As you may have noticed, there hasn’t been a whole hell of a lot going on here recently.

I’ve received a few emails on the subject; some surprised, some concerned, some frustrated - all emotions that mirror my own. As you may have guessed, The Dependent is now on something of a temporary hiatus. As a result of circumstances outside my control, I am unable to perform even the most basic administrative and designs tasks at the magazine. I lack the ability to get in touch with sponsors, or the ability to access the funds necessary to pay our contributors.

Matt and I co-founded this venture two-and-a-half years ago, with the goal of bringing high-quality, thoughtful, edgy, magazine-quality features to Vancouver’s burgeoning online community. It was our aim to push the boundaries of form and content, and explore our city in a way we’d never seen before. At every turn, we discussed ways to further this vision, outside of the suffocating constraints of the 24-Hr News Cycle, and the knee-jerk reactionary, opinionated rhetoric of the blogosphere. It was our belief that a small magazine, producing high-quality, full-length features driven by a strong editorial vision (not to mention with a liberal dose of attitude) would have a place in Vancouver, and for that, we have been well rewarded with praise from both our readers and our peers. We have had the blessing of sponsorships from generous local businesses. We have been flattered with speaking engagements, and validation from many of the brilliant and talented journalism professionals this city can call its own. For that, we’ll be eternally grateful.

So grateful, it seems, that we’ll be taking a short break. It’s certainly tempting to place blame; the frustration of the past few months has come in no small amounts, and with it comes the knowledge that the potential failure of this venture comes not from lack of readership or potential lack of funding, but as the result of decisions and outside forces that I can neither fully control, nor fully even understand. Yet, here we are.

As of now, The Dependent has been reduced to a staff of one: me. From the beginning, the magazine has been a labour of love, its content produced largely by Matt and myself, two amateurs without a whit of formal training or university education, and generally without collecting a penny in return. And, while it’s my sincere and earnest wish to continue crafting the sorts of edgy, honest, creative, exciting, daring work we’ve become recognized for, and to provide a place where the brilliant folk we’ve had the good fortune of working with can continue to do the same, it’s simply too big a job for one man. This was built as a collaboration - mine often behind-the-scenes, and without the ability to collaborate, the task becomes too colossal to manage. The Dependent was never meant to be a one-man enterprise, and when left with the choice of taking on its entirety myself, or throwing up the flag and shouting “Hiatus”, I have chosen the latter - at least until everything gets sorted out.

Like I said, I share your frustration. I wish I understood, too. I wish I had the ability to continue expanding something I’ve spent more than two years building. I wish I could tell you that I have even the foggiest notion of what the future holds for The Dependent. But I don’t.

While we’re hiatus-ing, feel free to poke around the archives. There’s plenty of wicked-keen material in there you may have missed, and we’re immensely proud of everything you’ll find there. I’ll keep you posted as additional information becomes available, and with any luck, we’ll be back and kicking in no time. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at [email protected]

In the meantime, buck up, chums. Everything is temporary. Some things just happen to be more temporary than others.

Hugs and Kisses,

 

Jesse Donaldson

Co-Founding Editor