enjoy the issue.

Publisher