Longtime friends and former rivals have come together for the good of the magic community. As most of you know, Stan Allen has decided that after 25 years, it is time to close the doors of MAGIC MAGAZINE. There will be one final issue, dated September 2016 and arriving in mailboxes around November 15th. Since the “MAGIC Legacy” program has also been cancelled MAGIC Magazine subscription refunds need to be dealt with. This is where Richard Kaufman and Randy Pitchford of GENII MAGAZINE come in.

Today subscribers found out that subscribers to MAGIC with issues due on their subscriptions will have the choice of either getting a refund or rolling their MAGIC subscription over into Genii. To sweeten the deal, Editor Richard Kaufman and Publisher Randy Pitchford are offering three free additional issues of Genii as a way of saying welcome.

For MAGIC subscribers who choose this option and do not already have a GENII subscription, the first issue of Genii will be the January 2017 edition, which is the first issue of GENII’s 80th year of publication. Current subscribers to Genii, will recieve an equal number of issues added to their current subscription PLUS they will receive the additional 3 issues.

Publisher Randy Pitchford said that he was sad to lose a fine competitor like MAGIC MAGAZINE. As he considered how to respond he said that he only had to consider what GENII Founder Wiliam Larsen would have done. He recognized that refunds for Stan Allen would have been a logistical nightmare for Stan. He concluded that Bill Larsen would have done whatever he could to help ease the burden of his friend. This of course is a win for Genii Magazine, a win for Stan Allen and a win for MAGIC MAGAZINE subscribers.

Note that all Genii subscribers who pay for a paper subscription get a digital subscription free, and it’s not just a pdf download, but a genuine robust digital magazine with audio and video embedded in it. As Genii subscribers know, subscribers have free online access to all 79 volumes of Genii going back to 1936. Every page, story, profile and even ad is available. Sometime in early 2017 GENII will be adding the entire archive of MAGIC magazine (all 301 issues) to their online service. Therefore, subscribers to Genii will be able to view every issue of Genii and every issue of MAGIC online at no additional charge it all comes with the subscription.

Of course, Stan is already planning the next MAGIC Live in 2017.