Bring Back American Girl Magazine!

This spring, my daughter turned 8. Though I knew in my heart that American Girl magazine was gone—it shuttered in 2019—I was not prepared for how I'd feel in that moment. It became so clear to me that she wouldn't have American Girl magazine to guide her through this next stage of childhood. And I couldn't accept that. But I didn't quite know what to do.

Flash forward a few weeks later, and I posted a video about The Making of American Girl coffee table book because I was pleased to see American Girl magazine inside and because I have a small mention. In this video, I acknowledged that I had worked at American Girl magazine.... and the internet wanted to hear more! And if people want me to talk about American Girl magazine, well, boy will I!

I started making content about AG mag and the comments that poured in generally blew my mind. I couldn't believe that these former young readers were now grown adults who could articulate very well how much American Girl magazine had meant to them.

As a former reader myself—I picked up the VERY first issue in 1992—I knew how much the magazine meant to me. But when I worked at the magazine, I was the first editor who was a former reader. It really freaked everyone out so I never properly expressed how the magazine shaped me as a girl. I figured they already knew.

But sometimes people need to hear the quiet part said out loud—myself included. And the comments were loud: "Soundtrack to my girlhood." "This magazine RAISED me." "I saved every issue for my future daughter." I was not the only American Girl magazine editor who scrolled my Instagram comments while sobbing.

All this got me thinking... why can't we bring American Girl magazine back? The magazine quietly shuttered in 2019. Mattel closed American Girl HQ in Middleton, Wisconsin a few years later. They moved the American Girl business to Mattel HQ in El Segundo, which happens to be 20 minutes from where I live now.

If American Girl is in Los Angeles and I'm in Los Angeles... why can't we reboot the magazine here in L.A. in the year 2026? So, this summer, I met with former AG mag staff, got the blessings of some legacy AG mag legends, and put together a pitch deck for Mattel. And now we wait...

Fingers crossed! And follow me on Instagram @aubreandrus for updates.