Publishing overview
Magazine editor
Xtra Magazine/Pink Triangle Press
Executive editor, December 2019-February 2024
Arts & entertainment editor, September 1996-December 2009
Columnist, May 1992-July 1996
I have a long history with Xtra Magazine, one of the oldest, most respected LGBTQ2S+ publications in the world. I was a front-age columnist for four years, then arts and entertainment editor for 13 years (!) and, most recently, executive editor for just over four years. That's 21 years over the magazine's 40-year history (not including a number of years as a freelance writer and video host). As arts and entertainment editor, I raised the art section's level of writing and criticism to a high level and expanded the diversity of arts coverage. From international art stars to indie locals, the job offered me an amazing vantage point on art and culture in Canada and beyond. I art directed the majority of cover shoots when Xtra was still in print (see a selection of favourite covers here). In 2010, I was presented by Buddies in Bad Times Theatre with a special Pink Ticket Award for “outstanding service to Toronto's queer arts.”
In 2019, I returned to Xtra in the role of executive editor, steering the publication through a tumultuous period that saw the shift to working from home due to COVID-19, the relaunch of the publication with a newly designed website and refreshed branding, the transition to a new incoming senior management team (headed by Jennifer McGuire, formerly editor in chief of CBC News) and a revised editorial strategy, the creation of a new travel publication Pink Ticket Travel (with accompanying newsletters targeting different market segments), Xtra's accession into media transparency initiative The Trust Project, and the launch of Xtra's TikTok channel, among many other new endeavours—all the while increasing the readership and engagement of Xtra and its social media channels. In 2023, Xtra was named the best mid-sized digital publication in Canada, winning gold for “general excellence” from the Digital Publishing Awards (DPA), the magazine’s first win in the general category in the eight-year history of the DPAs.
Executive editor, December 2019-February 2024
Arts & entertainment editor, September 1996-December 2009
Columnist, May 1992-July 1996
I have a long history with Xtra Magazine, one of the oldest, most respected LGBTQ2S+ publications in the world. I was a front-age columnist for four years, then arts and entertainment editor for 13 years (!) and, most recently, executive editor for just over four years. That's 21 years over the magazine's 40-year history (not including a number of years as a freelance writer and video host). As arts and entertainment editor, I raised the art section's level of writing and criticism to a high level and expanded the diversity of arts coverage. From international art stars to indie locals, the job offered me an amazing vantage point on art and culture in Canada and beyond. I art directed the majority of cover shoots when Xtra was still in print (see a selection of favourite covers here). In 2010, I was presented by Buddies in Bad Times Theatre with a special Pink Ticket Award for “outstanding service to Toronto's queer arts.”
In 2019, I returned to Xtra in the role of executive editor, steering the publication through a tumultuous period that saw the shift to working from home due to COVID-19, the relaunch of the publication with a newly designed website and refreshed branding, the transition to a new incoming senior management team (headed by Jennifer McGuire, formerly editor in chief of CBC News) and a revised editorial strategy, the creation of a new travel publication Pink Ticket Travel (with accompanying newsletters targeting different market segments), Xtra's accession into media transparency initiative The Trust Project, and the launch of Xtra's TikTok channel, among many other new endeavours—all the while increasing the readership and engagement of Xtra and its social media channels. In 2023, Xtra was named the best mid-sized digital publication in Canada, winning gold for “general excellence” from the Digital Publishing Awards (DPA), the magazine’s first win in the general category in the eight-year history of the DPAs.
Curios and Conundrums/Mysterious Package Company
Editor in chief, January 2016-December 2017
National Geographic meets Mad magazine by way of McSweeny's and H.P. Lovecraft...?! I was editor in chief of this unique entertainment publication that featured serious essays on history, mythology and the arts, combined with fiction, black humour, off-kilter satire, esoteric mysteries, alternative realities, brain-busting puzzles and more. The quixotic quarterly was produced with thematically relevant ephemera and objects and delivered in beautifully designed packaging. I was responsible for a wholesale revamp at the beginning of my tenure and a significant retooling at the start of the second year. I contributed a significant portion of the content, as well as leading the packaging design and much of the product design. A project like no other. Check out my blog for more detailed explorations.
