It’s been a strong start to 2019 for us. As of the beginning of the year, we’ve been operating on a slightly dialled-back publishing schedule, to ensure that every piece gets the editorial attention it deserves and that all writers and illustrators continue to be paid for their work. I was also very lucky to have been interviewed by The Queen’s Journal—the publication that gave me my first ever film writing byline—about Reel Honey and some of the very cool things we’ve accomplished with the site so far.
In January, Jessica Young, who’s written three pieces for us on Anne of Green Gables and its themes/fandom/adaptations, was featured on The Tales We Tell podcast to talk about a couple of them and share her expertise on L.M. Montgomery’s iconic novels. That month, we were also very fortunate to publish Millicent Thomas’s interview from 2018’s BFI London Film Festival with Burning’s Steven Yeun.
Otherwise, we published three more pieces on Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Favourite (and have plans for at least one more), making it the most-covered film on the site since our launch almost two years ago. In addition to Mary Beth McAndrews’s review of the film from December, we had Sara Clements point out the striking similarities between it and All About Eve, Ann Foster explain why we never get tired of films about queens (even the ones whose lives have been put to film dozens of times), and Ciara Pitts thoughtfully critique the film’s “timid treatment of lesbian desire.”
Next month (April 25th, specifically) officially marks two years of Reel Honey being out in the world! That’s super cool and weird to wrap my head around, and I’m feeling especially grateful to get to work with so many talented contributors on a regular basis.
With this next birthday approaching, “Time” seemed like a perfect theme for our March issue, the final one of our second volume. This month, we’ll be publishing six analyses of films that address time in some way—keeping it, losing it, biding it, and so on—and two personal essays on the subject. Illustrating this month’s issue cover is Nikki October, who provided the art in our December issue for Laura Venning’s piece on Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures. Please see Nikki’s bio and artist statement below.
If you have any feedback or #feels about us turning two, or if you’re a contributor past or present with any cool news to share, I’m always interested to hear from you!
Until next time,
Sydney Urbanek
Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Reel Honey
About the cover: nik is a multi-media artist in toronto. find their work at www.softonline.me
Artist Statement: there are many ways to experience the passing of time: dust, growth, rot. i find comfort in repetition and rituals, like the collecting and preserving of flowers. they are a visual reminder of past selves and of always working to become a better person, ally, friend.