Town's 'good news' magazine to stop publication

A woman with short brown hair and brown eyes. She is smiling widely at the camera and is wearing a black and white shirt in an animal print style.Image source, Kate Bradbrook/BBC
Image caption,

Laura Graham said it was important to have gathered the material for "future generations to look back on"

  • Published

A bi-annual magazine celebrating the good news in a town is set to stop publication after its next issue in October.

The Happy Hood launched as a quarterly publication in 2018 in Northampton and later received funding from the then borough council and the National Lottery.

Laura Graham, the magazine's founder and editor, said the brand would continue along with its monthly walking group.

In a post on social media, external she said: "Costs are rising, people can't volunteer like they used to, and people aren't buying it in the numbers they used to."

A blue magazine called The Happy Hood being held up. The front cover features various drawings including a train, a man made of sweets and a stawberry.Image source, The Happy Hood
Image caption,

The magazine is published twice per year and sold around Northampton

Ms Graham added "funding is really difficult to get hold of" with the magazine mainly running without any grants since 2023.

Since launching, more than 350 people had made voluntary contributions to the publication which is sold in shops, bars and cafes in Northampton.

Earlier this year it marked its seventh birthday and 26th edition with an event in the town.

In her social media post Ms Graham said the decision to stop publication was "difficult".

But she said: "What we've done is revolutionary, and unheard of, and we've done something really cool.

"Who knows what we might do in the future."

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