Editor in chief, January 2016-December 2017
National Geographic meets Mad magazine by way of McSweeny's and H.P. Lovecraft...?! I was editor in chief of this unique entertainment publication that featured serious essays on history, mythology and the arts, combined with fiction, black humour, off-kilter satire, esoteric mysteries, alternative realities, brain-busting puzzles and more. The quixotic quarterly was produced with thematically relevant ephemera and objects and delivered in beautifully designed packaging. I was responsible for a wholesale revamp at the beginning of my tenure and a significant retooling at the start of the second year. I contributed a significant portion of the content, as well as leading the packaging design and much of the product design. A project like no other. Check out my blog for more detailed explorations.
In Toronto/Mint Media
Editor in chief, February 2011-May 2013
In Toronto (now In Magazine) is the respected LGBTQ2S+ city magazine I created in 2010 for Mint Media. I'm very proud of the work I did here on a shoestring budget. The look was polished and seductive; the content was timely and relevant; the tone was mature but not stuffy. My contributing team was topnotch. We broke a number of news stories and covered the community in a way that it had never been covered before. You can browse the digital back catalogue here; I was editor in chief of the first 36 issues, that's May 2010 to May 2013. In addition, you can find a number of my In Toronto stories and features using the Portfolio buttons or menu above.
Editor in chief, February 2011-May 2013
In Toronto (now In Magazine) is the respected LGBTQ2S+ city magazine I created in 2010 for Mint Media. I'm very proud of the work I did here on a shoestring budget. The look was polished and seductive; the content was timely and relevant; the tone was mature but not stuffy. My contributing team was topnotch. We broke a number of news stories and covered the community in a way that it had never been covered before. You can browse the digital back catalogue here; I was editor in chief of the first 36 issues, that's May 2010 to May 2013. In addition, you can find a number of my In Toronto stories and features using the Portfolio buttons or menu above.
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Ultimate Pride Guide/Pink Triangle Press
Editor, 1997-2009 While I was at Xtra, my responsibilities included the Ultimate Pride Guide, an attractive and comprehensive listings digest. From 2003 to 2009 I commissioned a series of cover illustrations from an amazing string of artists: Maurice Vellekoop, Daryl Vocat, Stephanie Power, Ian Phillips, John Webster, Jillian Tamaki and J Bone. |
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Go Big: Life and Style/Pink Triangle Press
Editor in chief, 2000-2001
I created this national magazine for Xtra's publisher, Pink Triangle Press. The beautifully-designed, oversized photo-based magazine had a brief but glorious existence in 2000 and 2001 (here are the three covers). While still editing the arts and entertainment section of Xtra, I spearheaded the creation and delivery of Go Big, from concept and editorial content to photo assignments and art direction. The first issue alone included profiles of a convicted murderer in Vancouver, the gay mayor of Winnipeg, twin fashion designers in Milan, a 100-year-old lesbian activist in Detroit, and comedian Mary Walsh discussing satire surrounded by men in vintage underwear. The magazine was something special. Still considered the most widely distributed LGBTQ2S+ publication in Canada.
Editor in chief, 2000-2001
I created this national magazine for Xtra's publisher, Pink Triangle Press. The beautifully-designed, oversized photo-based magazine had a brief but glorious existence in 2000 and 2001 (here are the three covers). While still editing the arts and entertainment section of Xtra, I spearheaded the creation and delivery of Go Big, from concept and editorial content to photo assignments and art direction. The first issue alone included profiles of a convicted murderer in Vancouver, the gay mayor of Winnipeg, twin fashion designers in Milan, a 100-year-old lesbian activist in Detroit, and comedian Mary Walsh discussing satire surrounded by men in vintage underwear. The magazine was something special. Still considered the most widely distributed LGBTQ2S+ publication in Canada.
Freelance writer and commentator
As a freelancer writer, my work has appeared in numerous publications including The Philanthropist, EnRoute, Bold, Canada's Best 100, Fashion, Block, Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail's Report on Business Magazine, The Grid, Azure, Zoomer, B Insider, Ferrari’s Guides and Out. My on-camera interviews regularly appeared on Daily Xtra. In 2018, I debuted my first play The Ding Dong Girls, a musical with songs by Tony-winner Lisa Lambert, co-written with Dora-winner Christopher Richards. Bookwork includes contributing an essay to Queers Were Here, an anthology published by Biblioasis in 2016. I am currently working on my debut novel, generously supported by the Toronto Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.