Born in the Cafe Nero on Dawson Street, there’s a new magazine being passed around Trinity’s campus. Make no mistake however, Hearth Magazine is not a Trinity publication. I spoke to head Editor and Co-Managing Editor, Conor Ennis and Aisling McGorrian, to pull the curtains back on the independent magazine, whose full team also includes Elena Stack Martin, Priya Evans, Eoin Farrelly, and Charlotte McCulloch.
Hearth, Conor tells me, was an idea that had been in the back of his head for a while. He shares, “We were on holiday and in between a bit of wine, some cigarettes … I think we were in the middle of a deep chat, and I was like why don’t we just do this?” The magazine team had become friends while having the same break after a lecture. Aisling says, “we would make a little pilgrimage to cafe Nero on Dawson Street and sit down for hours and drink coffee and talk”.
Charlotte McCullcoch, the member of the team who focuses on art, tells me that friendship as the basis of the magazine is what makes it so special to her, saying “it makes the whole process not only so much more fun but also so fulfilling! I love how personal and intimate all the pieces are and knowing the writers behind them”. “We’re a bit like a band”, Conor tells me, “As much as I’m the head editor, I don’t think I’m anyone’s boss”.
Aisling and Conor reminisce about the beginnings of the magazine, telling me about the week they spent in Wexford ironing the paper out, complete with a daily schedule on a whiteboard courtesy of Conor. “We had this moment where, I think going into it we were all very nervous about showing pieces to each other” he says. “Writing can be so personal – it was between sharing it with each other, we were like oh I feel so much more comfortable. I don’t feel this nervousness that if something I do is bad, I’m bad. It’s just something I’ve done that isn’t the best. I think we allowed each other that space to be bad. I think that’s why we’re trying to extend that out now because we want other people to have that same experience”.
The first issue of Hearth, which the team refers to as “Issue Zero”, was focused on the theme of identity, with pieces ranging from short stories, to personal essays, to ponderings. The visual art is as equally compelling as the art, with shots of familiar scenes around campus as well as a vibrantly colorful cover, created by Naomi O’Dwyer depicting a home as inviting as the content of the magazine itself.
One of the reasons for the creation of the magazine is also what makes it special. When I ask Conor and Aisling about what sets Hearth apart from the numerous other magazines on Trinity’s campus, they reply simply that Hearth is not a Trinity publication. “The one thing about the other publications is that sometimes they feel a little limited,” Conor tells me, “they are fantastic for what they do, but sometimes they only do a couple of things. We want people to explore what they are interested in and allow them that space and give them that longer word count, it’s just more communication and more freedom”. This comes, he says, from the strong sense of community. “One of our hopes and goals with this is that people have that opportunity to have that relationship with us while working on a piece”, Aisling says, “We just want it to be really open, kind of for it to feel like you’re working with your friends”.
Elena Slack Martin, who describes her role as quite flexible with a focus on the art and photography of the magazine, said in a statement to UT, “We aim to cater for a more personal engagement with our readers and contributors, we’ve found a lot of the Trinity affiliated magazines maybe weren’t as engaged with the people submitting and we wanted to create a space where people were comfortable becoming vulnerable with the process of sharing work and receiving feedback”. She continues, saying that the team has been “ overwhelmed with the positive response that we’ve gotten so far”, referring to the magazine’s very first issue.
A key factor of the magazine is the printed element which Aisling tells me derives from the worry that print media is becoming a bit of a lost form. Going into college she says, she had aspirations of journalism. “I want to be the how to girl, the agony aunt” she says. “I think fun magazines are amazing and they are disappearing. I think what’s really great about Hearth is that in some ways it’s literary but we also have a lot of fun making it and reading it”.
Aisling goes on, “I think there’s just something very special about just being able to sit down and tune out the rest of the world. You can’t read something on your phone without getting notifications, even looking at the time. But when you have the physical thing in your hand, that is all you have to focus on, there’s nothing to take you out of it, you can just be in those pages for however long it takes”.
Co-managing Editor along with Aisling, is Priya Evans who tells UT, I think the most rewarding part of this process has been creating a collaborative space for people to establish their voices. We wanted to have an outlet for people to try new things, push boundaries and embrace the abstract. Having Naomi’s incredible cover art to stand alongside the written work is really important to us and we want to continue to expand the amount of visual art we include. The printed format allows us so much space to play with visuals alongside the words and the collaboration that inspires has been wonderful to be a part of. I can’t wait for the future of Hearth. I genuinely don’t think any of us ever truly knows quite what will happen next with it, which is so exciting”.
With such accomplishment comes the inevitable challenges. Conor tells me, “being students is hard”, explaining a lack of money has been an issue, especially as the magazine is independent and completely self-funded. “I love playing the game where somebody is like how many issues did you print?” Conor says, “And I say 60 and ask how much do you think that costs, have a guess. 300 euro. And that’s the cheapest one”.
Juggling life is also a challenge, the two report. “Sometimes I feel like if I’m awake, I’m thinking about the magazine”, Aisling says which she attributes to a lack of defined hours. She goes on, “but even the idea of setting work hours for it just seems ludicrous to me, because it is a personal passion project and it’s unfair to limit yourself when it comes to your passion”.
The future is bright for Hearth, as the team is looking forward to expanding the magazine and those involved. Reaching students outside of Trinity is a goal for the team, saying “we don’t want this to be limited to the campus”. Finding and creating sponsorships are also in the future for the magazine. Conor and Aisling tease an exciting development, telling me “Hopefully we will have a very big name writer attached to our magazine for an issue. That’s still being ironed out”.
Conor tells me, “I want a future where everyone on our team and everyone we talk to, can learn about layout and photography. Eventually, I want a world where there’s twenty people who are like swiss army knives when it comes to magazines”. He continues passionately, “this is kind of a big pipe dream for me, but I envision a future where everyone I know, in our course or whatever, everyone is in the fucking industry, this connection, you hear about in the past there were these movements of writers, I’m not saying that’s ever going to happen but you got to try and like push something in that direction and hope something happens. I just want to have some shit out there, some stuff that I’m proud of”.
Eoin Farrelly, Hearth’s Head of Layout, said in a comment to UT, “My favourite part of the journey so far is honestly the point we’re at now. Coming into our first open-submission issue it is so inspiring to see all the amazing written pieces and art works from so many people. It feels really special to provide a space where people can share their art. All I can say is there’s very exciting things ahead”.
I ask Conor and Aisling how people can get involved with Hearth, to which they reply “We take anything and everything, if people want to submit photography or art, we are so open to it”. Aisling tells me, “Our writer’s groups are a great way to engage, it’s a lovely way to meet the team, just drink coffee for two hours, write and chat”. Team member Elena, affirms this, telling me the magazine hopes to be a “a community of writers rather than just being a platform to submit to”.
She continues, “the best way is to think of us as your friends, like there is no need to worry about being very formal when contacting us, we are literally just a bunch of twenty somethings, we do not think we are the shit”.
Hearth’s Instagram is hearthmag and their email, where submissions can be sent, is contact.heathmagazine@gmail.com. Submissions recently closed on the next issue of the magazine, which will focus on the Grotesque.
With the team’s obvious passion, drive, and genuine love for the magazine, I think it’s more than safe to say Dubliners should get used to seeing Hearth around the city. The magazine and team are just getting started – and are here to stay
