Hello, I'm Alison Jane Reid, the journalist founder and editor of The Luminaries Magazine, a one of a kind, independent arts and culture magazine with an exciting circular spirit! We are focused on authentic, illuminating feature writing on the arts, icons, film, drama, books, music and regenerative food, wine, health and slow travel and our intimate, art of the conversation talk show started during Covid to transform your week.
Authentic Journalism for Cultural Impact and Fun!
We report and broadcast on cultural icons, film, drama, books, music, slow fashion + our organic regenerative food, wine and functional health section - all while being founded on the pillars of quality magazine journalism and storytelling for cultural, social and circular impact with a sense of fun, innovation and originality. We have been awarded social enterprise status from Social Enterprise UK for championing undergraduate placements and exciting ideas for a regenerative world!
Join Our Magazine and Club as a Founding Supporter
I would like to invite you to become a founding member of The Luminaries Magazine and our Club for readers and artisan, organic, regenerative and slow is beautiful brands for illuminating journalism and a sense of community and one of a kind rewards that makes life worth living. We go out of our way to champion emerging writers, filmmakers, artists and producers across the creative industries.
To achieve sustainable financial independence and continue to write about and champion emerging arts and culture and run student placements and opportunities for talented journalists, writers and authors we want to be funded by people power and circular, regenerative and responsible businesses. That means a sustainable number of monthly or annual subscriptions via readers and responsible luxury, organic, artisan and circular businesses, artists and literary agencies.
We have spent the past year moving and launching The Luminaries Magazine on our new journalism platform on Ghost. It has been a huge task. We hope you love the result and that you are happy and excited to support us.
We are certainly not supported by Google advertising, which rewards clickbait news, sensationalism and huge media corporations with the resources to chase traffic 24/7. The answer is to be funded by the arts and culture community we champion and serve.
A Magazine Supported by People Power
Join us as a reader, as a business club founding member or hire us to create a one of a kind piece of sponsored iconic business storytelling for your brand and help this social enterprise magazine thrive!
We have now set a goal to gain our first 200+ luminary magazine founding member subscribers from readers and artists to responsible luxury and slow, artisan businesses and then keep going. We list all our readers and business supporters on our supporter's page and each business club membership includes a live profile with images and contact details. (readers can remain anonymous if they wish, please let us know.)
We already have our first wave of loyal subscribers amongst readers since we moved platforms late last year and began to offer subscriptions. Now we urgently need to take it to the next level with our beautiful new name and expanded topics including books and music. It is urgent that we recover from the disruption and loss of income caused by the pandemic and total loss of business collaboration opportunities which are starting to recover. This includes paying off a UK Government bounce back loan. It is very disappointing that the Government has already started adding interest to the loan when many businesses like ours are still recovering from the effects of the pandemic.
The Dream
I have a dream and passion that the arts and culture make life worth living and that compelling, thought-provoking, one of a kind feature writing and storytelling can make a powerful difference and illuminate our world.
My track record in journalism is illustrious. I spent almost a decade at The Times Magazine interviewing cultural icons from Karl Lagerfeld to the stars of Sex and the City. I trained a The Photographer Magazine and Mirror Group and I have also worked for The Lady Magazine and You. My interviews and features have been published across the globe and in The Sunday Times, The Independent, Newsweek, ES, The Illustrated London News Group, Orient Express Magazine, Harpers Wine and Spirits, Red, Femail and Country Life.
I'm a member of The Society of Authors and The National Union of Journalists and uphold their codes of conduct.
I have consulted as a storyteller and trends expert for a plethora of iconic brands including Escada, Pernod Ricard, Aquascutum, Traidcraft, Pringle of Scotland, Winser London, Lapin NZ Slow Couture Coats, Mindful Mixology, Inlight Artisan Luxury Beauty, The V&A with the C&A Foundation, Milk and More, Viridian Nutrition, Fairtrade Fortnight, Lending Works, Evergreen Ethical Insurance and The Post Office.
Creating a Magazine I am Proud to Edit
In recent years, I have faced enormous challenges over ethics, plummeting fees and standards as a leading journalist in national newspapers in the UK. Standards I was not prepared to compromise. Journalism is a rewarding, one of a kind profession. One I love to bits. However, it is a desperately insecure and often poorly paid profession where nepotism, privilege not talent and unfairness frequently rule the roost. In fact, the rates of pay were far better when I was making my name in journalism in the nineties than they are now.
When the magazine I wanted to work for no longer existed, I had to create it.
