The popular San Francisco-based lesbian magazine Curve has been acquired by Australian lesbian publishing company Avalon Media.
The acquisition was disclosed in an October 15 news release; the transaction took place at the beginning of the month, Avalon CEO Silke Bader said.
Bader, who is the publisher of Australia's popular free lesbian magazine LOTL (formerly Lesbians on the Loose) and Bound, an international lesbian magazine, wouldn't disclose the purchase price for Curve.
"This is confidential," she wrote in an e-mail interview with the Bay Area Reporter over the weekend.
Bader wrote that she thought about purchasing Curve nearly two years ago, but the opportunity didn't present itself until a few months ago.
Curve and LOTL each celebrated their 20th anniversary this year. Bound, dubbed by Avalon as a lesbian Marie Claire, launched in 2009. It will temporarily merge with Curve magazine.
Bader, who founded Avalon Media in 1998, and former LOTL and Bound editor-in-chief Merryn Johns, who will take the helm as editor-in-chief of Curve, aren't concerned about recent publishing woes that have shaken up the industry.
"It's an incredible opportunity," said Johns from her New York office late last week. She pointed out that the lesbian magazine is "probably the most famous publication of its kind in the world."
Lesbian stamina
While the state of LGBT media remains strong in most quarters, titles aimed at lesbians have faced challenges. Gone from newsstands are the publications Jane and Jane, Girlfriends, and On Out Backs . Not to mention large queer media companies Window Media and Planet Out that crumbled in the economic earthquake of recent years.
Upon the news of the Advocate turning into an insert of Out magazine last November, Frances Stevens, founder and former publisher of Curve, told a handful of reporters on Sweet's inaugural cruise to the Caribbean that she felt lucky to still be standing after an embattled year in the publishing industry.
Sweet is co-founded by Steven's wife, Jennifer Rainin.
Stevens maintained a poker face in front of rumors of financial troubles in recent months. Quietly she hosted fundraisers with readers to save Curve, reported Go, a New York City-based lesbian magazine. Many of the fundraisers were hosted far away from San Francisco, where the magazine's office is based.
In September the ruse was up when she wrote a plea to Curve readers in her letter from the publisher. "I admit the horrible truth: without your help, in the form of a subscription or even an outright gift or donation," she wrote, the magazine might not continue.
Stevens didn't go into detail about Curve 's financial struggles in the letter, but in an interview with the magazine's "Lipstick and Dipstick" columnist Kathy Belge for About.com Guide, she simply admitted the magazine took some hard punches from the economic crisis, changes in the media industry, and the ongoing mainstream acceptance of queer culture during the past two years.
It wasn't the first time Curve was in trouble. Launched in 1991 as Deneuve, Stevens changed the name of the magazine in 1996 to Curve after French film legend Catherine Deneuve, who portrayed bisexual and lesbian characters in movies, filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against her.
As Curve's September issue hit the newsstands, Stevens gave no hint to industry insiders about the magazine's troubles. Speaking on a panel about the "State of LGBT Media," at the annual LGBT Media Summit of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association in San Francisco, she told fellow publishers and journalists that she believed the publication would emerge from the recession. She noted that Curve 's revenue statements were "down a little bit" and that the magazine's operating style was "crazy lean and mean," before diverting the discussion to the banal dispute about the notion that print is dead.
She did acknowledge during the panel that she "probably shouldn't have spent as much money" on a new website for the magazine, though she did not elaborate.
Rather than Curve's financial troubles, Stevens cited health and family reasons as motivation for selling the magazine in the release. She told Go, "I want to see my kids grow up." She also stated that her fight against a nerve disease was consuming much of her time with travel and medical care.
Outspoken Enterprises Inc. will continue to run http://www.CurvePersonals.com, a lesbian dating site, according to the release.
Repeated attempts to contact Stevens for comment were unreturned by press time.
Leading the curve
Johns's first duty is to ensure the popular lesbian magazine's financial well-being.
"Our goal is to keep Curve alive, going strong, and well positioned for the future," she said. She echoed Stevens's previous pleas to support queer media.
"If you don't subscribe they will not survive," she said.
Johns will edit the magazine with the assistance of two Curve staffers retained by Avalon Media: Diana Barry, advertising manager, and former associate editor Rachel Shatto, who will become the new managing editor. Many of the magazine's popular columnists will be retained, they said.
The publication's final issue under the direction of longtime editor-in-chief Diane Anderson-Minshall, the November/December issue, hits newsstands October 23. The January/February issue will be the first published under Avalon Media. Curve readers won't see many changes in the first issue, Bader and Johns said.
Avalon Media will maintain offices in Sydney and New York.
"It's an incredible opportunity," said Johns from her New York office late last week, pointing out that the lesbian magazine is "probably the most famous publication of its kind in the world."
"Frances Stevens did something unique and brave when she began Curve," continued Johns. "It is essential for lesbians in North America and the rest of the world."
"That needs not to be extinguished. That needs to continue," she added.
Bader agreed.
"Curve is extremely important for lesbian visibility," wrote Bader, vowing to maintain the publication's "original focus" for its readers. At the same time Bader and Johns plan to take Curve to a new level regarding its coverage �" global.
"We are focused in providing a new, more global approach to engage a new readership that wants more from a lesbian magazine," wrote Bader. "I would like to see Bound's editorial concept, embracing different cultures, working with journalists across the world and Curve's long history, political and social conscious intertwine with each other, to create a magazine that promotes a healthy lifestyle, gives you confidence in your choice of being a lesbian and offers an intelligent fun and visually appealing magazine."
Bound was Johns's first venture to bring lesbians a global lifestyle magazine in 2009. It has concluded publishing for 2010 and Avalon Media will focus primarily on Curve 's future, the women said.
"We are on the right track. In 20 years time, marriage, adoption, and acceptance will no longer be an agenda to fight for. We need to adapt to the changes to keep our audience," Bader wrote.