Life Magazine Returns Nov. 23 as Quarterly Print Edition With Figma

Nearly nine decades after its founding, Life magazine is returning as a quarterly print publication with a Relaunches November 23, 2026 (Founded 1936) schedule, according to a San Francisco Examiner Report / National Print & Digital Edition feature by journalist Katie Robertson.

A 250-Page, $45 Debut Issue Sponsored by Figma and Rivian

As reported in the San Francisco Examiner, model and entrepreneur Karlie Kloss—who co-owns Bedford Media with her husband Joshua Kushner (after previously acquiring and relaunching i-D magazine last year and taking a part-ownership stake in W magazine)—is backing the revival alongside expansion into short-form video, documentary films, and live events:

• Issue Specifications & Theme: The relaunch begins with a 250-page large-format quarterly print issue on Nov. 23, 2026 retailing for $45 with 120+ contributors (more than 120 contributors) under the theme "Where Are We Now?". An editors' letter published Wednesday paid tribute to founder Henry Luce's original prospectus ("to see and to take pleasure in seeing; to see and be amazed") and described the debut edition as "a window into an America searching for meaning: scientists and artists, entrepreneurs and athletes, children and octogenarians, coal miners and drone makers."
• Licensing & Sponsorship Model: Licensed in 2024 by Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner’s Bedford Media; first issue sponsored by Figma and Rivian—eschewing traditional print advertising in favor of launch sponsorships from San Francisco-headquartered design platform Figma and electric vehicle maker Rivian. Kloss licensed the publication rights in 2024 from Dotdash Meredith (now People Inc.), stating: "What made Life extraordinary was its ability to make the world feel closer. And our responsibility is to preserve and to protect that legacy."
• Editorial Masthead: Creative director Richard Turley with Hugo Lindgren, director of photography Eve Lyons, and Caryn Ganz lead the editorial team. Richard Turley (who held senior editorial roles at MTV, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Interview magazine) recruited former New York Times Magazine editor Hugo Lindgren, former Times photo editor Eve Lyons (serving as director of photography), and former Times pop music editor Caryn Ganz (details earlier reported by Puck).

Nine Decades of Photojournalism and the 10-Million-Image Archive

The revival builds on one of American journalism's most famous visual archives:

• From Fort Peck Dam to Apollo 11: Founded 1936 by Henry Luce (8 million+ peak 1960s circulation; weekly until 1972; monthly 1978–2000; 10 million+ photo archive), Life debuted with Margaret Bourke-White's black-and-white cover photograph of Montana's Fort Peck Dam during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal and showcased photographers Robert Capa, Alfred Eisenstaedt (including his 1945 V-J Day Times Square photograph), and Gordon Parks, alongside publishing Ernest Hemingway's novella The Old Man and the Sea and commissioning Norman Mailer to cover the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing.
• Archive Stewardship & Print Economics: After Time Inc. ended the weekly edition in 1972 and the monthly edition (1978–2000) in 2000, a collection of Life photos became publicly available on Google in 2008, while People Inc. holds the full archive of more than 10 million images and continues to publish occasional special editions. Former Life editor Daniel Okrent (1992 to 1996) noted that Life was "a constantly unprofitable magazine" historically, while Kloss emphasized: "Building a successful media business takes time, and we're focused on making measurable progress toward profitability rather than rushing to meet some arbitrary deadline."