''MAGIC'', also known as ''The Magazine for Magicians'', was an independent

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

for

magicians Magician or The Magician may refer to: Performers * A practitioner of magic (supernatural) * A practitioner of magic (illusion) * Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context Entertainment Books * ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...

that was based in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. A creation of Stan Allen, it debuted in September 1991, with its first issue featuring

Lance Burton William Lance Burton (born March 10, 1960) is an American stage magician. He performed more than 15,000 shows in Las Vegas for over 5,000,000 people until retiring after 31 years in 2010. Professional history Burton first became interested in ma ...

on the cover, and over the years it also featured

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

Siegfried & Roy Siegfried & Roy were a duo of German-American magicians and entertainers, best known for their appearances with white lions and white tigers. It was composed of Siegfried Fischbacher (June 13, 1939 – January 13, 2021) and Roy Horn (born Uwe ...

Penn & Teller Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette and Teller, are American magicians, entertainers, and scientific skeptics who have performed together since the late 1970s. They are noted for their ongoing act that combines elements of comedy with magic. The duo ha ...

Mike Caveney Michael Douglas Caveney (born June 17, 1950) is an American magician, author, publisher, magic historian and collector. He is a life-member of the Magic Castle in Hollywood and a member of The Magic Circle of London. His work as a magician and ...

, and

Mac King Mac King (born December 2, 1959) is an American magician who has performed on television specials, often as a co-host. He has his own family-friendly show, "The Mac King Comedy Magic Show", at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in the Thunderland Sh ...

. Its final issue was #301, November 2016. Writers for the magazine have included

Joshua Jay Joshua Jay (born October 30, 1981) is a magician, author, and lecturer. He has performed in over 100 countries, and he was awarded the top prize at the World Magic Seminar in 1998. He fooled Penn and Teller on their hit show, ''Fool Us','' and ...

, Gabe Fajuri,

John Lovick John Lovick is an American magician, writer, and director. Since the 1990s he has performed as a magician throughout the United States and Canada, as well as England, Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia. His performing alter ego, Handsome ...

, Alan Howard,

Max Maven Max Maven (born Philip T. Goldstein; December 21, 1950 – November 1, 2022) was an American magician and mentalist whose performances were considered erudite and intelligent. He is ranked as one of the most influential mentalists of all time, a ...

Peter Duffie Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, Andi Gladwin, Mark Nelson,

Rory Johnston Rory is a given name of Gaelic origin. It is an anglicisation of the ga, Ruairí/''Ruaidhrí'' and gd, Ruairidh and is common to the Irish, Highland Scots and their diasporas. for the given name "Rory". The meaning of the name is "red king", ...

Timothy Hyde Timothy Hyde is an Australian-based magician, born in New Zealand. Biography Timothy was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1955. While training as a primary school teacher at Wellington Teachers College (1974–1976), he also appeared in nu ...

and

Shawn McMaster Shawn may refer to: *Shawn (given name) *Shawn (surname) See also * Sean * Shaun Shaun is an anglicized spelling of the Irish name Seán. Alternative spellings include Shawn, Sean and Shawne. Notable persons with the given name include: Peop ...

. In 2005 ''MAGIC Magazine'' was deemed the world's largest-selling publication for magicians by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

. In 2007 ''MAGIC Magazine'' was also listed as one of the Chicago Tribune's 50 favorite magazines in their annual summer list.

MAGIC Live!

In 2001 it was announced that MAGIC would be producing a once-in-a-lifetime, never-to-be-repeated event called MAGIC Live. The purpose of the event was to bring to life the stories and features of the print magazine and to immerse MAGIC subscribers in the stories they read each month. The "unconventional convention" took place August 19–22, 2001 at The Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Due to the critical acclaim for the sold-out event and the urging of many attendees Stan Allen announced an encore event to take place in August 2004. The second event proved to be just as groundbreaking as the first, including a performance of close-up magic in which guests viewed the show as if in a bar, restaurant, trade show floor, and theatre via four connected performance venues. In August 2007 MAGIC Live returned to The Orleans hotel for a third time. The event sold out in record time and many would-be attendees sat on a waiting list in hopes of making it to the convention. In the June 2008 issue of MAGIC it was announced that MAGIC Live would take place August 16–19, 2009 at the South Point Hotel & Casino. The convention featured an innovative dealer's room designed and produced by Brian South as well as a performance of the one man play "The Expert at The Cardtable" by Guy Hollingworth. A fifth iteration of MAGIC Live took place August 14–17, 2011, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of MAGIC Magazine. The sixth MAGIC Live convention was held August 11–14, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. One of the highlights of the convention was the final performance of Johnny Thompson performing his Dove Act as The Great Tomsoni.

References

External links

Official magazine website

Official event page for Magic LIVE!
{{Magic and Illusion 1991 establishments in Nevada 2016 disestablishments in Nevada Monthly magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Magic periodicals Magazines established in 1991 Magazines disestablished in 2016 Magazines published in Nevada Mass media in Las Vegas