Mayfair Times: A Sense of Community in a Transient Area
Q: Could you tell us a bit about your journey to becoming the editor and co-owner of Mayfair Times? What inspired you to pursue a career in publishing?
I decided at a very early age that I wanted to be a journalist. I’d always been interested in current affairs and one of our family friends was the late journalist and broadcaster Peter Sissons who was a great inspiration to me. I followed the fairly usual media path of journalistic training, editorial and sub editing jobs on a host of business-to-business magazines.
Selma Day
Editor, Mayfair Times
Selma Day has been a journalist in central London for many years. She now, along with her husband Adrian, runs Publishing Business, a prestigious publishing company that produces several magazines for areas in central London that aim to meet the interests and needs of the residential, business and international communities that make up those areas.
They include Mayfair Times, Sloane Square and Belgravia magazines. Her company also founded the annual Belgravia Awards and The Community Awards of Mayfair and St James’s. As the glue that binds the community together, the awards celebrate the contribution that residents and businesses make to life in these areas.
Selma, who hails from an Indian background but was born and grew up the UK, has managed to juggle a successful and rewarding career with family life – she has two grown-up children and also finds time to care for her elderly mother.
I then had a protracted period of bringing up my two children while helping to pay the bills by earning money as a freelance sub editor. At the age of 42, my career took a different turn. In 2005, my husband’s company, Publishing Business, took on what was then a local broadsheet newspaper, Mayfair Times, and I took on the role of editor. I pushed hard for a key change in the way what was now a magazine presented itself to its existing and potential readership. From the outset, I believed it should become more inclusive and aspirational – reflecting what constitutes Mayfair today.
Q: How did your personal interests shape the vision for Mayfair Times?
A magazine always reflects the interests of its editor, so for me, I am interested in people and, in Mayfair, I’ve been lucky to interview many interesting – and very successful – people, from famous chefs and fashion designers to artists and entrepreneurs. But you also have to write for your audience, and with Mayfair being the centre of art, culture, fashion, as well as business and finance, it’s important to cover all of these areas.
Q: What do you believe sets Mayfair Times apart from other local publications in terms of content, style, and voice?
I think Mayfair Times has always properly engaged with the local community. We are based in Mayfair, our journalists are always out and about meeting people, attending local events and totally immersed in the area. We are in a unique position as we are a local magazine with an international audience and are in one of the most affluent and influential places in the world. It would be easy to become another “luxury lifestyle magazine”, writing about empty luxury. But I think what sets us apart is that we write intelligent copy that is relevant to our readers.
Q: How do you decide which stories or topics to feature in each issue? Is there a specific editorial direction or mission behind your publication?
The content is largely driven by what’s happening at the time, although being a monthly magazine, we don’t do “hard news”. However, for example, in the property section, we will look at what is driving the market at a particular time as what happens globally has a direct effect on Mayfair.
We have regular themes throughout the year and our international editions such as Mayfair meets Monaco or Mayfair meets Dubai feature content that is relevant to those issues, whether that’s interviewing people who have a foot in both places or writing about the Monaco Yacht Show or Art Dubai.
Q: The publishing industry has evolved greatly in recent years with digital media becoming more prominent. How has Mayfair Times adapted to these changes?
Mayfair Times continues to evolve and diversity and, while the publishing industry has seen a huge transformation, with digital largely taking over, there is still a demand for quality hyper local magazines that are totally engaged with their readers. We are all bombarded with information from a variety of digital and social media platforms so to have proper journalists curate content that is both interesting and relevant is still welcomed by people who live, work and visit the area. Having said that, we do, of course, embrace digital. We have readers around the world who have homes in various places and when they are not in Mayfair they still want to know what’s going on so they can do that through our website, newsletter and social media.
We have also grown the events side of the business – we have been running the Mayfair Times Community Awards for 10 years, we launched the Mayfair Times Literary Festival in 2018 and do several other events throughout the year to engage with the various communities that make up Mayfair, including a Diwali party to celebrate our annual Indian edition and to highlight the contribution that the Indian community makes to Mayfair and London in general.
Q: Who is the typical reader of Mayfair Times, and how do you ensure the publication continues to resonate with your audience?
Our readers are the people who live, work and visit Mayfair, St James’s and Marylebone.
As mentioned, our mission is to be relevant to our core readership, so there is a concentration on what goes on within the boundaries of these areas. Editorial is tailored to this super wealthy, super influential and discerning group – the people who spend their money locally – providing inspiring, intelligent and relevant content every month. However, with such a cosmopolitan readership, we also devote space to locations worldwide, focusing on places such as Monaco and Dubai.
Q: What role do you think Mayfair Times plays in shaping the cultural conversation in the Mayfair area?
We try to be ahead of the game and to create and curate our own agenda rather than simply relying on press releases that come in. So, for example, by launching the Mayfair Times Literary Festival, not only are we highlighting the cultural and literary heritage of the area and putting the spotlight on our great literary institutions, we are also creating an environment for discussion and debate on a range of topics and issues.
Q: What are some of the exciting opportunities you see for Mayfair Times in the future?
We aim to grow the digital side of the business, expand the magazine to different destinations, continue to do events to engage with our audience and evolve as Mayfair evolves.
Q: Lastly, is there a particular legacy you hope to leave through your work?
As well as producing a successful magazine in the centre of the best area in the best city in the world, the thing I am most proud of is having helped to nurture a sense of community in a very transient area. In recent years, philanthropy has become a big focus for us and we would like to think that the magazine has been and will continue to be a force for good.
Selma Day
Editor, Mayfair Times
Selma Day has been a journalist in central London for many years. She now, along with her husband Adrian, runs Publishing Business, a prestigious publishing company that produces several magazines for areas in central London that aim to meet the interests and needs of the residential, business and international communities that make up those areas.
They include Mayfair Times, Sloane Square and Belgravia magazines. Her company also founded the annual Belgravia Awards and The Community Awards of Mayfair and St James’s. As the glue that binds the community together, the awards celebrate the contribution that residents and businesses make to life in these areas.
Selma, who hails from an Indian background but was born and grew up the UK, has managed to juggle a successful and rewarding career with family life – she has two grown-up children and also finds time to care for her elderly mother.
Published: 03/04/2025
