From its debut in 1995 as a 32-page quarterly magazine to its zenith ten years later as a 180-page bimonthly, No Depression magazine grew from humble beginnings. It became the most prominent publication covering American roots music, starting from the point where country combined with rock 'n' roll and tracing the common bonds through genres that include bluegrass, folk, blues, gospel, soul, jazz, indie, Cajun, conjunto, and beyond. Along the way, No Depression grew to be acknowledged as one of the finest music magazines ever published, often compared to the 1960s origins of Rolling Stone or the 1970s heyday of Creem, receiving awards from the Utne Reader, ASCAP, and the International Country Music Conference, and cited by the Chicago Tribune in 2004 as one of the nation's Top 20 magazines in any category.
In early 2008, No Depression announced that its May-June issue, ND #75, would be its finale as a bimonthly magazine. To ward off the disappearance of No Depression in print, the University of Texas Press stepped into the vacuum, arranging for a new semiannual ND "bookazine" to be published each fall and spring. The first installment—to be called No Depression #76, reflecting continuity with the magazine's history—will be issued this fall and will carry on the publication's tradition of outstanding long-form writing about major and influential American roots musicians, along with quality photographs and other elements all presented via the graphic design imprint of ND art director Grant Alden. This book/magazine hybrid is essentially groundbreaking territory in both of those publishing worlds.
Sharing the editorial vision for the bookazine will be Alden and Peter Blackstock, co-founders of No Depression and its co-editors from the beginning. Many of the senior editors and contributing editors who helped shape the voice and tone of the magazine will contribute to the bookazine, which will feature entirely new content in every issue: Unlike ND's previous project with UT Press (2005's The Best Of No Depression: Writing about American Music), these will not be anthologies of previously published works, but rather entirely fresh creations every six months. If you loved No Depression magazine, this is where it lives on, in print.
GRANT ALDEN was a cofounder of No Depression in 1995 in Seattle, Washington, and has been one of its editors ever since.
PETER BLACKSTOCK was a cofounder of No Depression in 1995 in Seattle, Washington, and has been one of its editors ever since.
