As was to be expected, the white album’s editor’s letter really was the one where my brain’s copywriting function decided to bug out. I toyed with different angles, jotted down a few thoughts, put certain ideas to the team. I even considered leaving the entire page blank. You know, cause I’m smart like that. Yet, despite the ideas flowing abundantly, words simply didn’t want to come.

Maybe it was the realisation that an increasing amount of people read the magazine, and this page specifically, and all the weight and responsibility that came with (let’s just pretend here for a second alright?). Or maybe that, after twenty-plus editions, you’ve kind of done the rounds in terms of blueprints to editor’s letters (there’s the ‘this is what you can expect in this edition’ version, the ‘there was a moment when we thought we wouldn’t make the deadline’ version and, my personal favourite, the ‘this edition reminded me of why I got into publishing in the first place’ version) and there’s only so many times the format can be re-written. Most likely though, it simply was the fact that, after a long and strenuous year, both professionally and personally, I felt most comfortable letting the pages, and the stories, do the talking.

The thing is, our team of designers, writers, photographers, illustrators, stylists and interns go to great lengths to translate a given edition’s colour into content. They don’t merely pitch ideas and execute them. They own their stories and live through their subjects, and their work really needs no introduction. So maybe, just maybe, it’s a good thing words failed me for once.

Back in 2012 so make sure to subscribe to our newsletter, visit our website, like us on Facebook and read us on the iPad in the meantime.

Nicholas Lewis