IIS Update 2024
As the digital content coordinator for the Institute of Ismaili Studies, I was tasked with overseeing the creation of the IIS Update 2024. The IIS Update is an annual publication from the Institute that highlights its work and research from the previous year. You can read the IIS Update at the link below:
The IIS Update 2024 has received amazing feedback for the excitement it brings to the work of the Institute. Unlike any of the previous 22 issues, which had small print runs and take up storage space at the Aga Khan Centre Edition 23 has been distributed globally to Ismaili and Imamat institutions including the global offices of the Aga Khan Development Network.
My contributions:
Scope and layout: work started early in the year, as I created the scope for the magazine. I had to figure out what to include and who to approach. This year, I wanted the magazine to focus on our audience-centric outputs. As with any project for the IIS, the scope gradually grew over the months, and I had to manage both the content and expectations, paring down the content to fit into the categories you see in the table of contents.
Writing: unlike the previous year, I didn’t write many articles for other people. I was able to create content that was interesting and evocative, but also spread across multiple Institutional outputs. My written contributions for the 2024 IIS Update include:
Welcome (the message from the Director), page 3
‘Reopening the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity’, pages 4-7
‘Assassins: The Legends Live On’, pages 12-14
Section introductions, pages 15, 21, and 33
‘IIS Brings New Voices to the Web’, page 18
‘Logging into IIS’, page 19
Editing: as the managing editor of the IIS Update, I had to coordinate the other contributors, not only giving them detailed outlines, expectations, and deadlines, but also coaching many of them through the writing process. While many of the IIS’s publications appeal exclusively to academic audiences, the IIS Update is intended to have a broad appeal that not everyone can properly address. In addition to managing contributors, I also editing multiple drafts of each article to make sure it stayed within the limitations of the magazine in terms of length, tone, and perspective.