On the heels of its 20th anniversary, Curve Magazine, the best-selling and longest surviving subscription-based lesbian magazine in the U.S., has been sold to Avalon Media LLC. Avalon publishes BOUND, an international lifestyle publication for “lesbians and women with a connection to the gay and lesbian community,” and LOTL (Lesbians on the Loose), a popular national lesbian and gay publication in Australia.
Avalon, an Australian company headed by Silke Bader, will announce the sale and acquisition later this morning.
In an exclusive interview with GO Magazine, Frances Stevens, founder of Curve, said the print magazine and its Web site, curvemag.com, will remain in operation under the new management. Stevens also indicated that current subscribers’ subscriptions will be honored, “Which is fantastic news for us,” Stevens said. The publication had been fundraising for the past several month and Stevens expressed gratitude that, “the community really came to the support of Curve” during that time.
Curve’s November/December double issue, on newsstands Oct. 23, will be the last cover under the editorial direction of long-time Editor in Chief Diane Anderson-Minshall. Merryn Johns, former editor of LOTL and BOUND, will become the new Editor in Chief of Curve, overseeing Advertising Manager Diana Barry and former Associate Editor Rachel Shatto—who will become the new managing editor of Curve—the only staffers retained by Avalon Media.
Stevens, who has been a powerhouse in the lesbian community on both the national and local levels, particularly in San Francisco where she lives and where Curve’s offices were located, cited health and family reasons as motivation for selling the magazine.
“I want to see my kids grow up,” Stevens told GO, and said her fight against a nerve disease is consuming much of her time with travel and medical care. Stevens also said her company, Outspoken Enterprises, Inc., will continue to run CurvePersonals.com, a lesbian dating site.
On Stevens’ departure from Curve, GO Magazine Publisher Amy Lesser stated, “Frances has and will continue to be a personal and professional role model. Her extraordinary work on behalf of this community can’t be quantified. I’m just glad she can take the time she needs to focus on her family and her health. She’s been the hardest working woman in LGBT media for 20 years.”
The press release quotes Bader, incoming publisher, as saying, “Avalon Media is extremely proud to be the new owner of Curve. I have long admired the work of Frances Stevens and the dedicated team at Curve. It is one of the world’s leading lesbian magazines and we want to ensure its growth and longevity, especially in these economically challenging times.”
Avalon Media will maintain offices in Sydney and New York and publishing will commence under the new ownership as of the January/February 2011 issue.
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