Editorial
Stories worth keeping
Random Editorial is our home for books, magazines and stories created with curiosity, care and cultural awareness.
We publish work that helps people look more closely: at culture, identity, childhood, creativity, everyday life and the objects and ideas that shape us. Some stories become novels. Others become magazines, children’s books, visual essays, interviews or lasting editions.
Whatever the form, our starting point remains the same:
Is this worth making, sharing and keeping?
Our story began with Currant
In 2020, we started Currant, an independent magazine born from a desire to bring together style, substance and a thoughtful perspective on contemporary life.
What followed was an extraordinary editorial journey.
Currant gave us a place to explore fashion, beauty, design, culture, travel, family life and the city around us. It introduced us to inspiring people, remarkable stories and beautiful work. More importantly, it taught us what kind of editorial world we wanted to create.
A magazine is never only a collection of pages. It is a way of looking. A way of deciding what deserves attention and what might be worth remembering.
As we have evolved, so has that vision.
In 2026, we are retiring the Currant name. Not because we no longer believe in magazines, but because we believe more strongly than ever in what a magazine can be.
Its curiosity, discernment and love of storytelling continue within Random Editorial.
Our first titles
Random Editorial begins its next chapter in 2026 with two titles: Chinatown and A Love Letter To.
Together, they introduce the breadth of what Random Editorial will become.
One is a novel rooted in place, identity and cultural memory. The other is a magazine devoted to looking more closely at the people, places, objects and ideas that deserve our attention.
Different in form, they share the same belief: that stories can preserve what might otherwise be overlooked and help us understand both the world and one another more deeply.
Chinatown
Chinatown is Random Editorial’s first novel.
Rooted in Amsterdam’s Chinese community, the book explores identity, migration, family, memory and the lives built between cultures and generations.
At its heart are the people whose work, choices and sacrifices shaped a neighbourhood—and the descendants who return to those stories in search of greater understanding.
Chinatown reflects one of the central ambitions of Random Editorial: to preserve culturally meaningful stories while presenting them with emotional depth, literary care and a contemporary perspective.
It is a story about a place, but also about what it means to inherit a history that was not always spoken aloud.
Chinatown will be published by Random Editorial in 2026.
A Love Letter To
In place of Currant comes a new magazine: A Love Letter To.
A Love Letter To is a slower and more deliberate kind of publication. Rather than trying to capture everything that is new, it gives sustained attention to what is meaningful.
Each edition begins with something we believe deserves to be seen more closely: a place, a season, an object, a tradition, a craft, a person or an idea.
Through essays, interviews, photography, art and carefully selected recommendations, we create a portrait of the subject—and an invitation to appreciate it anew.
This is not a magazine built around endless consumption.
We live in a world already filled with more products, images and information than we could ever need. Our role is not to add to that volume without purpose. It is to edit carefully, create thoughtfully and select only what we believe truly matters.
A Love Letter To will celebrate beauty without encouraging excess, newness without abandoning timelessness, and objects not simply as things to acquire, but as carriers of memory, craftsmanship, culture and meaning.
It is a magazine to read slowly, return to and keep.
The first edition of A Love Letter To will be published in 2026.
What comes next
In 2027, the Random Editorial catalogue will continue to grow.
New titles will expand across three connected areas:
Lifestyle
Books and publications about how we live, what we value and the objects, rituals and ideas that enrich everyday life.
Our lifestyle titles will approach beauty, design, home, creativity and personal reflection with discernment rather than excess.
Children’s education
Beautiful and thoughtful books that help children learn about language, numbers, culture, history and the world around them.
We believe educational books can be intellectually generous, culturally aware and visually compelling at the same time.
Culture
Books that preserve stories, examine identity and bring underrepresented histories, communities and perspectives into view.
This will include literary work, cultural histories, oral storytelling, visual research and books inspired by Chinese culture and the wider diaspora.
Our catalogue will grow carefully. We are not interested in publishing for the sake of volume. Every new title should have a clear reason to exist and contribute something distinct to the larger Random world.
What we publish
Fiction and literary storytelling
We publish stories that explore identity, memory, family, place and the experiences that shape how we understand ourselves and one another.
Magazines and journals
Our magazines and journals explore the subjects that shape how we live, see and remember.
Rather than publishing for the sake of frequency, we create each edition around a clear idea and give it the time, attention and physical form it deserves.
Lifestyle books
Our lifestyle publishing examines beauty, design, creativity, rituals, objects and the choices that make everyday life more meaningful.
We curate carefully and favour lasting value over constant consumption.
Children’s publishing
We believe children deserve books that are visually beautiful, intellectually generous and culturally expansive.
Our children’s books are designed to help families raise thoughtful, curious and culturally aware children through stories, language, history, imagination and play.
Cultural stories
Not every story needs to become a conventional book.
Random Editorial also publishes interviews, essays, photography, visual research and editorial projects that document people, places, traditions and perspectives that might otherwise be overlooked.
Our editorial approach
We are interested in work that is:
culturally meaningful rather than merely topical;
carefully made rather than quickly produced;
visually compelling without becoming empty;
accessible without underestimating its audience;
personal while connecting to something larger;
created to last beyond the moment in which it appears.
We believe editing is an act of attention.
It means making choices: what to include, what to leave out and what deserves the space to be understood fully.
Our catalogue will evolve across literature, lifestyle, children’s education and culture, but every Random Editorial title will be connected by the same commitment to curiosity, beauty, meaning and lasting value.
Work with Random Editorial
We collaborate with writers, artists, photographers, illustrators, researchers, cultural institutions and selected publishing partners.
You can contact us about:
editorial contributions and story ideas;
interviews and research;
photography and illustration;
publishing partnerships;
translation and international rights;
bookshop and institutional enquiries;
review copies and editorial press;
cultural archives and untold stories.
We review proposals according to their relevance to Random’s editorial direction. We are particularly interested in distinctive perspectives, thoughtful cultural work and stories that create a deeper understanding of the world around us.
For editorial enquiries, contact:
editorial@notthatrandom.com
Questions
What is Random Editorial?
Random Editorial is the independent publishing department of Random. We create and publish novels, magazines, lifestyle books, children’s educational titles, interviews, visual stories and cultural projects.
What are Random Editorial’s first titles?
Random Editorial launches its new publishing programme in 2026 with two titles: the novel Chinatown and the magazine A Love Letter To.
What is Chinatown?
Chinatown is a novel rooted in Amsterdam’s Chinese community. It explores migration, identity, family, cultural memory and the experiences of people living between generations and cultures.
What happened to Currant magazine?
Currant was founded in 2020 and marked the beginning of our editorial journey. In 2026, we are retiring the Currant name as our publishing vision evolves within Random Editorial.
What is A Love Letter To?
A Love Letter To is Random Editorial’s new magazine series. Each edition explores a carefully chosen subject through writing, photography, art, interviews and considered recommendations.
What will Random Editorial publish in 2027?
From 2027, Random Editorial will add more titles across lifestyle, children’s education and culture. The catalogue will grow carefully, with every publication selected for its meaning, quality and lasting value.
Does Random Editorial accept submissions?
Random Editorial considers selected proposals from writers, artists, photographers, illustrators and cultural partners. Relevant ideas and portfolios can be sent to editorial@notthatrandom.com.
Does Random Editorial work with brands?
Random Editorial develops Random’s own independent publications. Brands and institutions looking to commission creative work, branded publications or cultural concepts can contact Random Studio at studio@notthatrandom.com.