I've just had this email from Cadenza Magazine - it's self-explanatory. If we want these small mags to succeed and continue to publish our work we must try to support them, either by subscribing or by entering the competitions. I know there are quite a few of them about, and one needs to be careful, but Cadenza has been around for some time I think, and it would be a shame if it ended up as only an online magazine.

Dear Cadenza Supporter:

Some of you may already have heard the news that Peninsular Magazine is closing down. It will be much missed.

Perhaps you remember a comment we made in the Cadenza Ten editorial.

By the time Cadenza subscribers get Cadenza Ten, BuzzWords subscribers will already have had the sad news that BuzzWords – after 24 excellent issues – is going to cease as a paper publication and become web-based.

The reasons for this are financial. Printing costs are painful, and all small press magazines totter along the knife-edge of a balance sheet. That’s certainly true of Cadenza. If we’re to keep going we need more subscribers and more competition entries – so please spread the word!

Unfortunately, we're still tottering along that financial knife-edge.

We feel the last issue of Cadenza was the best yet, and we've had lots of wonderful feedback from readers confirming that view, but our printing costs have soared, with the result that we make almost nothing from subscriptions. As a result, we rely upon competition income to keep us afloat. We could of course increase the cover price, but we're reluctant to do so for the obvious reason. We want our current subscribers to stay with us, and to attract new ones, but an increase in price may well have the opposite effect.

Our current competition closes on 30th June. Have you sent in your entry yet? So far, the entries we've received won't even cover the £350 prize money, so rather than dig ourselves into an even deeper financial hole, we're extending the closing date to September 30th, which means Cadenza 12 won't be published until the autumn. We're not happy about this, but if Cadenza is to survive, we don't have a choice.

We know we can rely upon your continued support for the magazine, and we thank you for that. If you don't already do so, please point your friends towards us, encourage them to subscribe, and if they're writers, to enter our competitions.

We took over Cadenza determined to make it thrive and grow, and to reach its full potential. We hope you agree with our aims and will give us whatever help and support you can.

With best wishes,

John & Zoe

John Ravenscroft

Homepage: http://www.johnravenscroft.co.uk/

Cadenza: http://www.cadenza-magazine.co.uk/

Nell, I hadn’t heard that Peninsular Mag are closing. That is so sad. They’ve published two of my short stories in the past year and I think it’s a great little magazine. I’ll miss it… but I’ll definitely have a look at Cadenza.

Dee
x

I also think this is very sad. I am just starting to send work out (one story submitted once and one flash entered into a competition, so not much yet), and the idea that they can close down around me while I make up my mind is horrifying.

I find it a bit overwhelming trying to decide where to send things, and this news is very distressing.

Ani

Hi, online magazines can be OK. This change is happening in Canada too, if that's what Cadenza means instead of closing completely. Handing submissions is a lot easier, although apparently, because they can be emailed the numbers increase greatly, but the whole business is easier to handle admin wise. But there is something special about a flesh and blood physical magazine.
Becca.