Editing // SUITCASE Magazine Vol. 31, The Freedom Issue

When I came up with the theme of "Freedom" and started commissioning this issue, we were operating in very different times. Then came the pandemic and the ensuing closing of borders, lockdown and, in my case, a sudden redundancy from my role as Print Editor-in-Chief. This final issue of mine therefore became a very singular beast, with articles taking a different shape and the editing process taking place from within the confines of my flat. Nonetheless, I'm really proud of creating an unusual, thoughtful and beautiful last issue that showcases some of the ideas and contributors that I'd given a platform to during my time at the magazine. As I wrote in my Editor's Letter, "Travel has always been synonymous with escape, but in the new world order true freedom will not mean being able to hop on and off planes and go wherever we want, whenever we want. Instead, those of us lucky enough to emerge with our health and our means intact have a responsibility to rethink the validity of what we once assumed was our right.” The letter can be read in full at https://suitcasemag.com/articles/volume-31-freedom-issue-editors-letter. Highlights included: - An illustrated essay on what LGBTQ+ travel really signifies and how it liberates us all - The photographer Liz Seabrook's meditation on the quiet beauty of home, shot during a lockdown walk with her father in her native Cotswolds - A pair of childhood friends exploring the coastal landscape of their youth away from the tourist crowds in Cornwall - The writer Sophy Roberts' reflections on her travels in Siberia and what they taught her about the very notion of freedom - The photojournalist Emily Garthwaite's first written essay on her walks through the Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Photo diaries shot in Sudan, Western Canada, Las Vegas and The Philippines