Kola Magazine in Transition

H. Nigel Thomas–interim editor

For all but three of the 33 years since Kola Magazine was founded, Horace Goddard was its editor. Kola began as a magazine offering a home to Black writers, who in the nineteen eighties and nineties received a hostile reception from editors of Euro-Canadian journals. In 2015, the editorial board decided to open the magazine to everyone, hence it became a multicultural magazine.

With the death of Horace in 2020, it looked like the magazine too would die. To prevent this, I have accepted to be its interim editor. With the exception of volume 33.1, we have never received public funding and have always been short of money. We are therefore limited in the number of paper copies we can publish. For example, the cost per copy for a print run of 50 copies is almost $25 to print and mail in Canada, considerably more for overseas mailing.

I know almost nothing about magazine publishing. Page layout, which the editor must do, I’m completely ignorant of. For the current double issue, I’ve done hours upon hours of work, only to see pdf undo it. My plea, therefore, is that you overlook my lapses. I hope I’m not too old to learn new skills.

I rejoice that we now have a viable website (I am learning how to use it); and it’s quite possible, for reasons I’ve already stated, that all future editions would be online.

One last bit of information: the editorial board does not have access to Horace’s computer files; we do not have a list of subscribers and other relevant data. If you are a paid-up subscriber and can prove it, we’ll endeavour to get a copy of the journal to you.