Claire Irvin is stepping down as editor of top-selling teen magazine Sugar to spearhead Elle Girl’s switch to a monthly frequency.
Elle Girl, the teen spin-off of Elle magazine, has been a bimonthly since June when it increased its frequency from quarterly. Publisher Hachette Filipacchi is now gearing up to go monthly following demand from readers and advertisers.
Hachette’s editorial director of teen titles, Lysanne Currie, will work alongside Irvin, who will take up the role of consultant editor on Elle Girl.
Nick Chalmers, the former editor of Hachette’s TV Hits, has been appointed acting editor of Sugar.
Currie said the company would look at “a number of options for the longer term, including the possibility of Nick taking the chair full-time”.
Chalmers oversaw the relaunch of TV Hits in 2002, when it was repositioned as the UK’s first teen entertainment lifestyle monthly. He has recently been freelancing on Sugar, Inside Soap and Mizz.
Irvin said she had enjoyed editing Sugar but the chance to join Elle Girl was too good an opportunity to turn down. “It’s a massive international brand and we are really excited about taking it monthly,” she said.
Elle Girl’s change in frequency forms a major part of Hachette’s plans for growth. It will be hoping to emulate the success of rival Cosmo Girl!, which reported a 32.5 per cent period-onperiod increase to 188,249 in the latest ABCs, following its relaunch in “backpack” size. Elle Girl’s sales are believed to be around 100,000.
By Ruth Addicott
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