I have a difficult Darkfaery update to share.
I am not going to be able to finish the October print issue of Darkfaery Subculture Magazine.
My macular degeneration has progressed much further than I expected it to, and I am struggling considerably more with my vision than I was even back in May. It is hereditary and has affected both of my parents as well, so this is something I have known was possible. I just did not expect it to make this part of my work inaccessible quite this quickly.
Ironically, my peripheral vision is excellent. Unfortunately, magazine layout does not give a damn about peripheral vision.
The October issue is already about 55% complete, which makes this especially hard.
I have spent a lot of time looking for another way to finish it. What I need is software that would allow me to create professional, magazine-quality PDFs primarily through text commands or dictation. I have not found anything I can afford that gives me enough control over typography, image placement, page composition, and print production without requiring hours of detailed visual work.
And I do not want to put out a lesser version of Darkfaery just so I can say there is still a print edition.
So everything intended for the October issue will be moving to the Darkfaery websites instead.
The websites are staying.
Darkfaery is staying.
I can still write. I can still edit. I can still interview artists. I can still publish music, art, photography, films, books, strange little projects, monsters, beautiful weirdos, and all the things this community was built to celebrate.
I can use text-to-speech. I can dictate. I can use accessibility tools to read things to me and help me publish online. The digital side of Darkfaery is something I can continue building, and that is where I am putting my energy now.
I am sad about the print magazine. Very sad, actually.
I loved the idea of making something physical again. Something you could hold in your hands. Something that felt like the strange little magazines and zines that helped people like us find each other before algorithms decided what culture was supposed to look like.
There is one possibility I am leaving open.
Darkfaery has been a community-driven project for creators since 1985. If I can find a volunteer layout or print-production person who understands what this publication is and wants to help keep the physical magazine alive, the Spring 2027 print issue could still happen.
There is no paid position behind that. There is no corporate magazine budget hiding somewhere. It would be someone joining a community project, receiving full credit for their work, while I remain responsible for the editorial direction and Darkfaery itself.
I am not handing Darkfaery away. I may just need another pair of hands for the part my eyes are making increasingly difficult.
For now, all of the work already submitted is still going to be seen.
Darkfaery was never really the paper.
It was the people on the pages.
Those people are still here.
So am I.
We are just going to build the next version a little differently.