PSFK Good Ideas Salon London Speaker Justin Quirk

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January 12, 2009

Justin Quirk, Associate Editor of FHM, will be on our Good Ideas From London panel at the PSFK Good Ideas Salon London. Along with Matt Brown of Londonist, Taryn Ross of Urban Junkies, Paul Andrew Williams of Steel Mill Pictures, and moderator Matt Hardisty of AnalogFolk the panel will touch upon what aspects of London are exciting them right now.

First, who are you and what do you do?

I am the associate editor of FHM and Arena magazines, a contributing editor to Q, and a contributing writer to The Guardian Guide and Guardian Online. I’m 32, from London and still live here. I started writing when I was 19 for the Guardian, and moved through Sleazenation, i-D, Dazed & Confused, Kerrang, The Independent and The Sunday Telegraph in various writing roles. I was heavily involved in the Shoreditch Twat fanzine in its print and TV incarnations. I also worked for Universal Music Group during the first dot com boom helping them set up online magazines. I generally write about all kinds of non-celebrity culture from the very lowbrow (puppets, ignorant hip hop) to the highbrow (Victorian literature, fashion etc). My main area of interest is how the ‘wider world’ (politics, news, demographics etc) impacts on and shapes pop culture. I was awarded EMAP’s writer of the year award in 2004 and 2006, and was shortlisted for The Press Gazette’s writer of the year award in 2008.

You’ll be sharing your ideas on our “Good Ideas From London” panel. In one paragraph, can you explain what themes and ideas you hope to touch upon during the discussion?

How we can take the hard learned lessons from niche creative industries and the avant garde and apply them to popular mainstream products. This is what I’ve been doing for the last year with FHM’s relaunch. In short, the lesson is ‘dumb everything UP’. Dress it up in the right way and readers will take on an inspiringly wide range of material.

Five links to sites that provide you with inspiration: