COMPETITION TIME!

There’s a magazine out there on everything, so they say and here at Pics & Ink we have shelves full of pretty much anything you might be interested in.

But sometimes that connection with what you’re reading can go deeper. Sometimes the things you learn or remember from a magazine stay with you and influence your life.

 It might be something small like the recipe you once tore out that becomes a family favourite to be passed on as your own to the next generation. Maybe it’s that never forgotten piece of advice or the spur you needed to book that trip, go for that job, propose to that man or woman. Homes have been decorated, gardens created, hobbies begun and skills learned, all because of magazines.

Women have found emancipation, sexual freedom, friendship, career prospects and safety through the pages of magazines. Teenagers have found they’re not alone. Good magazines can be a safe and sure place for comfort, community and inspiration. They can also challenge your world view, open your eyes and shape your thinking. You’ll meet and hear from friends and strangers among their pages.

And the reason the words and pictures in magazines, (especially independent ones) resonate with us is that they are real, created by a need to share a particular experience or point of view or passion with others. And they are delivered to you in a readable, portable and often beautiful nutshell.

We once came up with a banner that described what a good magazine gives you and the list reads like this; makes you feel, creates culture, salutes sisterhood and speaks your stories. But they could really be distilled into a single phrase, ‘a good magazine can change your life’.

We’ve decided to celebrate the joy of independent magazines and we’d like to hear your stories of how a good magazine changed your life. Send us no more than 500 words by Sunday 31^st October and the best will WIN a £30 Pics & Ink voucher.