The magazine FHM has been known for featuring short stories and fictional narratives alongside its features and photographs since its earliest days. This experimentation with literature was an attempt to offer readers something different than just lifestyle and entertainment, and it added a unique dimension to the publication that made it stand out from the competition.
FHM began to focus more on these areas and less on fiction, eventually dropping them altogether.
In the early years, FHM featured works by authors such as Raymond Chandler, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and Ernest Hemingway alongside their regular articles. These pieces were often serialized, meaning they would appear in installments over several issues. This allowed readers to follow along with a story over a longer period of time and helped create a sense of anticipation and excitement. The magazine also published original fiction written specifically for the publication, allowing aspiring writers to showcase their work to a larger audience.
While this literary angle was interesting and unique, it did not last long. As FHM grew in popularity and focused on lifestyle and entertainment, they found that there was little demand for fiction among their readership. They stopped publishing stories regularly and instead began to feature occasional excerpts from novels or interviews with authors. While this change may have disappointed some fans of the literary side of the magazine, it ultimately proved to be successful for the business.
Despite no longer focusing on fiction, FHM continues to produce quality content that appeals to a wide range of audiences. Their coverage of lifestyle topics such as fashion, travel, and technology is engaging and informative, and their celebrity features provide readers with an inside look at the lives of their favorite stars.
Their humor section offers light-hearted moments that help break up the seriousness of other sections of the magazine.
FHM's experimentation with short stories and serialized fiction was an important part of its early years but has since been replaced by more mainstream content.
The legacy of this aspect of the publication lives on in the memories of those who enjoyed reading it and can still be seen today in the magazine's commitment to providing high-quality writing and entertainment.