‘The enduring value of good writing’

Isabel Davies Jones for Preloved Magazine

‘The enduring value of good writing’

‘Slightly Foxed is a beautifully produced quarterly magazine for booklovers, founded in 2004 by former John Murray editors Gail Pirkis and Hazel Wood. Its title comes from the term used in antiquarian bookselling for the brown spotting that sometimes appears on the pages of old books. And that in turn mirrors the Slightly Foxed ethos, which celebrates the enduring value of good writing, regardless of age, popularity or any metaphorical ‘foxing’.

 

In each instalment of the magazine, contributors are given the opportunity to wax lyrical about books – fiction or non-fiction – that have left a lasting impression on them, and to do so in sparkling prose.

 

What started as a quarterly has grown into much more besides: a publisher of reissued memoirs and classic children’s books; a renowned literary podcast; and a community of like-minded individuals around the world who appreciate books of lasting value.

How does the change of seasons impact your creative process?

Subscribers often say that it truly feels like the start of a new season when their issue of Slightly Foxed drops through the letterbox. Each issue creates a harmonious blend of articles to evoke the feel of a season, and the image on each cover has a strong seasonal feel – the latest Spring issue boasts a bunch of glorious wild daffodils, painted by Jane Wormell.

 

The seasonal inspiration runs deeper than the magazine itself. Recently, Slightly Foxed published the final volume in its ‘Countryman’s Quartet’ by writer-cum-farmer Adrian Bell. Each book provides a portrait of a single season, with poetic reflections on rural life in Suffolk during the post-war period. Expertly compiled by Richard Hawking from Bell’s weekly column in the Eastern Daily Press, every page offers a treat for the senses. Available in a handsome boxed set, these books are set to accompany the reader through the year.

How do you balance mindfulness with creativity?

Slightly Foxed focuses on intentional selection, both in terms of the publications themselves and the quality of their production. Its publications are manufactured by Yorkshire-based printers Smith Settle using traditional printing and binding methods. Their craftsmanship elevates the reading experience: each publication has a tactile quality and an understated aesthetic that encourage readers to engage with the material thoughtfully – taking time to appreciate both content and form. From the clothbound books to the quarterly, everything Slightly Foxed produces is intended to be kept and cherished.

How do books play a key importance daily?

In the fast-paced, technology-driven world of today, incorporating books as part of an enriching lifestyle is essential. Books – Slightly Foxed or otherwise – invite us to slow down.

 

There is an additional remedial aspect to the sort of writing Slightly Foxed favours. Titles are chosen for their charm, warmth and wit, and the articles selected are steeped in the ever-important personal connection readers have with books. As one subscriber wrote, Slightly Foxed ‘will remind you of what it really means to be a reader: to be endlessly intrigued and delighted by what we can learn from books, and how they can both challenge and console us’.

 

It’s a testament to the prioritization of good writing that, over 20 years later, Slightly Foxed is still marching on independently, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, championing the same ethos of quality over quantity with which it began with.’

Words by Slightly Foxed’s Isabel Davies Jones for Preloved magazine.

Comments & Reviews

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


  1. Sally Candlinl says:

    A very interesting and well written article on the importance or reading books of all ages

Sign up to our e-newsletter

Sign up for dispatches about new issues, books and podcast episodes, highlights from the archive, events, special offers and giveaways.