''New Escapologist'' was a UK-based

lifestyle magazine Lifestyle journalism is the field of journalism that provides news and opinion, often in an entertaining tone, regarding goods and services used by consumers in their everyday life. Lifestyle journalism covers travel, fashion, fitness, leisure, fo ...

between 2007 and 2017, now continued online as subscription essays. The magazine and the current essay series take the stance that

work Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an animal tr ...

has too central a position in western life and that work,

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

and pursuit of

social status Social status is the level of social value a person is considered to possess. More specifically, it refers to the relative level of respect, honour, assumed competence, and deference accorded to people, groups, and organizations in a society. Stat ...

too often take precedence over

happiness Happiness, in the context of Mental health, mental or emotional states, is positive or Pleasure, pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishin ...

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

, and unstructured

leisure Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leisure ...

Simple living Simple living refers to practices that promote simplicity in one's lifestyle. Common practices of simple living include reducing the number of possessions one owns, depending less on technology and services, and spending less money. Not only is ...

, creativity and

Epicureanism Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism. Few writings by Epi ...

are offered as solutions to the problems of

overwork Overwork is the expression used to define the cause of working too hard, too much, or too long. It can be also related to the act of working beyond one's strength or capacity, causing physical and/or mental distress in the process. Compulsory, ma ...

and

overconsumption Overconsumption describes a situation where a consumer overuses their available goods and services to where they can't, or don't want to, replenish or reuse them. In microeconomics, this may be described as the point where the marginal cost of a ...

History

''New Escapologist'' was founded in 2007. Speaking at a public event together in 2009,

Robert Wringham Robert Wringham (born 28 November 1982) is a British writer, best known for his humor writing and as the editor of '' New Escapologist'' magazine. His first collection, ''A Loose Egg'', was shortlisted for the 2015 Leacock Medal. He has also ...

told

Tom Hodgkinson Tom Hodgkinson (born 1968) is a British writer and the editor of '' The Idler'' magazine, which he established in 1993 with his friend Gavin Pretor-Pinney. His philosophy, in his published books and articles, is of a relaxed approach to life, ...

that he started ''New Escapologist'' after reading Hodgkinson's book ''How to be Free'' alongside a biography of

Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

and ''Among the Bohemians: experiments in living'' by Virginia Nicholson. A pilot issue was printed in 2007, a first

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical example ...

issue in 2008, and a launch party was held at the Glasgow CCA in 2009. In 2011, ''New Escapologist'' organized a

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to writ ...

fair in support of the student occupation of Heatherington House at the University of Glasgow. The same year saw the launch of a fifth issue at The Arches theatre and nightclub, and a sixth issue at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

. In 2014, around the time of the magazine's tenth issue, a spin-off book written by Wringham was announced. Following a successful

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

campaign, the book was published by Unbound on 28 January 2016 followed by a German edition published by

Heyne Verlag The Heyne Verlag (formerly Wilhelm Heyne Verlag) is a German publisher based in Munich, which was founded in Dresden in 1934 and sold to Axel Springer in 2000. In 2004 it became part of Random House. Heyne was one of the largest publishing houses ...

later that same year. In 2017, it was announced that the magazine would close after a decade but would continue online as a subscription essay series mediated by

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a co ...

. The first of these essays went live in April 2017.

Production

The magazine's distinct

typography Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), and ...

, according to a colophon printed in the back of each issue, was achieved using

Donald Knuth Donald Ervin Knuth ( ; born January 10, 1938) is an American computer scientist, mathematician, and professor emeritus at Stanford University. He is the 1974 recipient of the ACM Turing Award, informally considered the Nobel Prize of computer sc ...

TeX Tex may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tex (nickname), a list of people and fictional characters with the nickname * Joe Tex (1933–1982), stage name of American soul singer Joseph Arrington Jr. Entertainment * ''Tex'', the Italian ...

typesetting system Typesetting is the composition of text by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or ''glyphs'' in digital systems representing ''characters'' (letters and other symbols).Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random Ho ...

with a layout based on an ancient Ge'ez liturgical text seen at the Matenadaran Manuscripts Museum in

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

. The magazine's logo, featured prominently in the masthead of early issues and at the magazine's website is the

ISO standard The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in Art ...

"running man" symbol usually seen on exit signs.

