word on the street 47 NIKKI What gets you up in the morning? My five-year-old son, Horace. But if you mean what motivates me to do my job, then the small publishing businesses of the world, who together make up such a supportive, innovative and kind community. First mag you ever bought… Look-in, circa 1987. I subscribed and collected it on my bike every week from my local newsagent. I loved the Kylie and Jason comic, and when that finished the Five Star one. Whatever happened to them?! Fave part of Mag St? The sense of community and support for each other. The chance to see everyone again or meet some people in person for the first time. The overwhelming feeling of positivity. Three things you couldn’t do your job without. 1. A love of magazines. Being a publisher (which I’m not) is a difficult job and you need to be able to keep on coming back again and again with ideas, enthusiasm, empathy and encouragement. Not sure I could do that without loving magazines. 2. My team. Eric Campbell from White Light Media, Kitty Finstad from The Good Vikings, Paul Evans from Fourth Estate Creative, and freelance writer and editor Joanna F Cummings. Not just for their practical help, which they give unstintingly, but for their moral support, ideas, enthusiasm, empathy and encouragement. There’s a theme here huh?! 3. Zoom. I could do my job without it, but it’d be a lot less fun, I couldn’t connect with people internationally which has massively improved my business, and I’d be exhausted from travelling. What inspires you? Often people speaking at conferences. There were several talks at the FIPP Congress in May about the importance of diversity in publishing, a subject that’s very important to me. Often nature too, I always feel a bit flat if I’ve not been outside for a bit. What makes you laugh? Idiocy. Boobies. My husband. People who rarely or never swear, going off on a tirade. What one thing can people do to support the IMC? Become a Patron and then tell people why they love it. Something you’d think would improve the magazine publishing industry. Established publishers talking to classes of school kids about how we want, need and welcome more diversity in the industry. What does the Magazine Street of your wildest dreams look like? Grace Coddington as keynote speaker. Combining a more traditional conference with a larger focus on personal development as a means to improve your business. Facilitated networking. A big consumer side where publishers could connect to their readers and potential readers, and a bigger, more diverse shop, with every publisher attending given the chance to have their magazine for sale. A degree show with international graduates looking for investment for their magazine ideas, pitching and exhibiting to potential investors. I don’t know, maybe Barack Obama as the host? Why not? internationalmagazinecentre.com FIVE MINUTES WITH
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