About Automata Magazine

The first issue of Automata Magazine, an online digital magazine, appeared at the beginning of 2019. The publication was started by Marc Horovitz, himself a builder of automata. He felt that that a single, focused, online source of information that contained in-depth material about all aspects of this arcane subject was lacking.

Since its inception, the publication has been well received and has grown steadily in readership. Articles (a small sampling of which can be downloaded below below) on every aspect of this relatively unknown art form have been published, written by well over 100 knowledgeable and experienced authors and artists from around the world.

Our team is enthusiastic and excited to  bring you hard information about automata, their construction, history, function and more.

Examples of types of article

Automata Magazine presents articles on every aspect of the automata world. Below are some example articles from past issues that you can download or read online. These are just a few of the possible categories.

History example
"The Cleveland Grandma” – May-June 2019

History
Automata history goes back a long time. Here’s an article by Tim LaGanke about a vintage arcade automaton.
Click to download PDF of article

Artists
The discussion of an artist’s inspiration and process is always fascinating. Here’s Tim Douglas’s story.
Click to download PDF of article

Arts example
“An artist’s process” – May-June 2021
Beginner example
“Automata for beginners” – Mar-Apr 2020

Beginners
Want to learn how to build automata? Automata Magazine has articles for beginners in almost every issue. Here’s a great one by Sarah Reast.
Click to download PDF of article

Mechanisms
Mechanisms are what make our automata go, and there are hundreds of them. Paul Spooner describes this ingenious one.
Click to download PDF of article

Mechanism example
"The Man from Somewhere near Geneva” – Sep-Oct 2020
“Build the walking person” – Sep-Oct 2019

How-to articles
How-to and construction articles are an excellent way to show how automata go together. Federico Tobon shows how to build a simple automaton in this story.
Click to download PDF of article

Visits
Automata Magazine takes you to places of interest to automatists. In this article, David Soulsby visits the automata collection at the Rye Heritage Centre.
Click to download PDF of article

“Time to Spend a Penny” – May-June 2020

Wish to read more? Download a whole FREE copy of the very first issue of Automata Magazine by clicking here.

Like what you see? Then please subscribe. Get a new PDF issue of Automata Magazine to read every other month, plus access to all the back issues. Click here for subscription page.

No magazine can exist without the support of its readers. If you’d like to write an article for Automata Magazine, we invite your submissions. Everyone has something to contribute. Everything you’ll need to know about writing an article can be found here. Contact us at automatamag@comcast.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Visit the magazine’s forum to share your work, find the answers to questions, and discuss automata with like-minded people. Click here.

Click here to meet the team that brings you Automata Magazine!