words by Heidi Kewin, editor-in-chief
writing from York, England
When considering the theme for our Spring 2026 issue, it was clear that we needed to turn to the natural world. To exist in our world is to be in constant exchange with nature—something I felt most clearly when Vincent and I first met, spending most of our time in the outdoors, whether that was in England or Germany. The roots of this magazine took hold in a holiday home, alongside the fields and forests of his native Erzgebirge. This holds incredible value to us, reminding us of where and how this work began: with the help of our beautiful planet.
This magazine in your hands is printed with FSC-certified paper, produced by responsible printers, and shipped in recyclable packaging. We remain attentive to the material traces this magazine leaves behind. These decisions are small but intentional — an extension of the same care that shaped our beginnings. Perhaps small contributions are already part of your everyday life; they do not need to be grand to matter. It is what you choose to support, what you return to, what you repeat, and what your heart yearns for. As you read these pages, you are invited to witness how the landscapes and ecosystems of our world have rippled the lives of many, shaping the literature we read. Franz Kafka was a staunch vegetarian, Flannery O’Connor had a magnificent desire to tend to birds, and Jamaica Kincaid used nature as a door to decolonial futures. These writers remind us that nature is not merely a setting for a novel, poem, or story, but an interlocutor. In each case, the natural world is alive, deeply entangled with creative life.
The wonderful author Ursula K. Le Guin believed that compassion towards our planet is innate - something we are born with - yet it must be protected, practised, and re-awakened. Our responsibility to look after our world is unavoidable, our impact inevitable, and our attention a choice. Nature is both grand and small, and so are we. Our footsteps, consumption, and individual worlds all leave traces, shaping the world as it in turn shapes us. The wilderness is often imagined as a place beyond us, but really, it is inseparable from us.
Kindness towards our planet is practised in often small, invisible ways. What do we choose to notice? What do we choose to touch? Our world cannot speak for itself, and so these pages are an invitation for you to immerse yourself within it.
You can purchase the Wilderness issue as a single copy or by subscribing. We are truly grateful for all the support we have received from this issue alone.