Rookie Yearbook
Toronto Launch Event & Party

MAGIC PONY, TORONTO

In partnership with Rookie and Drawn & Quarterly, Magic Pony produced the Rookie Yearbook Launch Party with Tavi Gevinson for 2012 and 2013. As a new wave of “girl power” driven by online communities, Gevinson and Rookie magazine contributors were re-introducing feminism in a way that emphasized positivity, friendship, and personal expression through opinions, fashion, literature, films, and all forms of pop culture.

ROOKIE YEARBOOK ONE was an anthology of collected articles, interviews, photo editorials, and illustrations from rookiemag.com. The magazines 50-plus regular contributors (many of whom are teenage girls themselves) also included celebrities such as Lena Dunham, Miranda July, Jon Hamm, David Sedaris, John Waters, Chloe Sevigny, Ira Glass, Aubrey Plaza and many others.


As a warm-up to the Yearbook launch, we hosted an exclusive conversation and Q&A with Tavi Gevinson and Canadian writer Sheila Heti (author of How Should a Person Be?). This intimate Q&A focussed on explorations of teenage experiences and contemporary feminism, followed by readings with Rookie contributors Petra Collins, Anna Fitzpatrick and Marie Lodi. The interview and readings were followed by a book signing session in which Gevinson met with fans and signed copies of the Rookie Yearbook.

Magic Pony also hosted the annual Rookie art exhibition which featured artwork, photos and installations by artists including Petra Collins, Minna Gilligan, Beth Hoeckel, Ginette Lapalme, Kendra Yee, and Sonja Ahlers. Party guests were treated to fantastic food creations by artist Corey Moranis, Diana Vandermeulen and Gloryhole Doughnuts. Finally, we transformed our shop & gallery into a spooky masquerade sparkleball to host the annual Toronto Rookie Halloween Dance Party, celebrated with all the costumed Rookie fans, and danced the night away with guest DJs Prince Innocence and the Collins Sisters.