Notable contributors

Alain de Botton Alain de Botton (; born 20 December 1969) is a Swiss-born British author and philosopher. His books discuss various contemporary subjects and themes, emphasizing philosophy's relevance to everyday life. He published ''Essays in Love'' (1993), w ...

, philosopher *

Luke Rhinehart George Powers Cockcroft (November 15, 1932 – November 6, 2020), widely known by the pen name Luke Rhinehart, was an American novelist, screenwriter, and nonfiction writer. He is best known for his 1971 novel ''The Dice Man,'' the story of a psyc ...

, author of ''

The Dice Man The Dice Man is a 1971 novel by American novelist George Cockcroft, writing under the pen name, "Luke Rhinehart". The book tells the story of a psychiatrist who makes daily decisions based on the casting of a diсe. Cockcroft describes the or ...

'' *

Ewan Morrison Ewan Morrison is a Scottish author and screenwriter, described as "the most fluent and intelligent writer of his generation here in Scotland" by Booker judge Stuart Kelly. Early life Morrison was born in Wick, Caithness in 1968, son of the si ...

, author of ''Tales from the Mall'' *

Richard Herring Richard Keith Herring (born 12 July 1967) is an English stand-up comedian and writer, whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring (alongside Stewart Lee). He is described by ''The British Theatre Guide'' as "one of the leadin ...

, comedian *

, author and editor of '' The Idler'' * Dave Thompson, comedian and tellytubby * Joshua Glenn, author of ''The Wage Slave's Glossary'' *

Judith Levine Judith Levine (born 1952) is an American author, journalist, civil libertarian and co-founder of the National Writers Union, a trade union of contract and freelance writers, and No More Nice Girls, a group dedicated to promoting abortion rights ...

, journalist and NWU founder * Ian Macpherson, comedian *

Dickon Edwards Dickon Edwards (born Richard Dickon Edwards; 3 September 1971), also known as Dickon Angel, is a London-based indie pop musician and diarist. He was a founding member of the bands Orlando and Fosca, and briefly played guitar in the band Spearmi ...

, musician and diarist *

Jacob Lund Fisker Jacob Lund Fisker (born 1975) is a Danish astrophysicist and writer. He is known as the author of a philosophy of extreme early retirement that has inspired a lifestyle movement. Fisker's book ''Early Retirement Extreme'' discusses how to becom ...

, blogger * Aislínn Clarke, movie and theater director * Landis Blair, illustrator and comic artist *

Seth Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. A ...

, cartoonist and book designer * Leo Babauta, blogger and author of ''Zen Habits'' * Stanley Cohen,

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

-based Sociologist * Mr. Money Mustache, financial blogger * Lord Whimsy, designer and

dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle desp ...

Caitlin Doughty Caitlin Marie Doughty (born August 19, 1984) is an American mortician, author, blogger, YouTube personality, and advocate for death acceptance and the reform of Western funeral industry practices. She is the owner of Clarity Funerals and Cremat ...

, author and mortician * David Cain, blogger * Steven Rainey,

BBC Radio Ulster BBC Radio Ulster ( ga, BBC Raidió Uladh) is a Northern Irish radio station owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland, a division of the BBC. It was established on New Year's Day 1975, replacing what had been an opt-out of BBC Radio 4. It is ...

DJ * Ellie Harrison, artist and political activist *

Joseph Heath Joseph Heath (born 1967) is a Canadian philosopher. He is professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto, where he was formerly the director of the '' Centre for Ethics''. He also teaches at the School of Public Policy and Governance. He ...

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

philosopher and economics writer * Laura Gonzalez, GSA lecturer and artist Escape to Your Unconscious
Glasgow School of Art Institutional Repository. 21 November 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2016. *

LD Beghtol LD Beghtol (1964 – 2020), also known as "Uncle LD", was an American musician, art director and writer. He was best known for participating in The Magnetic Fields' ''69 Love Songs'' and writing the illustrated companion book ''69 Love Songs, A F ...

, musician

References

External links

Official website
{{Critique of work Biannual magazines published in the United Kingdom Lifestyle magazines published in the United Kingdom Online magazines published in the United Kingdom Criticism of work Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Literature critical of work and the work ethic Magazines established in 2007 Magazines disestablished in 2017 Online magazines with defunct print editions Simple living Works about labor

History

Production

Notable contributors

References

Further reading

External links