ESSENCE is doing it bigger than ever as we gear up to celebrate 50 years in 2020 and we’re kicking things off with an eye-catching redesign of the magazine you’ve loved for nearly five decades!
Beginning with our September Global Fashion issue, which features tennis superstar, activist, entrepreneur, fashion designer and mother Serena Williams as our gorgeous cover girl, we’ll be reinforcing the ESSENCE mission to serve Black women deeply. Our ESSENCE audience can look forward to an enriched consumption and engagement experience for readers, including a slate of immersive new content and digital integration that more expansively chronicle the depth and breadth of Black women and their influence on culture globally.
Also for the first time as of September, ESSENCE magazine will be more widely available internationally—including throughout London and the Caribbean, as well as South Africa, Nigeria, Jamaica, Turks & Caicos, Brazil, Bermuda and Germany.
The redesigned magazine will also feature interactive pages that translate across digital platforms, extending the magazine’s exclusive cover stories and in-depth features to ESSENCE podcasts and video series for bonus content and experiences.”
– MoAna Luu, ESSENCE Chief Content and Creative Officer
With the debut of an innovative and artistic aesthetic, compelling international perspectives and expanded original content in the September issue, ESSENCE is previewing an expanded issue format, which will offer up to 80 additional pages of content per issue. Beginning with the January/February 2020 issue, the planned new format for the magazine will be an enhanced double-issue that will be distributed six times per year. In addition, ESSENCE will produce four special-edition/collectible newsstand-only book-a-zines throughout the year beginning in 2020.
“As we approach our 50th anniversary as a brand, we are grateful that ESSENCE continues to thrive in a class of its own – by tenure, by focus, and by impact,” said Michelle Ebanks, CEO of Essence Communications. “ESSENCE stands the test of time because we have always responded to the diverse and evolving needs of the community of Black women we serve with the urgency, quality and understanding they deserve, and that remains our focus in everything we do – to test, learn and grow with the community that grows with us.”
ESSENCE Chief Content and Creative Officer MoAna Luu added, “ESSENCE’s transition to six collectible double issues and four book-a-zines per year will enable the brand to deepen its content offerings not only in the magazine, but across our digital and social platforms and our live events. The redesigned magazine will also feature interactive pages that translate across digital platforms, extending the magazine’s exclusive cover stories and in-depth features to ESSENCE podcasts and video series for bonus content and experiences.”
Newsstand pricing will be slated at $7.99 for the remainder of 2019 and $9.99 starting in 2020 for the enhanced double issues. The new magazine format will feature more pages of original editorial content per issue, accommodating a broad expansion of some of the magazine’s most popular features and reporting in the areas of Fashion, Beauty, Health & Wellness, Culture, Politics, Wealth, Travel, Food and more.
Get a first look at the all-new ESSENCE magazine via our September Global Fashion Issue, on newsstands now!