What Happened to October?

You didn't get your October issue - right? There wasn't one. Sorry we should have told you in advance. A normal year of Peace

Magazine is ten issues, not twelve, and we decided to take this month (instead of January) for making some exciting new advances. Here's what we've been up to:

We used to have our printing done in a union shop, but we've decided to go all-out for union production and get a union "bug" as a preparation for a closer relationship to labor's peace movement. You'll be seeing more articles by labor leaders, reflecting the special concerns of their constituencies. Don Wells is our labor editor now, and he'll be advised by peace activists from various labor organizations.

We're exploring ways of serving the new Canadian Alliance, as well as regional peace networks. This magazine belongs to and will be accountable to the Canadian Peace Movement, in its widest sense. We are establishing new structures to ensure this. Our Board of Directors is expanding and will be elected from a slate of nominees solicited from the 12 or 15 Canada-wide peace organizations that are participating in the Alliance, and from constituencies, - women's organizations, churches, and unions. Moreover, we have already created an advisory editorial board comprising movement leaders, peace researchers, and other recognized activists. These people are consulted periodically to obtain suggestions for articles and authors. The Toronto editorial staff then takes their suggestions and plans upcoming issues that effect the advisors' proposals.

To strengthen our base within the Canadian movement, we have appointed two outstanding editors who will work outside Toronto and forward material to us: Simon Rosenblum works in Ottawa and Gary Marchant in Vancouver. We're lucky to have their support.

The Ontario Conference decided in September to use a page of Peace Magazine as its newsletter column and to appoint its editor. Ontario peace groups will hear from the newsletter editor as soon as this arrangement begins. Other regional networks and the entire Canadian Alliance may want similar arrangements, and we are open to the possibility, as well as to other alternative ways of serving the movement.

About half of the magazine's content arrives as unsolicited manuscripts from peace activists. Keep them coming, friends. You do understand, of course, that we can't print everything we receive, but we're grateful for it all. Do heed our long lead time: We need to receive manuscripts 6 or 7 weeks before the first of the month of any given issue. Thus an article for the February issue should be in our hands no later than December 10. We're working very hard to become impeccably punctual so your magazine will be timely. The main determinant is the promptness of writers and editors.

We've started holding regular general meetings that are open to the public. Attending is a good way to become involved. See the Peace Calendar.
So the magazine really belongs to the movement - to you. And that makes it your responsibility too. We need lots of support -money, volunteers, advertisers, promoters. We print 7000 copies each month and should be printing 70,000. Our financial situation continues to be nip-and-tuck but our potential is enormous.
You and your group make the difference. If each of our regular readers will sell (or give as Christmas presents) ten subscriptions, we'll be a huge success. Here's one way: Make 15 photo-copies of our flyer, scribble a personal note on each one, and send them to your friends, asking them to subscribe. They'll love you for bringing the magazine to their attention.

Your group can form a Peace Magazine committee to make full use of our publication. The committee can funnel news to us, distribute flyers, sell advertising, and in various other ways help us generate the political will for peace.

Our Subscription Rates:
Regular - 1 year $15.2 years $26.
Group subscription special:
Send one cheque covering a complete list of orders from 20 or more new subscribers and receive a 20 percent discount - $12 per annual subscription or $23 for a 2 year sub. We must receive the entire order in one prepaid batch for this offer to be valid.
Bulk orders:
Order a bundle of magazines, sell them, and make a little profit for your group. When prepaid orders of 20 or more magazines are mailed in single package to a single address, the price is $1.10 per copy, including second-class postage.
Advertise in Peace Magazine:
A full page costs $360 for camera-ready ads. (If we do the artwork we charge extra.) A half page: $195. Smallest ads, about 2 inches square: $40. Discounts available for running ads 3 or more consecutive issues.

We're counting on your participation!