New Humanist has been in print for years, starting out life as ''Watts's Literary Guide
, founded by C. A. Watts in November 1885. It later became The Literary Guide and Rationalist Review
(1894–1954), Humanist
(1956–1971) and New Humanist'' in 1972. Notable columnists, past and present, include
Laurie Taylor,
Simon Hoggart, Sally Feldman,
Shaparak Khorsandi,
Samira Ahmed,
Marcus Chown and
Michael Rosen.
Jim Herrick was editor of
New Humanist from 1984 until 2002, and subsequently became the journal's literary editor until his retirement in 2005. From 2002 until 2005 the magazine's editor was Frank Jordans. In 2005 Caspar Melville took over as managing editor of the magazine and CEO of the
Rationalist Association.
Daniel Trilling assumed the position of editor in 2013. Samira Shackle was editor from spring 2020 to spring 2023. Niki Seth-Smith is the current Editor.
New Humanist was shortlisted for the
Foreign Press Association awards in 2023 and won the Piazza Grande Religion Journalism Award in 2023 and 2024. In January 2025, the Rationalist Association, which had published the magazine for its first 139 years, merged with
Humanists UK. In May that year, Humanists UK announced it had appointed
Ian Dunt to chair the magazine's new editorial board. ==References==