Now is the time to go green!
At the 2009 Alberta Magazines Conference’s Go-Green Breakfast, Neva Murtha of Markets Initiative (MI) (www.marketsinitiative.org), gave a presentation on how magazine publishers must do more to protect Canada’s Boreal forests. MI advocates for the development of eco-friendly paper. Murtha emphasised the importance of measuring one’s carbon footprint rigorously by looking at the myriad elements involved in paper production. These include: especially the loss of biomass in the forest and soil, pulp transportation to mill, paper transport to printer, printing and production at printer, end result of unsold copies, etc. With only 20% of the world’s forests intact (and 25% of those in Canada), clearly, it is never too prudent to make environmental cutbacks along with fiscal cutbacks.
Green changes can lead to increased profits
How magazine publishers can really reduce their magazine’s footprint |
| “Companies making unfounded claims about their environmental sustainability risk discrediting not only themselves, but the innovations of true leaders creating truly greener jobs in the industry,” says Joshua Martin of the EPN. The report says that the term “carbon neutral paper” is misleading. Using it actually means “that no fossil fuels are used to create the product”—an assertion that no paper company can claim. Instead, paper products can only be “low carbon.” As consumers of paper products, your skepticism and research is vital to ensuring that you are really making a discernibly positive impact. Publishers can make a more positive impact in the following ways: |
Flywheel Series: April is Poetry Month Flywheel celebrates National Poetry Month with a full slate of performers giving their all reading some of their fave poets - Laurie Fuhr reads Sharon Harris - Jocelyn Grossé reads Shel Silverstein - Lori D. Roadhouse reads Susan Musgrave - Natalie Simpson reads Dorothy Trujillo Lusk - Micah Stone reads Alden Nowlan Don’t miss a moment of the POETRY MADNESS!!
AMPed Up - Photography Session with George Webber Renowned and oft-published photographer George Webber (www.georgewebber.ca) whose Hutterite Traditions series of photos is currently on exhibit at Calgary’s Glenbow Museum will give a talk about photography and its use in magazines. This will be a hands-on session, with a presentation by George and opportunity for critique/feedback. Bring your magazine samples and photography questions. The fee includes admission to all of the Glenbow Museum, refreshments, and face-time with one of Calgary’s most respected photographers.
To attend, please RSVP to ampa@albertamagazines.com by end-of-day Monday, April 6, 2009.
2009 Mags University - The Magazine and Internet Publishing Conference The Old Mill Inn, Toronto, ON June 1 - 2, 2009 Professional development, networking opportunities and nightlife come together to create this premiere national publishing event. Attend to learn, to meet with and be recognized by your professional peers, to identify trends, increase your skill set and refine your marketing and editorial strategies. Learn more about this year's sessions, workshops and keynote speakers HERE. MagNet - Canada's Magazine Conference Toronto, ON June 2 - 5, 2009 MagNet - Canada's premiere public policy, professional development and networking conference for magazine professionals With over 75 sessions, workshops and keynote speakers from North America's top magazine publishing leaders, thinkers and visionaries this conference is a must attend event with something for everyone! For full details check out the website MagNet.
ContestsAlberta Views Annual Short Story Competition Deadline for entries: June 30, 2009
A few guidelines: * Stories should be no more than 3,000 words and must be previously unpublished. * Please include a separate cover letter with story title and author's name. * The author's name must not appear on the story itself. * The $30 entry fee includes a one-year subscription to Alberta Views magazine. * The winner will be published in our December 2009 issue and receive a prize of $1,000. * The contest is open to all residents of Alberta except employees of Alberta Views. * Please include a SASE if you'd like your manuscript returned. (Please don’t send originals.) Please mail your submission to: Alberta Views Short Story Contest Suite 208 - 320 23rd Avenue SW Calgary, AB T2S 0J2 Or e-mail: shortstory@albertaviews.ab.ca *** CLARIFICATION from last the last MagaScene: Alberta Views won Magazine of the Year AB/NWT at the 26th annual Western Magazine Awards. To UNSUBSCRIBE from MagaScene, please send an email with the subject "UNSUBSCRIBE" to ampa@albertamagazines.com. MagaScene is written and compiled by Anh Chu. To be in included in the next issue of MagaScene, please send an email to ampa@albertamagazines.com. |
With the economic doldrums, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture and remember that a business’ environmental impact matters on an Earth-sized scale. But down-times like these offer the perfect opportunity to reassess one’s business plan, improve efficiencies, and ultimately, come up with long-term solutions. 
Alberta Magazines Showcase Winners
Editor of the Year went to Dan Rubinstein for his work at the helm of unlimited magazine. Rubinstein, who worked in Alberta publishing for the past 10 years, was unable to accept the award in person, but sent a message thanking his former Venture Publishing colleagues. He recently moved to a senior editor position at Canadian Geographic magazine, based in Ottawa.
Alberta Views will be accepting submissions to its annual Short Story Competition until June 30, 2009. Alberta Views has been publishing original fiction by Albertans for over 11 years, and is proud to host the only short story competition specifically for Albertans.