Genii Magazine - June 2026

June 2026 • Volume 89, Number 6

In this issue... The Genii Speak • Will Houstoun
Words of wisdom for Genii readers and tricycle riders

AI Policy • The Genii Editors
When and how AI will be used in this magazine

Mailbox • The Genii Editors
A submission about submissions and who, or what, writes Genii?

In Memoriam: Val Swadling • Bob Swadling, Debbie Brunettin, and Kay Coomes
We remember a magical artist

The June Almanac • Will Houstoun
An unusual effect inspires a plethora of puns

The Eye • Vanessa Armstrong
Fire at The Magic Castle, David Kwong’s new podcast, late-night talk shows, and the Supreme Court

Features

“Storman” Norman: One of Magic’s Hidden Gems • Geoff Grimes
Meet a man who has overseen million-dollar gambles, shut down cheating teams, and applied the skills he learned during those escapades when he had a serious health scare

Professor Hoffmann and the Invention of Modern Magic • Will Houstoun
A century and a half ago, Modern Magic was ushered into the world and the reverberations of that moment surround us to this day

Voices

Three Steps Forward, One Step Back • R. Paul Wilson
An exploration of the trinity of magical development: practice, rehearsal, and performance

The Genii Questionnaire • Pop Haydn
Pop Haydn takes on the questionnaire

How to Develop a Magic App • Marc Kerstein
A decade of app development teaches valuable lessons

The Depth Test • James Harrington
What lies beneath the surface of your magic?

In Practice

Magicana: The Bet That Changed Everything • Dominique Duvivier
Multiple effects make more than the sum of their parts

Magicana: BTB Coins to Glass • Luis Carreon
A personal handling of the classic effect

Magicana: Imagination Test • Radek Hoffman
Mentalism with a little extra spark

Magicana: Color Extractor • Patrick Kurota
An unusual Rubik’s Cube effect

Add a Number • Roberto Mansilla
A contemporary analog handling for this classic mentalism ploy

Floorwave (Brainwave Follow-Up) • Clayton Rawson and Neil Tobin
Detective fiction inspires an additional phase for Brainwave

Inventing Magic • Blake Vogt
Jeki Yoo pops in to create magic with Blake, and a novel effect pops up

In Performance

The Magic Castle • Shawn McMaster
Tokyo’s Half Moon magic bar visits Hollywood

House of Illusion • Vanessa Armstrong
Magic is alive and kicking in this Spanish resort

Not Forgotten • David Regal
The story of a rulebreaking miracle invented by Thomas Pohle

$100 Challenge • Julia Dryas
We gave a young magician $100 to buy and review some current magic

Marketplace

**Reviews: ** Thieving Bastards; Houdini: The Man Who Died Twice

Advertisers’ Index

Workshop

Through Hyperspace Into the Upside Down • Dr. Matt Pritchard
Matt takes a familiar kirigami fold in artistic new directions

Stop Using Doves as Your Logo • Laura Pulling
What is your branding saying about you and your work, and can it say something better?

Keynote Speaking • Sara Crasson
Get the inside information on a lucrative area that many magicians are exploring

Perspectives

Sleightly Astonishing • Jim Hagy
Does anyone really hate magic?

Needling Houdini • Ben Winn
The Rigoletto brothers take on Houdini

Song of Spring • Hal Schulman
Shimpei Katsuragawa visits New York City and shares his astonishing magic

Coffee With... Terry Ward Meet the magician who spent three decades performing at Disney Parks