We are seeking contributors to Volume 2 of the Journal of Modern Wisdom (www.modernwisdom.co.uk), which will be publishing in March 2013.

Affiliated to the Well-being Institute at Cambridge University and the Philosophy Department at Durham University, the Journal of Modern Wisdom is a unique, interdisciplinary publication that takes an unflinchingly realistic but hopeful look at humanity and its potential.

‘For public thinkers and the thinking public’, the journal is beautifully illustrated throughout, and features accessibly written yet deeply considered essays – on a range of topics both theoretical and practical – seeking to put wisdom back on the agenda.

Academics, professionals and laypersons alike are invited to submit essays (limit 10,000 words). The deadline for submissions is 31 January, 2013.

To submit work, or for further information, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please forward this message to anyone who may be interested.

Best wishes,

Dr Ben Irvine, Editor

I've had a busy few months finishing a book manuscript, but the Journal has been ticking over nicely.

Indeed, I’m delighted to announce that the Journal of Modern Wisdom is now affiliated to the Philosophy Department at the University of Durham and the Well-being Institute at the University of Cambridge.

Plans for Volume 2 are taking shape, and I'm currently seeking funding or sponsorship opportunities. Please do get in touch if you think you can help.

The Journal also now has its very own facebook group. Or perhaps I should say ‘anti-facebook group’! I recently created the page 'Internet dead end' to encourage people to get offline and get on with their real lives.

The idea came from the long-running but now extinct TV programme Why Don't You?, which for over two decades advised people to 'switch off the television set and do something less boring instead'. Viewers wrote in and suggested fun activities which didn't involve TV - playing games, making things, learning tricks, going on trips, hanging out with real people, that sort of thing. I hope that the Journal of Modern Wisdom's new facebook page will provide a similar antidote to the internet. (http://www.facebook.com/Internetdeadend).

If you’re interested in submitting work to the next volume of the Journal of Modern Wisdom, or supporting this unique publication in other ways, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Recent months have seen excellent sales and a heartening response from the intellectual community to the Journal of Modern Wisdom (www.modernwisdom.co.uk).

From within academic philosophy, Colin McGinn has declared that he’s “all in favor of the Journal of Modern Wisdom” and that “the emphasis on the idea of wisdom – its cultivation and expression – is long overdue”, while Barbara Hannan Cooke has exclaimed in her review, “What a delight… These articles are without exception enlightening and thought-provoking, while being non-technical, and a pleasure to read… I am certain I cannot be alone in welcoming a venue for the publication of such work”.

Meanwhile, New Yorker and philosophical counsellor Andrew Taggart has written that he took “immense pleasure in reading the Journal of Modern Wisdom from start to finish”, and fellow advocate of well-being in philosophy Jules Evans has remarked that “the Journal of Modern Wisdom is a great and needed addition to our cultural media… long may it continue”. Thanks so much to all these respected figures for their praise and support.

Equally as encouraging has been the response of the bookselling community and, in turn, the buying public. Over 500 copies of the Journal of Modern Wisdom have been sold in just its first few months. We are now working with leading industry representatives Compass DSA to provide copies to outlets across England, Wales and Scotland. Thanks to our excellent contributors, it seems that the ‘thinking public’ have been snapping up copies as eagerly as the ‘public thinkers’. 

Finally, a word about Thais Beltrame’s artwork. Her beautiful, unique images, which are spread throughout the Journal of Modern Wisdom, have wowed everyone. “The reader feels such joy upon encountering a door, a moon, a galaxy, a simple joy that a child experiences in the presence of the smallest thing”, Andrew Taggart has said, adding that “the artwork alone makes the Journal of Modern Wisdom well worth the purchase”. Thanks again to Thais – and if you’re a big fan of hers you’ll be pleased to hear you can now buy a range of cards featuring her artwork.

As for volume 2, we are planning to publish next Autumn. So please watch this space, and keep those submissions coming.

www.modernwisdom.co.uk / This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

I’m delighted to say that it’s been a promising first month for the Journal of Modern Wisdom.

It began with a lovely launch event in Waterstones in Cambridge in July, where singer Gwyneth Herbert and accompanist Richard Lawson provided wonderfully atmospheric music.

Free tea and – in a shamelessly naff marketing stunt – Werther’s Originals were given to everyone in attendance; if you were there, thank you so much for coming. Thanks especially to the brilliant Rebecca Watts whose help and advice in organising the event was indispensible.

And congratulations to Alice Moran who won the evening’s raffle for the ‘wisdom tea’ generously provided by Iford Manner Teas.

Forty copies of the journal were sold on the night, and since then we’ve sold hundreds more, and received some really encouraging feedback. You can now buy a copy from a number of outlets in Cambridge – including Heffers and Waterstones – as well as Blackwells in Oxford.

The latter have sent us this heart-warming image of the Journal of Modern Wisdom positioned on the new acquisitions stand at the front of the store.

I’m not sure what Stephen Hawking will make of the new arrival, but I like the idea of modern wisdom finding a cosy spot somewhere in the middle of those inspiring cosmological visions of his.

Watch this space for more news about the Journal of Modern Wisdom.