The year-end holidays are approaching and you're short on ideas for pleasing your loved ones and treating yourself? We're sharing our gift list featuring media and independent publishers for relaxing celebrations. On the agenda: magazines for a cousin, games for the fun of it, and notebooks for those who love to write.
Magazines for your cousin
It's the dream of every paper lover. Imagine: each month in your mailbox, independent magazines and fanzines carefully selected by passionate enthusiasts. This is what Cahier Central bookstore, the Paris reference for magazines, offers, among others, as well as the Lyon art shop Bon Œil. On the menu: design, music, cinema, feminism, and obsessions as surprising as they are captivating.
Would you prefer a 100% English-language selection? You'll find what you're looking for over at Stack.
Notebooks for paper-pushers
To keep your deepest secrets or gather your reporting notes, we found the perfect support. The notebook from Divergences editions: three colors, one format, 128 blank pages so you can also draw in it. Its cover, sober and elegant, adopts the same artistic direction as the books from the eponymous editions. Fits in every pocket, suits every budget. And because it would be a shame to go without it, remember to add two or three titles from Divergences editions to your cart. On our end we read and loved Nantes, Rebel City by the team behind the Contre-Attaque magazine and You Won't Find Me on Amazon! by Laurent Mauduit.
Breton landscapes and Japanese provinces, birds of paradise and galaxies, vegetable plants and maritime curiosities… If you have the soul of a poet, inspiration will surely come with these notebooks from the exploration magazine Reliefs.
Textiles for your style
Reading is sexy, we get it, but Collecting books is very very hot! La Librairie sans titre offers magnificent t-shirts designed with artists and designers Florian Brennemann and Lauren Januhowski. On the back, a book stripped bare and observed in every detail, enhanced by striking typography and beautifully balanced proportions. The t-shirt is unisex and available in three colors, perfect for giving to all your friends…
Are you the type to break a sweat? If it's on the dance floor, head to Radio Tempête to party with disco balls on your socks. Keen on football? We'd recommend the jersey from First Rain instead. For those who prefer to stay in the stands, their scarves will give you a dashing look.
Finally, at Médianes, we're also big collectors of activist t-shirts from the feminist magazine Gaze. A knack for punchlines like they don't make anymore and an artistic direction full of mystery and freedom.
Games for your beautiful eyes
Board games are inseparable from reunion moments. At Médianes, we're used to launching intense rounds of Werewolf during our year-end gatherings. And because we love public service, we play with Miskin Tele cards, a version of the game developed using INA archives. Here, the villagers are named Jean-Michel Letupe, Marie-Claude Chambre, or even Zinédine Zidane.
Are you already dreading those endless hours playing Monopoly at family gatherings, or worse, a dreary Risk game at the dinner table? Instead, we suggest embodying a forest animal running its own newspaper in Fit to Print. Rest assured, there's no churn rate, no KPIs, and no SEO here. Just cardboard articles to arrange nicely in your newspaper to rack up points. And if your loved ones like games but aren't really into the social aspect, offer them the chance to lock themselves in and play Times and Galaxy, a video game where you play a robot reporter in space.
Decor for your squad
Your loved ones may have a tendency to pile up newspapers and magazines, promising themselves they'll get around to sorting through them someday. Give them the chance to tackle it and preserve their favorite editions with this newspaper archiving kit (which even comes with a pair of small gloves).
If the idea of giving cardboard boxes or transforming your living room into a BNF basement doesn't appeal to you, know that you can opt for more aesthetic alternatives. Le 1 offers in its shop a box that can hold 50 copies of the weekly magazine.
Candles for your sister
To brighten up your home, nothing beats this candle scented like a newsroom on election night. It smells of « late deadlines, stressed journalists, free pizza, lukewarm coffee, and democracy », the site notes. You'll probably never light it, but you'll likely manage to get a smile from your political journalist friends, followed by a memorable story about their last american election night spent at the office. That's priceless.
Would you rather keep the flame of feminism burning? We recommend natural wax candles from the magazine Censored. Our favorite: « Burn the muse, be the art ».
A new edition for parents
The independent publisher Hors d'Atteinte is releasing a fully updated edition this year-end of the feminist parenting manual Our Children, Ourselves, from the collective of the same name. The work was first published in the United States in 1978 and adapted into French in 1980. It is a classic of feminist parenting that « is rooted in a collective history of struggles, places at its center the listening to women's and mothers' experiences, feelings and voices, that blind spot of feminism ». Essential reading.
Spoiling the parents is great, but you still need to find a gift for the children. What if you gave them an empowering tale? Iddù, the first children's book from La Déferlante editions signed by Camille Bouvot-Duval and Léa Djeziri, offers "a love story that values solidarity, connection and harmony with nature."
The essentials to find your model
Year-end is when we start thinking about our future plans. And to turn ideas that were thrown around over a drink into reality, sometimes we need a partner's helping hand. That's where you come in. Do you know someone who wants to launch their magazine, newsletter, or podcast? We'd suggest, just as a random thought, taking a look at our book, Creating a Media Outlet, a practical guide to help develop a viable and responsible editorial and business model.
And for those who prefer to deepen their knowledge of print culture, Alphabet of Feminist Self-Publishing, published by trouble editions, is a treasure trove of resources. Throughout, feminism as a political idea serving people who want to experiment, organize, come together, and shine.
Rather give than offer?
At the end of the year, many independent media outlets are asking you to support their work by giving directly to their publication.
♡ To support coverage of the far right through an ecology lens, you can make a tax-deductible donation to Vert, which is launching its new section and newsletter Current Heat. Also consider Reporterre, a media outlet covering ecological urgency that relies on donations from its readers.
♡ Want to be part of a strong community committed to fighting the far right? By joining the Club of StreetPress, every monthly donor will have access to a lecture series and can help shape the media's editorial direction.
♡ The media outlet on colonial history Histoires Crépues wants to become THE reference media on antiracism. Click here to support them.
♡ Are you into investigations? Check out Disclose, which investigates government misconduct, or Splann, a local investigative news outlet in Brittany.
♡ Normandy-loving enthusiasts of in-depth reporting and long-form storytelling will definitely find what you're looking for in the Grand-Format magazine, in the field to start 2025 peacefully.
♡ The social criticism magazine Frustration is campaigning to reach a new milestone: recruit, develop video content, and produce even more investigations. Interested in social and environmental issues? You can also support Basta! throughout the year.
To go further
- Can't find what you're looking for? Perhaps it's in our gift guide from last year… Or the year before ?
- From Gaze to Départementales via Surf Cities, here are the team's favorite magazines at Médianes. A great reason to subscribe or give a subscription!
- Strengthen your bond with your most passionate supporters by inviting them to show their colors with merchandise from their favorite media outlet.
- You want to extend your media brand beyond its original platform, but you're not sure where to start or if it's the right move? You're in the right place with this practical guide.
