The Society of American Magicians

06/17/2026

QotD: What information does the audience truly need, and what information are you unnecessarily proving?

06/17/2026

Friend of the program Stephen Bargatze is getting his own special June 18th on YouTube.

Stephen Bargatze's debut magic special, 'Out in a Minute,' is set to premiere on Nateland Entertainment's YouTube page on Thursday, June 18.

06/16/2026

QotD: If your misdirection based on distraction, attention management, motivation, or assumption?

06/16/2026

There is still time!

The Society of American Magicians National Convention is once again holding an Assembly Poster Contest! We want to help our assemblies promote themselves by showcasing their activities over the last year with an old school project style poster presentation.

While National Magic Week shows the good work done by our compeers and assemblies, this will be for all activities done by your assembly members. Community shows, fund raisers, group outings to shows, picnics, any event that your assembly did over the last year. Just dig through your photos from social media, newsletters, and members snapshots, find the best ones and get crafting.

The Rules:
The posters need to be either 24x36 inches/60x91 cm or 18x24in/45x60cm.

Posters need to be presented in person by an assembly member at the 2026 S.A.M. National Convention in Appleton, WI.

All the posters will be displayed in the lobby area of the 2026 S.A.M. National Convention in Appleton, WI. Judging will be done be a panel of judges.

The Prizes:
The winning assembly will receive $300 in dealer room cash to be spent at the 2026 National Convention. The dealer room cash has no cash equivalent. Dealer room cast is non-transferable.

The best poster will be featured along with the assembly in an upcoming issue of M-U-M.

S.A.M. Seal and logo:
To find the downloadable S.A.M. seal and interlocking letter logo and the style guide on proper usage head to magicsam.com/Downloads and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Join us in Appleton magicSAM.com/appleton

06/15/2026

Paul Gordon is back for his second visit for v1.3.

Since 1987, Paul has lectured all over the world; Tannen Magic Jubilee (1997), The Magic Circle, The Blackpool Magic Convention, The IBM Convention, worldwide provincial clubs, The Berlin Symposium and at 4F's (FFFF) in New York (2008). He has also entertained & lectured in Ireland, The USA, Japan, Korea, Israel, Sweden, Germany, Nice, Monaco (the 'legendary' Magic All Stars), Rome, France (FFAP), Belgium, Spain and Copenhagen. In 2016 Paul did a Penguin Live Lecture followed by a Murphy's At The Table lecture in 2017. In Feb 2018, Paul delivered a highly successful lecture at The Blackpool Magic Convention. In May 2023, Paul; lectured for the first time for v1.3.

When he wanted to do a second session with us, we jumped at the chance to learn more of Paul's real worker's magic.

Join us Thursday 18 June Paul Gordon 8pm UK 3pm Eastern

06/15/2026

QotD: Do you work to plant false memories durring your effects, if so how?

06/15/2026

Public show tickets for the Magic Opera at the 2026 S.A.M. Convention are now on sale!

The Magic Opera is a theatrical magic show experience. You've seen these performers on Penn & Teller FOOL US, Masters of Illusion and America's Got Talent. Starring Mike Caveney, Shawn Farquhar, Christopher Hart, Puck and John Shryock & Mari Lynn.

Two showings July 3 at 5 PM and 8 PM. Get your tickets now

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/the-magic-opera-show

06/15/2026

Public show tickets for the HER Show at the 2026 S.A.M. Convention are now on sale! The HER Show stars Lyn Dillies, Tiffany Sauvage, Alyx Hilshey, Julia Dryas, and Cydney Kaplan.

Two showings July 1 at 5 PM and 8 PM. Get your tickets now

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/world-class-magic-and-illusion-shows

06/14/2026

It's time again for The Sunday Funnies and today we're going to look at that time in history before magicians started using rabbits in their shows.

06/14/2026

It seems that animators love to use a magic theme when they are showcasing their art. Today's Sunday Funnies video combines Stop Motion animation with a flip book style.

A stopmotion animation short made by me