The World's Most Beautiful Stories, Written by Hand.
For people who believe beautiful writing, thoughtful craftsmanship, and timeless creativity still matter.
From doodles to mastery — this issue traces how Suzanne Cunningham found her way to the pen. Read her story, free →
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Beautiful writing deserves more than admiration. It deserves recognition as fine art. Every issue of Calligraphy Chronicles celebrates the artists, ideas, and craftsmanship making that case.
Inside This Issue
Eight stories that ask what calligraphy could be, if we stopped calling it a craft.
The Pen Before the Pen
The Art & Alchemy of Anne Davnes Elser
The Beautiful Precision of Suzanne Cunningham
The Woman History Almost Forgot
The Books Calligraphers Keep Stealing From Each Other
The Remarkable Renée Alexander
The Penman's Path
Books of Remembrance
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A Letter Is Never Just a Letter
I'm beginning to suspect that calligraphy has very little to do with beautiful writing.
I know. Slightly inconvenient thing for the editor of a calligraphy magazine to say.
But the deeper we get into Calligraphy Chronicles, the more obvious it becomes.
A letter can be history. Rebellion. Mathematics. Muscle memory. A record of a life. A way of slowing down long enough to actually notice something.
And sometimes, yes, it can simply be breathtakingly beautiful.
That's what I love about putting this magazine together.
For Issue 2, we went looking again for the people, stories, techniques and wonderfully nerdy gopher holes that make this world so much bigger than nib + ink + paper.
You'll meet extraordinary artists including Anne Davnes Elser, Suzanne Cunningham, Renée Alexander and Michael Sull. We talk books with Barry Morentz. We sharpen quills. We wander into history. And we begin a story about the Books of Remembrance that reminds us just how much weight handwritten letters can carry.
Somewhere along the way, I hope you find something that makes you stop.
Something that makes you want to pick up a pen.
Or buy another book.
Or spend 45 minutes researching something you absolutely did not need to know until five minutes ago.
That, I think, is what Calligraphy Chronicles is becoming.
Not simply a magazine about how to make letters.
A magazine about why letters matter.
And the remarkable people who keep making them.
Welcome to Issue 2.
Jill Burk
Editor, Calligraphy Chronicles
Before the magazine, there were the conversations.
Every week, a new voice from the world of calligraphy and lettering — the conversations that started it all.
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This is the kind of value that makes you do a double take. Four issues a year, each one built entirely around one idea: your handwriting deserves to be taken seriously.
Become a Subscriber »Frequently Asked Questions
What is Calligraphy Chronicles?
Calligraphy Chronicles is a quarterly magazine and weekly podcast that treats calligraphy and lettering as fine art, featuring profiles, ideas, and the artists redefining what lettering can be.
When does the next issue come out?
Issue No. 2 arrives this week. New issues follow every quarter after that.
What do I get as a subscriber?
Four issues a year, delivered digitally the moment each one is released.
Is Calligraphy Chronicles connected to the Flourish Festival of Letters & Art?
Yes. Calligraphy Chronicles is part of Flourish Creative Group, the team behind the Flourish Festival of Letters & Art, Calligraphy Classes, and the Flourish Emerging Artists & Calligraphers Society.
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