From my kitchen table to yours

Hi. I’m really glad you’re here. (Really.)

My name is Heather Shayne Blakeslee, and I’m a GenX musician, writer, and artist living in South Philadelphia who has always loved print and bringing people together. I love to cook, garden, and throw a great party. I’m an art geek and philosophy nerd who cares about political depolarization and great conversation.

Seven years ago, I decided to launch Root Quarterly magazine for others like me who want to spend more time in the real world. For people who are tired of unhealthy media models that rely on clickbait and division. 

Just as I’m oriented toward slow, farm-to-table food, I’m making a magazine for people who want to slow down and switch to a media diet that might nourish and inspire them. Challenge them. Connect them with their innate curiosity.

Despite our humble origins and the fact that our headquarters is still in my kitchen, we’re an award-winning publication with growing national influence, a little like a New Yorker from Philadelphia. 

Our team of volunteers and crazy creatives believe in the power of art and ideas to bring us together over our common humanity. We’re pioneering regenerative media.

Every few months, we come together to produce a collectible, seasonal, themed issue of Root Quarterly magazine. You’ll find artist profiles, spotlights on regional treasures, gorgeous art, cultural criticism, books, reviews, recommendations, comics, ideas, humor, poetry, fiction, and more. 

We get our hands dirty making original art, and our local indie reporters and national thought leaders dig into stories in ways that you just can’t get from AI-generated, homogenized, optimized content mills. We have online and in-person events to deepen our connection.  

I really hope that you’ll join our conversation and community by getting a subscription.

Know that I’m going to proudly put that first issue in the mail myself. I hope that it will inspire you to more deeply connect with others across the country who want something better, and to connect with your own neighbors.

Then, every four months as the seasons change, you’ll get another issue with a fresh new theme—a present direct to your door from mine to remind you that media can be fun, beautiful, and nourishing. 

We are real humans over here, making a print magazine for a more beautiful future.  I can’t wait to send you your first issue.

From My Kitchen Table to Yours,
Heather Shayne Blakeslee
Founding Publisher and Editor
Root Quarterly: Art & Ideas from Philadelphia

“A HIGH-PRODUCTION ARTS & CULTURE AFFAIR.”

— WHYY


“2024 STORYTELLER OF THE YEAR”

— THE PHILADELPHIA CITIZEN


“A HOMERUN.”

— Meghan Daum, THE UNSPEAKABLE PODCAST

“AN AMBITIOUS, METICULOUSLY DESIGNED PUBLICATION.”

— THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

“A JOY to leaf through—and read. It is heavily illustrated, with a mix of photographs, drawings, and comic panels, and it makes creative use of typography. The content includes an eclectic mix of essays, fiction, interviews, reviews, and recipes, making for A STRONG NEW TITLE.”

— LIBRARY JOURNAL, TOP 10 BEST NEW MAGAZINES OF 2019