Cheers to the new ‘Digital Era’ of reading!
I want to congratulate a few people about the direction that magic publishing is heading. The new digital media is really coming of age in the magic community
I was delighted to see the first issue of Paul Romhany’s new digital magazine ‘Vanish.’ It is a great addition to the magic scene and I am proud to be a part of it. It is wonderful that a magazine of this quality is available free of charge. I wish it much success and hope that it has a long and continued success. If you haven’t read it, then download an issue and enjoy the content!
I have also been catching up with the latest digital issues of Stan Allen’s ‘Magic’ Magazine. It is a really great digital read and has been a powerful and very enjoyable addition to my magical reading. The iPad edition is just so beautifully thought out! The transition from story to story and the inclusion of video and the photo slide shows really get to the heart of learning a new move or trick. It is sophisticated, slick and simple in its delivery.
I do love the freedom of knowing I have a long air flight and downloading 3 or 4 copies of ‘Magic’ for the journey. It is truly reading on demand, which is a great thing! I can’t imagine life without my iPad now, and this is just one more great reason.
I can’t help feeling that we are looking at the future of magic publishing in this new medium, which the iPad allows us to explore. It is not only cool but it just works so darn well! I think that for a format like a magazine, magicians collectively have struck pay dirt. Much against my will they are winning me over away from the ‘dead tree’ world of publishing. I used to resent that term but now use it freely.
I was also pleased to receive a copy of Shawn McMaster and Jonathan Levit’s new ‘Mendala’ digital magazine from the publishers and found it to be a superb read. I had written a tribute about the late Martin Breese and it really looked better than I could have guessed in print. I was taken aback at how well the magazine handled all of its various goals. Both ‘Mendala’ and ‘Magic’ charge a very reasonable fee for their product and I think they are the cutting edge of the future wave of publishing within our niche market.
I am sure Genii is also doing a superb job, and their policy of allowing subscribers to access back issues is a great one. I am not much of a subscription person though and buying Genii still gives me a reason to visit magic shops and leave with a minor purchase if I don’t need a new thumb tip!
I think there is a very real place for old fashioned ‘pen and Ink’ books too, and I feel that there are forms of information that are best transmitted in this format. Just as certainly there is a place for DVDs, PDFs, and eBooks in the teaching of magic. Different things are best learned in different ways. We live in a grand time when we can even enjoy all these methods on one device! How lucky we are.
Each medium presents its own challenges and advantages to the publisher and bestows different advantages to the purchaser. I believe we are moving into a new area of sophistication in this entire field of education.
Next month will see the publication of my ‘Ultimate Linking Finger Ring Routine’ as a multimedia Book, DVD and CD combined into one package. It just seemed the correct way to handle the density of information and subtleties involved in doing the job right. I will also be publishing my far less expensive but highly comprehensive guide, ‘Cruise Magic: how to make a great living performing magic on cruise ships.’ I am also re-releasing my the first video of my ‘Perfect for Pros’ video, ‘20210s’ I think each project has a very real reason for being in the format it is presented in.
Next I plan to create a really inexpensive augmented and updated ebook of my favorite columns from Magic New Zealand to be published and distributed via iBooks,
I would like to thank all the pioneers of introducing magic to the digital age for the influence they have had on my ideas of presenting magic to the magic community. We live in exciting and rewarding times.
Email me at nicklewin1@mac.com
REMARKABLE MAGIC 