The deal means the two companies will share editorial expertise along with the costs of production and staff. Both brands are working on breaking into live events and are helping each other to reach the right audiences.
Founded by Simon Brew in 2018 after he left Den of Geek, Film Stories started life as a weekly podcast before expanding into a magazine, website and live events.
Film Stories celebrates the movies, zeroing in on the smaller rooms in the multiplex and the bigger screens at independents. Film Junior is written for, and mostly by, children up to 15 years of age giving it a different voice and focus. Film Stories and Film Junior are both print magazines that are available to buy online or by subscription.
Launched in 2019, whynow is a digital publisher, podcast producer and production studio fuelled, it says, by a passion for British arts. whynow.co.uk features reviews of film, TV, exhibitions, art, music and everything in between with a particular focus on London and the UK.
The two companies share the same passion in wanting to get the stories of the creative industries into the world, particularly those of the lesser known or independent artists.
Simon Brew, Editor of Film Stories said: “I’m thrilled to be part of whynow, a lively and fresh name that expands on the universe of Film Stories by not just focusing on film, but all aspects of the creative world. By working with the team I’m hopeful we’ll be able to uncover more of those hidden gems of films from up and coming talent both in front of and behind the camera, and create more opportunities for budding film journalists to get their names in print.”
Gabriel Jagger, Founder of whynow said: “I’m a huge fan of the Film Stories brand with its values being so closely aligned to those of whynow it made sense to join forces. We champion the stories of up and coming creatives, and that’s exactly what Simon and the Film Stories team does, with a focus on homegrown talent.”
