Genii Magazine, The Conjurors' Magazine

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Genii Magazine, The Conjurors' Magazine

GENII was founded in 1936 by William Larsen, Sr., and is now published by Genii Enterprises, LLC. It is the longest-running magazine devoted to magic.

Jim Steinmeyer is Executive Editor, taking over from Richard Kaufman, who retired in 2025. Genii, America’s renowned, longest-running magazine for magicians, has been published continuously since 1936. It was pioneered by William Larsen, Sr., and continued by the Larsen family and Richard Kaufman. It is now published by Genii Enterprises, LLC and the Executive Editor is Jim Steinmeyer, who took over duties after Kaufman retired in 2024.

07/29/2025

In Episode 6 of Inventing Magic, host Blake Vogt invites his friend Joshua Jay to meet the one-hour challenge. As always, it’s interesting how the conversation vers into dynamic and creative brainstorming. Before you know it, Blake and Josh have invented a really neat parlor effect called Journey to the Center of the Map. If you take a bit of time to invest in some customization, you could have a super effect, that can be elevated to new heights.

Click here and enjoy their conversation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-600oEpHpM0

07/28/2025

This month, Richard Kaufman shares a previously unpublished Mike Skinner ace routine . Don’t worry: even though the plot sounds awfully familiar, Kaufman says, “…the four aces are inserted into the center of the deck one at a time and keep returning to the top. It’s more interesting than that mundane description makes it sound…”

And it is truly a delightful—and you get some terrific inside notes and work on some really practical sleights.

Illustrations by Ever Elizalde

07/26/2025

Paul Heller’s tale of a Maine farmer who owned a pig named Ben Butler. This pig, a 19th-century American star of fairgrounds in the Northeast, appeared to be a mathematician, a linguist, and a mindreader. He was also a bit of a magician. Here’s the story of how Ben Butler, the educated pig, learned his craft, and how performing pigs have become part of our tradition. It’s a slice of Americana, and a forgotten part of entertainment.

Slide 1: Image via Wikimedia Commons, Metropolitan Museum of Art collection

Slide 2: Image via Library of Congress

07/24/2025

After a successful theatrical career, Kevin Spencer opened doors to an inspirational use of magic. Learn about the fascinating and personal journey Spencer has taken to bring together two of his great passions—magic and education. Spencer’s initial focus was training occupational therapists and how to teach magic tricks in a way that would help with their clients’ mobility. By thoroughly immersing himself into the healthcare and well-being community—including going back to school to earn two post graduate degrees in education—Spencer has doubled-down and created programs and workshops for clients and occupational therapists.

Spencer goes further and also performs specially designed shows for families and individuals who have sensory sensitivity that prevent them from being able to enjoy traditional theater experiences.

You can learn even more about these wonderful programs, by listening to August Genii Speak, where Jim Steinmeyer interviews his good friend Kevin Spencer.

Photos by Gerri Kodey and Lisa Navlan Photography / Courtesy of Kevin Spencer

07/22/2025

We leap into August with a different kind of magic. Step behind the lens and discover the magical world of Zakary Belamy . In his conversation with Noah Levine , Belamy shares his artistic inspirations, his tools and tricks of the trade, and he also explains what exactly is the project (and forthcoming book) The Magic of Studio Noir actually is. It’s a fascinating look at an observer of our art—and what he sees as the real magic.

“I decided with Studio Noir, there were no more props, or extremely rare [use of props], because I wanted to focus on the shape. I wanted to show the person’s character traits and how they behaved.

“The image actually is a paradox. It’s extremely minimalist, which is true, no color. I ask everybody to wear dark clothes. No jewelry, no watch, no necklace…. But on the other hand, the photo is extremely technical. So people see a person who is “naked.” I mean without any props or over-exaggerated elements.”

—Zakary Belamy

Photos by and courtesy of Zakary Belamy and Studio Noir

07/21/2025

Summertime. You might be going to a convention, or meeting with some magic friends, or traveling to see a special show, or making a visit to a nearby magic shop. Take Genii along. This month, we’ve got a beautiful new issue packed with magic and features.

