Howarth quits as editor of Esquire
Ciar Byrne, The Guardian
Esquire editor Peter Howarth has quit after six years at the helm of the upmarket men's magazine.
Howarth will leave in three months' time to pursue other interests, the National Magazine Company announced today.
"After six great years at the helm of Esquire, the time is right for me to look at other opportunities," said Howarth.
"It's been a fantastic job and I'm leaving the magazine in great shape. I know Esquire will continue to evolve as a grown-up magazine with style and substance."
The NatMags managing director, Duncan Edwards, said the company was "very sorry to see him go".
"Peter Howarth is the architect of the modern Esquire and has successfully given Esquire its distinctive grown-up positioning in the rather juvenile men's market," he added.
Howarth famously banned "scantily clad, female, C-list celebrities" from his covers and took the controversial decision to use male cover stars, a stance that provoked a war of words with his rival, Dylan Jones, the editor of GQ.
The move caused Esquire's circulation to drop but Howarth insisted it had benefited the magazine by bringing in the upmarket readers valued by advertisers.
Howarth also supported the idea that black stars sell magazines, claiming an issue of Esquire featuring Samuel L Jackson on the cover was the biggest selling edition of 2001.
Esquire's circulation remained static at 62,005 in the last round of audited magazine sales figures.
In terms of sales it is positioned half way between its two upmarket rivals, GQ and Arena, but is still far below the mainstream men's magazines.
The market leader, FHM, sells well over half a million copies.