Gal-Dem, the UK-based digital and print magazine for women and non-binary people of color, is set to close after eight years in circulation.
The editorial team behind Gal-Dem shared the news Friday afternoon with a public statement that said it was “unfortunately no longer feasible” for the publication to continue running as a business. Financial and structural difficulties exacerbated by the current global cost of living crisis were cited as the leading factors behind the decision.
“Keeping a small, independent media company that is reliant on partnerships afloat over the last three years has been increasingly challenging,” the statement read.
“Through a global pandemic, brand budget reductions, and economic downturn, we have worked tirelessly to reconfigure how we operate and keep Gal-Dem going through it all. And while we’re passionate about our membership model, it’s been difficult to sustain the level of growth needed here to support our work in the long term.”
The statement continued: “There have been so many wonderful, impactful moments that we can’t even begin to express our gratitude for. The support we have received since the very beginning has truly been overwhelming in the best way.”
News of the closure comes following a round of widescale redundancies and staff departures at the magazine earlier this month while editors closed pitches from external writers for the publication’s January and February editions.
As part of the closing announcement, Gal-Dem also shared a list of 17 independent UK-based media organizations for their readers to support as well as a public directory for their past contributors to share their work.
Gal-Dem was founded by journalist and writer Liv Little in 2015 and quickly attracted a mainstream following in the UK with the work it published, which highlighted topics that affected marginalized communities across the country. Little left the publication in 2020 and has since worked in factual production at the BBC.
At the start of its run, Gal-Dem published one print issue per year and produced widely read online content across topics ranging from politics and culture to first-person essays. In August 2018, the magazine guest-edited an issue of The Guardian’s weekend culture magazine. And in 2019, Gal-Dem released I Will Not Be Erased: Our Stories About Growing Up As People of Colour, an anthology book featuring essays from women and non-binary writers of color.
Figures from across the UK media industry paid tribute to the publication after the news was announced. Pat Younge, former BBC creative director, tweeted that the magazine “punched enormous holes in many glass ceilings and then helped others through to bigger and better things.”
Vice editor-in-chief Zing Tsjeng added: “Gutted to hear about gal-dem closing. I worked with their amazing team on our Open Secrets series and they are a hugely talented, committed bunch who deserved better.”
