Samir Husni, aka “Mr. Magazine,” is known as the leading magazine expert in this country. Born in Tripoli, Lebanon, Dr. Husni’s passion for magazines developed at the age of seven when he was given his first Superman comic book. Unlike his friends, who fell in love with the characters and plots of these graphic and visual communication mediums, Dr. Husni’s attraction was to the ink and paper and how they came together. This attraction grew into a hobby that has become his lifelong career.

As the leading magazine industry consultant and professor of journalism at the University of Mississippi, Samir Husni tracks just about every consumer magazine published in this country, both new and old, each month. He sifts through all these various publications to offer his recommendations and comments on what’s new, what’s hot, and The 30 Most Notable Launches within a twelve-month period. Dr. Husni is also the author of the annual Samir Husni’s Guide to New Consumer Magazines, which is now in its twentieth year. He is also the author of Launch Your Own Magazine: A Guide for Succeeding in Today's Marketplace and Selling Content: The Step-by-Step Art of Packaging Your Own Magazine.

Mr. Magazine’s passion for magazines does not end with publishing books about launching your own magazine, or teaching journalism; he is the president and CEO of Magazine Consulting & Research, a firm specializing in new magazine launches, repositioning of established magazines, and packaging publications for better sales and presentations. When asked about Spirit: A Magazine Designed for the Diverse Woman (after seeing our first four issues) Samir Husni said, “I love the idea; you have high quality paper, and you definitely have the content to be successful in the magazine industry.” He also added that design can sell your product once, but it is the content that will bring the people back.  “You can do miracles if you put your mind to it,” he said.

Dr. Husni’s success is a guide to all who wish to change their hobby into a lifelong successful career. Although at the beginning Dr. Husni’s passion was only seen as a childhood phase, his devotion, obsession, and love for magazines has earned him the distinction of being recognized as the leading magazine guru of our time. Samir found out that he had a gift, embraced it, and grew with it; he did not just say, “Oh, its something that’s going to pass.” This is what has carried him to where he is now. He worked with the talent he was given, and is using it to educate and help others.  Join me on a journey into the mind of a man who has proven that childhood hobbies and dreams can lead to extraordinary success.

Spirit: What created your passion for magazines?

Samir: I don’t know exactly how it happened but it was a childhood hobby. I got the first issue of Superman as a young child and I was hooked. All my friends were hooked on the storyline, and talking about this guy coming from outer space, and for some weird reason I was hooked on the ink on the paper and the smell of the ink on the paper, and I developed that connection that no matter what I was doing—even the games I was playing—it had to do with something with ink on paper. It was quite a fascination that became, as my wife would like to call it, an obsession. But, my hobby changed into my education, and then my education changed into my profession. So, when your hobby, education, and profession are the same you can’t ask for anything more.