Canada’s History magazine (formally The Beaver) is having another record-breaking year at the newsstand in 2015!

“We ended the 2014 year with two record breaking issues, for both our Oct/Nov 2014 (The World Wars) issue and the Dec/Jan 2015 issue (Last Spike). The momentum has carried over into 2015, with three more record-breaking covers in 2015,” says Melony Ward, publisher.

“Interestingly, all three record breakers this year feature illustrated covers,” says consultant Scott Bullock. A tip of the cap to editor Mark Reid, art director James Gillespie, Ron Sellwood and the CTC team.

• The Feb/Mar 2015 issue (Cook) set a new sales record for this time slot, with sales up 69% from prior year’s issue.
• The Jun/Jul 2015 issue (Northwest) set a new sales record for this time slot, with sales up 41% from prior year’s issue.
• The Aug/Sep 2015 split cover issue (Squid/New France) will set  new sales record for this time slot, with sales up 67% from prior year’s issue.
• The Dec/Jan 2015 issue (Last Spike) set a new all time best sales record, with sales up 35% from prior year’s issue.
• The Oct/Nov 2015 issue (The World Wars) set a new sales record for this time slot with sales up 65% from prior year’s issue.

Sports Illustrated‘s December 21, 2015 issue names Serena Williams the Sportsperson of the Year.

She is the first solo female athlete to be given this award in 32 years.  Runner Mary Drecker won it in 1983.  In 1999 the U.S. Womens Soccer Team was chosen. Sharing the honour with other athletes happened in 1984 Mary Lou Retton (gymnast)  and in 1994 Bonnie Blair (speed skater).

In the past the award was called the Sportsman or Sportswomen of the Year.

In an On-line Readers Poll by Sports Illustrated the result was different.   Triple Crown winning horse American Pharaoh was chosen as the winner!  No animal has ever won the award.

Managing Editor Chris Stone is quoted as saying the cover shot photo concept was Serena’s idea, intended to express her idea of femininity, strength, and power.

The December 14, 2015 issue of Maclean’s is one to watch.  This “Special Collectors Issue” is both a serious, yet fun, read.

The cover is an interesting mash-up of people from all over the planet.

The bold red banner (almost like a belly-band) across the cover works overtime.  It’s bold and and aggressive, and tells us exactly what they are selling. Look for sales to spike.

Which issues of the RollingStone sold the best in Canada in the first half of 2015?

Below are the three best sellers, along with the worst seller. Take you best guess then check the answers at the bottom of the page.

No Peeking.

Hint:  One of these was on sale for four weeks


2015-02 (On Sale Dec 8th, 2014)

2015-22 (On Sale May 11th,2015)

2015-24 (On Sale May 25th, 2015)

2015-30 (On Sale Jun 22nd, 2015)


Results Below:

And the Results:

    1. 2015-02 Seth Rogan:  Sold 13,688 at a 50% sell-thru (On sale 4 weeks helped)
    2. 2015-30 Rush:  Sold 8,345 at a 34% sell-thru  (Our Boys)
    3. 2015-22 David Letterman:  Sold 5,986 at a 28% sell-thru  (Legend Retires)
    4. 2015-24 Greatful Dead:  Sold 2,836 at a 13% sell-thru  (Way too Groovey)

Time Magazine has chosen Angela Merkel as their Person of the Year cover for 2015.

Also included below are the Person Of the Year covers from 2000 to 2014.


The Short List under consideration was:

1. Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, who as leader of ISIS has inspired followers to both fight in his self-declared caliphate of Iraq and Syria, and also stage attacks in countries like Tunisia and France.
2. Black Lives Matter activists, who have protested inequality towards African Americans, especially in their treatment by law enforcement.
3. Caitlyn Jenner, whose coming out as a transgender woman prompted widespread conversations about gender identity and issues of equality for the LGBT community.
4. Travis Kalanick, who as CEO of Uber drove his car-hailing company to a nearly $70 billion valuation, but also drew criticism about the downside of the sharing economy.
5. Angela Merkel, who as German chancellor has been at the center of major news events this year, from economic strife in the Eurozone to Europe’s ongoing migrant crisis.
6. Vladimir Putin, who as president of Russia has defied Western sanctions over his country’s military activity in Ukraine to play a critical but precarious role in the war on ISIS.
7. Hassan Rouhani, who as president of Iran is seeking to bring his country out of pariah status and repair its sanctions-crippled economy by pursuing a nuclear deal with the West.
8. Donald Trump, whose populist rhetoric has made him frontrunner in the race for the Republican presidential candidacy and stirred debate about the party’s future.