Fest was established in 2002 as an alternative Edinburgh Festival review guide by former University of Edinburgh students, Helen Pidd and Dan Lerner. It started life as a 32-page tabloid newspaper which published three times per week during August. It began with the support of Time Out and in conjunction with a large number of student writers from the Edinburgh University student newspaper, Student.
In 2003, Fest relocated from the basement office at the Pleasance Courtyard venue and began to establish a reputation among Fringe-goers as a strong youth-oriented, independent arts magazine. Media partnerships were established with The BBC and Big Issue Scotland between 2003 and 2005, before Fest established a longer-term partnership with the Edinburgh-based arts monthly, The Skinny, in 2006. Fest was relaunched as SkinnyFest in August 2006, printing weekly in a style that was closer to a magazine than a newspaper. despite remaining on tabloid newsprint format.
2007 represented a major break with the past for Fest, which dropped The Skinny prefix and adopted an A5 glossy magazine format. The magazine also became further differentiated from The Skinny, changing many of its section titles and design elements in an attempt to create a separate identity.
2009 marks Fest’s seventh year, and the second year of the A4 preview guide, released in July. 2009 also brings a move to new offices on Holyrood road, the launch of a revamped website, and a media partnership with Amnesty international.
Fest’s success at the Fringe has been manifest in a consistently strong showing in the prestigious Allan Wright awards for excellence in Journalism. In 2006, Fest writer and features editor Miles Johnson picked up an award for his feature ‘Bowling with the Hamiltons,’ while editor Sam Friedman received a nomination. In 2007, Nana Wereko-Brobby and Yasmin Sulaiman were both nominated. 2008, however, marked Fest’s most successful year yet, with both Allan Wright awards going to Fest writers, Yasmin Sulaiman and Junta Sekimori.
For more information on Fest, please check out the contact tab, or e-mail hello@festmag.co.uk.
Fest was established in 2002 as an alternative Edinburgh Festival review guide by former University of Edinburgh students, Helen Pidd and Dan Lerner. It started life as a 32-page tabloid newspaper which published three times per week during August. It began with the support of Time Out and in conjunction with a large number of student writers from the Edinburgh University student newspaper, Student.
In 2003, Fest relocated from the basement office at the Pleasance Courtyard venue and began to establish a reputation among Fringe-goers as a strong youth-oriented, independent arts magazine. Media partnerships were established with The BBC and Big Issue Scotland between 2003 and 2005, before Fest established a longer-term partnership with the Edinburgh-based arts monthly, The Skinny, in 2006. Fest was relaunched as SkinnyFest in August 2006, printing weekly in a style that was closer to a magazine than a newspaper. despite remaining on tabloid newsprint format.
2009 marks Fest’s seventh year, and the second year of the A4 preview guide, released in July. 2009 also brings a move to new offices on Holyrood road, the launch of a revamped website, and a media partnership with Amnesty international.
Fest’s success at the Fringe has been manifest in a consistently strong showing in the prestigious Allan Wright awards for excellence in Journalism. In 2006, Fest writer and features editor Miles Johnson picked up an award for his feature ‘Bowling with the Hamiltons,’ while editor Sam Friedman received a nomination. In 2007, Nana Wereko-Brobby and Yasmin Sulaiman were both nominated. 2008, however, marked Fest’s most successful year yet, with both Allan Wright awards going to Fest writers, Yasmin Sulaiman and Junta Sekimori.
For more information on Fest, please check out the contact tab, or e-mail hello@festmag.co.uk.
