| Type | Bi-Weekly Magazine |
|---|---|
| Format | A4 preview, A5 Glossy |
| Owner | Sam Friedman and Radge Media Limited |
| Publisher | Sam Friedman / Fest Media Limited |
| Editor | Evan Beswick |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Headquarters | Drill Hall, 30-38 Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh |
| Circulation | 52,000 (August 2006) |
| Official website | Fest Online |
Fest Magazine is an Edinburgh-based arts magazine that publishes during the Edinburgh Festival each year. It is published in partnership with The Skinny and is a free, bi-weekly, A5 glossy publication.
Contents |
Fest was established in 2002 as an alternative Edinburgh Festival review guide by former University of Edinburgh students, Helen Pidd and Dan Lerner. It started life as a 32-page tabloid newspaper which published three times per week during August. It began with the support of Time Out and in conjunction with a large number of student writers from the Edinburgh University student newspaper, Student.
In 2003, Fest relocated from the basement office at the Pleasance Courtyard venue and began to establish a reputation among Fringe-goers as a strong youth-oriented, independent arts magazine. Media partnerships were established with The BBC and Big Issue Scotland between 2003 and 2005, before Fest established a longer-term partnership with the Edinburgh-based arts monthly, The Skinny, in 2006.
Fest was relaunched as SkinnyFest in August 2006, printing weekly in a style that was closer to a magazine than a newspaper. despite remaining on tabloid newsprint format.
2007 represented a major break with the past for Fest, which dropped The Skinny prefix and adopted an A5 glossy magazine format. The magazine also became further differentiated from The Skinny, changing many of its section titles and design elements in an attempt to create a separate identity.
In 2006, Fest writer and theatre editor, Miles Johnson, was awarded the Allen Wright Award for Excellence in Journalism for his feature "Bowling with The Hamiltons", beating off competition from The Scotsman, The List and The Sunday Herald. Johnson, 21 at the time, was also the Allen Wright Award's youngest winner in its nine year history. Editor Sam Friedman was also nominated for the award.
Fest received an additional two nominations in 2007 through Nana Wereko-Brobby and Yasmin Sulaiman.
Fest was also listed among The Times Top Five Festival Websites in 2005.