You’ll see Garrett Thomas on the cover, anticipating a portrait carefully arranged by the masterful French photographer Zakary Belamy. In our cover story, Belamy tells Noah Levine about his Studio Noir project, a collection of stunning Hollywood-style portraits of great magicians. Belamy talks about this ambitious project and his artistic approach to photographing his magical subjects. He also includes some of these works of art—examples of his striking and beautiful accomplishments.

Next up: Vanessa Armstrong writes about Kevin Spencer’s () second career. It's the story of how this successful illusionist devoted himself to work with children and adults who face learning challenges and sensory sensitivity—and how Kevin’s understanding of magic changed his approach in his work, which is now changing action and perspectives in these communities. It’s a fun story, but it’s also an inspiring one, for every magician.

Our third feature is Paul Heller’s tale of a Maine farmer who owned a pig named Ben Butler. This pig, a 19th-century American star of fairgrounds in the Northeast, appeared to be a mathematician, a linguist, and a mindreader. He was also a bit of a magician. Here’s the story of how Ben Butler, the educated pig, learned his craft, and how performing pigs have become part of our tradition.

Photo courtesy of Zakary Belamy and Studio Noir

07/20/2025

“I think that there is a person that I am trying to reveal on stage and the birds are helpful for that, because I find it’s very hard to reveal a facet of yourself or a character without a relationship.”—Alex Boyce

Our silent manipulators continue their conversation in this month’s Genii, this time around making space for the audience. It’s another rich and complex conversation from the performer’s point of view, thinking about the messages conveyed to their audiences through their magic, the kind of character portrayed—and how that impacts how the audiences thinks about magic.

Photo of Alex Boyce by Alex Harris

07/19/2025

John Gaughan shares another beautiful prop that’s currently visiting the Chamber of Secrets. This is JN Hofzinser’s Card Automation, where any called card rises from inside this beautifully crafted box. The original box is in Washington, D.C., at the US Library of Congress, and this particular version of Hofzinser’s trick was made by Charles Kalish. The mechanics of this trick, as you can see, are incredible, and it allows the operator to perform an unbelievable miracle. This prop has a fascinating history, which is shared in this month’s Chamber of Secrets by John Gaughan, as told to Dustin Stinett. Thank you to Dr. Masato Kamei and Magic Christian for their help and updates on the history of this amazing prop.

Photos by Jeff Chang, courtesy of John Gaughan

07/18/2025

Longtime friend and columnist Rafael Benatar is back in the pages of Genii, this time to share some anecdotes to give examples of thinking under pressure. While it is a study on how we can prepare and even train our subconscious to prepare us for all kinds of performing situations, Rafael uses his personal examples to demonstrate how the brain is always at work—and how you can create opportunities for yourself.

Photo courtesy of Rafael Benatar

07/16/2025

As we all know, it takes a village! And in Jason Bishop’s example—giving us a day in the life of a traveling illusion show—we see that it takes a very well-organized, focused, and devoted team to produce such a show. Yes, we can guess at the huge amount of work it must take, but what is so fascinating is how we can all learn and benefit in all areas of magic from this level of thinking and planning. After reading this piece, Genii’s magic editor Noah Levine put it best: “This piece was a reminder that unreasonable dedication to craft is the hallmark of great magic.”

Photo courtesy of Jason Bishop

07/14/2025

“Magicians often declare that the jugglers always ‘kill’ at magic conventions. Of course they do. Not becuase they are better, but because they are different; a sort of palate cleanser.” Lindsay Benner is back this month to discuss “Variety Art’s place in Magic.” Like any great experience, a little variety goes a very long way.

Photo by Sequoia Emmanuelle

07/12/2025

“It turns out that three 20-minute shows are, indeed, much harder to do than one 60-minute show.” After performing his run at The Magic Castle, performing his parlor show for adult audiences, David Kaye decided to dig into this not-so-simple math and this month in Genii, he shares insight and advice from magic colleagues, including Lucy Darling (well, actually her alter ego Carisa Hendrix) and a friend in aviation! It’s a neat look and practical way to think about maximizing your energy, on-demand, even when you have shows back-to-back-to-back.

Photo: David Kaye with fellow Magic Castle performer Lucy Darling (courtesy of David Kaye)

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