Welcome back to Portland Book Review! We’re very excited about returning for a second issue. We’ve made some improvements to the layout, we have a few more adds, a couple more author interviews, and added 4 more pages of color. I genuinely think our second issue is better, I count on you to tell us if that’s true. The greatest feeling I’ve had as an editor so far, is seeing the magazine in print. Want to know what 10,000 copies of a 16 page tabloid magazine look like? It’s a pallet-full, 4 feet wide, and long, and about 3 feet tall. It weighs about 500 lbs and spent most of March in my garage. This is the work of friends and family joining together and creating something fun.
My preconceptions of what the magazine would look like, were far exceeded by what we actually produced. I was very pleased with the final product, and judging by the reception, so were you. There’s no way to adequately thank you all for your kind response to our publication. Feedback has been tremendous, both for our magazine, and the website. Now it’s time for our second issue. What lessons were there, and how do we improve on what we’ve done before? I can’t possibly heap enough credit upon our Editor-in-Chief, Chris Johnson, and our resident graphic design artist, and my (much) better half Janet Wright. They worked themselves to the bone. It’s hard work, and as I write these words, Janet is putting together the second draft, while I nurse a nasty case of either SARS, Cholera, or Bubonic Hemorrhagic Fever. “Don’t you DARE cough on me until this issue goes to the printer”.
What I love about the magazine, is what I love about reading. It’s at once a personal endeavor, and social activity. When I pick up a book, or write an article, or edit a review, it’s just me and the material. It’s immediate gratification. It’s good or bad, or needs work, but I get to decide. Then I get to share what I learned. I read a book, but then I get to tell my wife, or my E-I-C about this great book that I’ve read, or this fantastic review from one of our readers. I giggled like a school kid playing hooky when I read Society of Steam: The Falling Machine, it’s a fantastic steampunk superhero novel set in 1880s New York. I read a wonderful biography Madison and Jefferson about our 3rd and 4th Presidents. I had a terrific time reading Can You Survive The Zombie Apocalypse? It’s not art, it’s the book equivalent to a velvet Elvis painting.
Happy Reading!
I’m the Executive Editor, sometimes it feels like I’ve jumped into the deep end of the pool. Although, embracing this opportunity means jumping in with both feet.
My background is as a teacher, and history buff. I genuinely look forward to getting to those books.
I’ve always been a person who loves wandering through book stores.
As an Executive Editor, I see my responsibility as being the person who will help the reader make that same trip easier.
Bradley Wright
Executive Editor Portland Book Review