After a
months-long search, LPI Media Inc. announced today that
it has named Aaron Hicklin the new editor in chief
of Out magazine. Hicklin, presently the editor
in chief of BlackBook magazine, will start
April 24.
"With his stellar track record, we are excited
that Aaron is stepping into this position to lead the
team at Out," Joe Landry, publisher and vice
president of the magazine, said in a statement. "Aaron
will play a key role in the continued success of Out
and capturing the next generation of readers."
At the New York City-based
fashion-and-culture magazine BlackBook, which
he's edited since 2003, Hicklin has worked with a range of
cultural luminaries, from punk pioneer Richard Hell to
rock stars Michael Stipe and Bono to writers and
artists such as Joan Didion, Michael Cunningham, and
Matthew Barney. Previously Hicklin helped launch the men's
magazine Gear in 1998, serving as senior editor
and then executive editor. He began his career in hard
news as features editor of Scotland on Sunday, where he was on a team that won an
award for its special coverage of the 9/11 attacks.
"The gay community has always been at the
forefront of defining pop culture and fashion, and
never more so than today," Hicklin said in a
statement. "While magazines like Details are
gay only when it suits them, we are unequivocally gay and forward-looking."
He added, "The magazine will not be afraid to
push buttons, to be provocative and counterintuitive
when it seems right and necessary. Sometimes that
might upset people, but I think the readership is ready
and eager for a real debate about what it means to be gay in
the new millennium."
Out magazine is the nation's highest-profile
general interest gay magazine. LPI Media also owns The
Advocate as well as The Out Traveler, HIV Plus magazine, and Alyson Books. (The Advocate)