''Zembla'' was a literary and arts magazine published in London for eight issues between 2003 and 2005.

Background

The editor was Dan Crowe, publisher Simon Finch and the designer was Vince Frost. The magazine's title came from Vladimir Nabokov's novel '' Pale Fire'', in which the narrator Charles Kinbote styles himself the last king of Zembla, a fictional northern country. One of the notable features was The Dead Interview, in which a modern writer offered an imaginary conversation with a deceased cultural figure. Subjects included Marcel Duchamp ('interviewed' by Michel Faber),

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

( Rick Moody),

Harry 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 ...

( Mark Leyner), Henry James ( Cynthia Ozick),

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

( David Mitchell), Friedrich Nietzsche ( Geoff Dyer) and Robert Louis Stevenson (

Louise Welsh Louise Welsh (born 1 February 1965 in London) is an English-born author of short stories and psychological thrillers, resident in Glasgow, Scotland. She has also written three plays, an opera, edited volumes of prose and poetry, and contributed ...

). Several of these were compiled into a book, published by Granta in 2013. Several of the contributors were associated with the New Puritans movement, including Nicholas Blincoe,

Daren King Laurence Daren King (born 1972 in Harlow, Essex) is an English novelist and children's writer. His debut novel, ''Boxy an Star'', made the shortlist for the Guardian First Book Award and the ten finalists for the Booker Prize in 1999. He won th ...

, Toby Litt,

Scarlett Thomas Scarlett Thomas (born 5 July 1972 in Hammersmith) is an English author who writes contemporary postmodern fiction. She has published ten novels, including ''The End of Mr. Y'' and ''PopCo'', as well as the ''Worldquake'' series of children's bo ...

and Matt Thorne. Other contributors included

Jake Arnott Jake Arnott (born 11 March 1961) is a British novelist and dramatist, author of ''The Long Firm'' (1999) and six other novels. Life Arnott was born in Buckinghamshire. Having left Aylesbury Grammar School at 17, he had various jobs includin ...

, Paul Auster, David Baddiel,

Simon Beattie Simon Beattie (born 5 February 1975 in Aylesbury) is a British antiquarian bookseller, literary translator and music composer. He was the first British bookseller to be featured in Fine Books Magazine's series Bright Young Things; when he ...

, Manolo Blahnik, John Byrne,

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

, Helen Fielding,

Tibor Fischer Tibor Fischer (born 15 November 1959) is a British novelist and short story writer. In 1993, he was selected by the literary magazine Granta as one of the 20 best young British writers while his novel ''Under the Frog'' was featured on the Booke ...

, Jonathan Safran Foer, Tim Footman, Russell Hoban, Barry Humphries,

Siri Hustvedt Siri Hustvedt (born February 19, 1955) is an American novelist and essayist. Hustvedt is the author of a book of poetry, seven novels, two books of essays, and several works of non-fiction. Her books include ''The Blindfold'' (1992), ''The Ench ...

AL Kennedy Alison Louise Kennedy (born 22 October 1965) is a Scottish writer, academic and stand-up comedian. She writes novels, short stories and non-fiction, and is known for her dark tone and her blending of realism and fantasy. She contributes columns ...

, Matthew Kneale, Hari Kunzru, Hanif Kureishi, JT Leroy, Robert Macfarlane, Stephen Merchant, ZZ Packer,

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

, Nicholas Royle, James Scudamore, Will Self, Tilda Swinton, Rachel Weisz and Dr Mortimer's Observations. The magazine closed in October 2005.

References

External links

Interview with Dan Crowe, editor of ''Zembla''
in 3:AM Magazine, February 2005 Visual arts magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct literary magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines published in London Magazines established in 2003 Magazines disestablished in 2005 {{UK-lit-mag-stub