My USP is interviewing, broadcasting and writing cover stories, reviews and essays on the cultural icons and institutions that shape and illuminate our world from the stars of Sex and the City to Sir David Attenborough, Iman to Karl Lagerfeld, Keira Knightley to Brian May, the V&A to Carl Honore, the pied piper of the slow movement and Afghanistan's only female air force pilot, Niloofar Rahmani and several hundred more. I am also very passionate about food and wine and their cultural heritage and provenance. As a result, I also enjoy writing and interviewing chefs and artisan food and wine producers.
Stories are powerful. They can change everything. These are the kind of stories we like to tell and explore at The Luminaries. The Wizard of Oz, Red Glitter Shoes and the Slow Blue Gingham Dress.
My very first celebrity interview was sitting on the floor eating humous and interviewing Linda McCartney with Stella, Mary and Heather!
Creating a Different Kind of Culture Magazine
A bit more about me and The Luminaries. I love magazines and journalism! I've been in love with books, magazines and writing since I was a teenager, watching Kate Adie and John Simpson report from war zones and reading accounts of icons female icons from Marianne Faithfull to Marilyn Monroe, Lee Miller to Frida Kahlo and Michelle Obama.
A Brilliant Magazine and Circular Community
After my experience of working on national newspapers and magazines, I wanted to create a better, more authentic arts and culture magazine that would help my profession and support new talent not just the privileged few, with great reads and a club where we can all interact, make new friends and help each other.
We are a magazine, a club for readers, a bespoke storytelling think tank and an online atelier selling carefully curated organic health foods, biodynamic skincare and preloved fashion treasures, organic CBD oil, functional coffee and antiques.
Above all, we are a dynamic, friendly community for film, tv entertainment, music, books and slow fashion + our organic living section for organic and regenerative food and wine, cooking from scratch recipes, functional health, medical herbalism and slow travel.
In a stressed-out world, we want to be your authentic, trusted port in the storm. A place to read our magic film, drama and radio reviews, interviews with cultural icons; pick up a slow food recipe and listen to a charismatic doctor talking about the food as medicine power of real food free of the influence of processed food corporations.
Our Social Impact Ideas
We have social enterprise status for two defining pillars as an independent magazine. The first is for the work we do to feature emerging talent across the arts and to mentor undergraduates and provide inspirational placements for students wishing to take up a carer in journalism or the creative industries. (To date I have personally mentored more than 40 undergraduates and graduates on placements with Ethical Hedonist and now The Luminaries Magazine.)
Our second pillar is for championing innovative and exciting ideas around responsible, organic, regenerative and circular luxury from food to slow and organic travel and whole-body medicine and better mental health through mindfulness and nutrition.
When I started out newspaper journalism in the early nineties it was hard to get a break without contacts or a certain background. Now it is almost impossible. I want to change that. There is also an underlying culture of bullying, jealousy and sabotage and being told what to write that is allowed to happen with insufficient safeguards or protection.
Luminary Journalism
It was absolutely time to launch my own magazine, club and community for you, our readers. Become a founding member of The Luminaries Magazine today and let's create this shiningly independent magazine together and light up the world with #luminaryjournalism. This is our offer for readers. If you are a business please get in touch to discuss our business storytelling services and ideas for collaboration - The Editor, theluminariesmagazine@gmail.com
Our point of difference is the marriage of arts and culture journalism with ethics and our cultural, social and circular impact mission. We are unashamedly aspirational, forward-thinking, fun, informed, smart and playful. We also have high standards and a sense of responsibility. We don't offer clickbait journalism, though we hope you find our journalism sensational and captivating in a good way!
We go out of our way to talk about and champion emerging artists, filmmakers, actors, authors and small producers and to create social and planet-friendly impacts that nurture rather than harm people and our planet. We will never write cruel, thoughtless pieces of journalism that are rife in mainstream media. We prefer to explore brilliant ideas and to inspire, but never preach.
Become a Founding Luminaries Magazine Member and Subscriber Today.
Join the first 50 readers who have already become founding members before our official launch here - https://www.theluminariesmagazine.com/signup/
It costs £8pcm to support us as a pay as you go reader or £6.75 if you take out a yearly subscription and save 15%. Together with supporting the magazine, I am adding rewards and prizes to add more value and life-enhancing benefits.
You can read about them here -
Magazine Club for Our Supporters and Subscribers
Our aim is to secure as many subscribers as possible before we launch a campaign on crowdfunder.co.uk with a wide variety of rewards which include culture and reboot stays at The Luminaries Magazine HQ, Live Shows, Hampers from our magazine shop and more.
Pick a reward or email us - theluminariesmagazine@gmail.com to create your own perfect reward and join The Luminaries Magazine tribe and club today!
Founder and Editor Alison Jane Reid and filmmaker and co-founder Christian Bell.
