Back in 2020 when the Archive Magazine found a new home with him after Jim Nagel sadly passed away, Gavin Smith proposed a bi-monthly publishing schedule, with each new issue expected to land on our doormats once every couple of months.
Unfortunately, that didn’t come to pass for his first volume for a variety of reasons – not least of which was the timing. When he took over we were already in the throes of a pandemic, with all the ramifications of that, such as lockdowns and homeschooling, and like all of us Gavin also had other things to contend with, such as a new addition to his family. As a result, the publishing schedule slipped a little, and a number of other things that were planned didn’t happen – a new website for the magazine, for example.
Now, with the final issue of his first volume coming up, Gavin has outlined his plans, starting with a return to that planned timeline for the magazine itself.
The next issue will be 25:6, and subscribers can expect to hear it thumping down on their doormats in April. The deadline Gavin has set for news, articles, and other contributions is the 8th of the month, giving him time to pull everything together, get it off to the printers, and thence to our doors. The next issue after that will be 26:1, marking the start of the next volume, which should appear in June – i.e. two months later.
A new website is still planned, and Gavin expects it to include a subscriber area so that people can log-in and check how many issues they have remaining, as well as update their details.
There is a wealth of knowledge that has been published in the magazine over its twenty five volumes so far, which at the end of the current volume will be 288 issues if I’m not mistaken, and Gavin intends to start publishing that material under a permissive licence. When an issue is becomes five years old, it will be made freely available on the website for anyone to download.
The Archive DVD now has a new name – when the next edition appears, it will be Archive Archived.
Gavin notes – and is pleased to report – that the level of interest in the magazine remains high, and he operates a (slightly optimistic) print run of 500 copies, with subscribers numbering in the region of several hundred. Amongst other things, this provides a little leeway for bringing spare issues to shows (when they happen) to sell to non-subscribers (yes, there are some), and to people who may have subscribed once upon a time – when they actually used RISC OS – and who have stumbled across references to it online, and express surprise that it’s still going. (And presumably they feel that way about RISC OS as well!)
Once issue 25:6 is out next month, Gavin intends to send a mailshot to long-lapsed subscribers, in the hope of bringing some back on board – and recognising that this will include people who may have wandered off of the RISC OS path into the wider world, there will be some scope to provide an overview/update on the RISC OS scene in general. If you therefore have a product that would be worth mentioning in that context, please get in touch.
Wakefield Show
Noting the recent announcement about the Wakefield Show needing to find a new venue, Gavin says he does hope to appear and support the event – wherever it takes place – and encourages everyone to keep the date (21st May) free, and to watch this space for further information.
Subscription prices
With the end of volume 25 almost upon us, for many it will be time to renew our subscriptions for the next volume. The simplest and most environmentally-friendly option is £35.00 for a digital subscription, with the magazine delivered by email as a PDF file. For EU subscribers, that’s the only option at the moment.
For UK subscribers, to receive the magazine in print form the price is £40.00, and that can be combined with the digital version for £45.00. For the rest of the world, a subscription to the printed edition is £56.00, and a combination of that and the digital version is £61.00.
In all cases, a subscription lasts for one year or six issues. For more details, including payment methods, please see the pricing page on the magazine’s website.
Special offer
If you haven’t subscribed already, and have therefore missed out on the entire current volume, a £29.99 payment will bag you the whole thing, including a copy of the upcoming issue (25:6). This is a UK-only price, made possible by being able to bundle the whole volume up into one package to save on postage. Please get in touch with Gavin to find out if there’s an option for you if you’re elsewhere in the world.
