In February I’m turning 70, so it’s probably not a surprise that I’m starting to think in terms of the next 10-year plan for LensWork Publishing. Yes, I intend to be around and still publishing. As I’ve said before, I’ll stop publishing LensWork when they’re throwing dirt in on top of me.
There are, however, undeniable fiscal realities that cannot be ignored. The cost of producing LensWork has risen by 300% over the last 24 months due to the increases in paper, printing, binding, packaging, and mailing. I refuse to use inferior paper or printing. I refuse to raise the subscription price commensurately.
So, beginning in January 2024 LensWork will return to its roots and be produced quarterly, in March, June, September, and December — same size and same high quality printing you've come to expect. An annual subscription will be for 4-issues.
The two digital versions, LensWork Tablet Edition and LensWork Extended Computer Edition will be published concurrently with the paper edition, four times a year, all without increasing our subscription rates.
The more exciting news is that we will also be producing a new monthly publication, LensWork Bonus Editions. These PDF-based supplements will be available for free to all subscribers of the LensWork print edition as well as all members of LensWork Online. You’ll receive a monthly email announcing the availability that will include a download link. Content will vary from month to month, but always will be work of excellence and hopefully motivational.
LensWork Bonus Editions will include work not found in our other publications. In the LensWork Bonus Editions you might find a new "Seeing in SIXES" type of project, an alumni book promotion, a project that didn’t make it into LensWork but could have, One-picture stories, a Readers’ Gallery project, a previously published project with additional images, new audio interviews with photographers, a previously unpublished Image Suite, etc. Our imagination is open to all sorts of possibilities for this new monthly publication, all free to subscribers of the LensWork print edition as well as all members of LensWork Online.
For similar reasons, the LensWork Monographs will remain the same annual subscription rate, but be published twice a year, in June and December. A change for 2024 is that all LensWork Monographs will also be immediately available as PDF downloads to members of LensWork Online.
In short, we’ve been publishing 21 titles each year, but in 2024 we're adding content so there will be 27 titles per year.
Also at LensWork Online, we are improving several areas that have been popular requests from our members. In 2024 we will be completely reorganizing the audio interviews to be sorted by photographer so they are all listed alphabetically; we are adding site-wide index pages by topic (a huge undertaking, but one that will make the site even more of a searchable resource); at long last we are adding the often-requested Chapbook Workshop; we are adding a new video feature titled Deep Dive Talks; and we are adding a fun look back at 30 Years of LensWork Publishing — anecdotes as a walk down memory lane.
Our weekly popular Podcast on Photography and the Creative Process as well as the daily Here’s a Thought… audios will continue unabated as they have been for years. As always, the complete collection of both of these programs is available in their entirety to members of LensWork Online.
That’s what’s new for 2024. We are so glad to have you aboard as a member of the LensWork community and for sharing our passion for photography.
