About Maisonneuve

What is Maisonneuve?

Maisonneuve has been described as a new New Yorker for a younger generation, or as Harper's meets Vice, or as Vanity Fair without the vanity—but Maisonneuve is its own creature. Maisonneuve's purpose is to keep its readers informed, alert, and entertained, and to dissolve artistic borders between regions, countries, languages and genres. It does this by providing a diverse range of commentary across the arts, sciences, daily and social life. The magazine has a balanced perspective, and "brings the news" in a wide variety of ways. At its core, Maisonneuve asks questions about our lives and provides answers free of cant and cool.

Who reads Maisonneuve?

Open-minded, inquisitive, quality-seeking people. Most of our readers live in urban areas, have a university degree (or more than one), and range in age from 25-50 years old. Maisonneuve readers exert a significant influence on the cultural views and consumer choices of people around them.

History

The magazine was established in 2002 as a non-profit association by founding editor Derek Webster. Webster saw a need for an intelligent, stylish, unpretentious magazine based in Montreal, something that merged the artistry of the literary quarterly with the social eye of a political journal and the humour and eye-catching visuals often found in men's and fashion magazines.

Maisonneuve started out in an elegant, cold-water walk-up on Sherbrooke Street West. The first issue was received surprisingly well, with both local and national media covering its launch and many newsstands selling out the limited distribution. Critics pronounced Maisonneuve a necessary and exciting publication, our events became hot tickets attended by thousands, and this website grew into a vibrant hub of activity.

The magazine has since won numerous awards, most notably Magazine of the Year—the prestigious President's Medal—at the National Magazine Awards gala in Toronto in June 2005. Maisonneuve now publishes out of the beautiful Montreal neighbourhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.

What's in a name?

Maisonneuve literally means "new house" and suggests the spirit of collective enterprise the magazine gathers under one roof. The magazine takes its name from Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve, the man who founded Montreal in 1642. A teenage soldier who experienced something of a religious conversion in his twenties, de Maisonneuve came from Champagne, where his last remains can be found today. The Letter from the Editor in our first issue (available as a back issue or electronic .pdf file) has more on the man, the name, names rejected in favour of Maisonneuve, and the magazine's intentions.

ISSUE 34

Winter 2009

ON NEWSSTANDS

• A More Perfect Union

  by LES HORSWILL

  The border between Canada and the United States pits two great countries against each other. Les Horswill makes the case for a greater North American federation.

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• The Happiness Project

  by SHAUN PETT

  Endless economic growth hasn’t made us happier, so why do governments still tie well-being to wealth? Presenting a new, made-in-Canada benchmark for progress.

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• My Choice

  by A.M. HINTON

  For A.M. Hinton, abortion was simply another issue to debate over drinks. Then she became pregnant.

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• Generation Geek

  by JOHN SEMLEY

  At a time when comic book culture has never been more mainstream -- or more lucrative -- where’s the line between wannabe and true believer?

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• The Not-Quite Novel

  by NATHAN WHITLOCK

  In their scramble to find the next breakthrough book, publishers are marketing awkward hybrids that are neither literary enough to last nor commercial enough to entertain.

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• The Fox

  by KASIA JUNO VAN SCHAIK

  The prize-winning story from last year’s Quebec Writing Competition

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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

• Soldier's Heart

  by JOEL ELLIOTT

  You’ve returned from a traumatizing tour of duty, suicidal and haunted by images you can’t forget. Why won’t the military help?

• Flappers

  by CHRISTOPHER MILLER

  Cute, skinny and scantily clad, flappers gave the rough-and-tumble funnies a much-needed sexual charge.

• Kill Them All

  by STEPHEN O'SHEA

  Eight hundred years ago, crusaders slaughtered twenty thousand people in Languedoc, France. Today, fascination with the massacre has turned the region into a tourist trap.

• Old Gays

  by JEAN-YVES GIRARD

  The generation that launched the queer-rights movement is entering its golden years. Some are still in no hurry to step out of the closet. Translated by Valerie Howes.

• Four Seasons

  by SUSAN BRISCOE

  Four poems