Is a wholly collaborative enterprise.We are proud to publish the works of these incredible thinkers and doers, amongst them magicians, painters, photographers, cognitive psychologists, writers, actors, hackers and so on. Since 2019, from our small studio in London, England, we have been making beautiful books exploring the crossovers between magic and art. Each issue of THE NEAT REVIEW is set in a different city around the world. Through interviews, essays and articles, we explore how sleight of hand can be applied to the broader landscapes of the arts, philosophy and technology.
And, of course, we learn plenty of card tricks along the way.
List of Contributors
Akira Fujii
Alexander Hansford
Dr Alice Pailhès
Allan Hagen
Andrew Frost
Arthur Chavaudret
Asi Wind
Bébel
Ben Daggers
Benjamin Pratt
Bob Gill
Brad Fulton
Bradley Hodgins
Catarina Marques
Christian Grace
Cyril Takayama
Dan & Dave Buck
Dennis Kim
Derren Brown
Éireann Leverett
Emily Seagrove
Eric Hu
Father Alex
Guy Hollingworth
Helder Guimarães
Hide Yamamoto
Jeffrey Kellogg
Justin Higham
Kez Dearmer
Kyohei Tatsukawa
Liu Bolin
Mael Adler
Manu Jo
Molly Budd
Paavan Buddhdev
Pierric Tenthorey
Ponta The Smith
Ricky Smith
Rory Adams
Ross Tayler
Scott Black
Shawn Desouza-Coelho
Shimpei Katsuragawa
Stephen Long
Takeshi Taniguchi
Takuma Suzu
Tatanka Tan
Ting Chen
Tomoya Horiki
Tony Chang
Vera Tobin
Dr Will Houstoun
Yoann Fontyn
Akira Fujii
Japanese magician Akira Fujii is world renowned for his invisible sleight of hand, notably the "Classic Pass", a notoriously difficult move to perform. He has had numerous appearances on Japanese television, and released many publications to the magic community.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Alexander Hansford
Alexander Hansford founded THE NEAT REVIEW in 2019, after printing a string of limited-run artist books to accompany talks he was giving to magicians worldwide. Across a 14-country lecture tour, from Vienna & Sydney to Beirut & Los Angeles, his books were met with a unique reverence by the magic community. Alexander's long-running collaboration with Derren Brown spans Derren's live theatre shows, including Olivier Award-winning “Underground,” “Secret” and “Showman,” to consulting on the card magic pieces for Derren's “Only Human,” which comes to London’s West-End in late-2026.
Dr Alice Pailhès’ research has pioneered the scientific study of magicians’ mind control techniques — subtle ways to influence choices without people realising it. Her work has been published in top-tier journals such as PNAS, JEP: General, and Trends in Cognitive Sciences, and featured in TED, BBC, The Financial Times, and WIRED. Her upcoming book "The Psychology of Magic and The Art of Being Fooled" will be released through MIT Press in 2026. We spoke with her for our fifth issue of THE NEAT REVIEW.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Allan Hagen
Originally from Trondheim, Norway, Allan Hagen is a creative director, photographer and film maker who happens to also be very adept with playing cards. Now living in Princeton, NJ, his film photography featured heavily throughout our second issue, NYC 2019.
Andrew Frost
Andrew Frost has spent two decades studying, practising, performing and creating his own original card magic, designed specifically for close-up environments. Andrew is renowned as one of the best card magicians in the world, celebrated for his seamless sleight of hand and sharp sense of humour. His contemporary approach to card magic captivates audiences worldwide. He has performed his card magic stage show “Cards on the Table” globally from cosy New York venues to grand London theatres. Andrew's book DOUBLE LIFT was an immediate success and he has contributed immeasurably to many of the publications available through THE NEAT REVIEW. He is formidable.
Arthur Chavaudret is a staggering presence. He is, I believe, the best close-up magician in the world. Born in 1989, Arthur discovered his passion at the age of nine: magic. After training in contemporary magic at the CNAC in Châlons-en-Champagne, he now explores both the creation and the definition of magic. What does magic depend on? What makes something seem magical? To broaden his horizons, Arthur collaborates with numerous artists. He has served as an outside eye for Yann Frisch on the productions BALTASS and LE PARADOXE DE GEORGES, and for Jean-Christophe Dollé on HANDBALL and JE VOLE. He was also a magic advisor for David Blaine on the TV show BEYOND MAGIC in Los Angeles in 2016, and in 2018, a magic consultant for the Comédie-Française on the production of FAUST by Valentine Losseau and Raphaël Navarro.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Asi Wind
Asi Wind is an extraordinary talent! We met with him in New York City in 2019. Asi's sold-out off-Broadway show, Inner Circle, received rave reviews and extended its run six times, totaling 448 shows, and was highlighted as a New York Times Critic’s Pick. His appearance on Penn & Teller: Fool Us has over 17 million views on YouTube, making it one of the most-watched performances in the history of the show’s ten seasons. In Issue Two, we spoke with Asi about the confluence of magic and art.
Bébel is one of the best close-up card magicians in the world. We conducted our interview with him in Pigalle, Paris, where he shared his unique philosophies on street performing & sleight-of-hand.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Ben Daggers
Ben Daggers hails from London, England, and has made waves on the Japanese magic scene with highly original presentations and routines. Ben is responsible for editing and narrating of all Japanese content on The Impossible Co.'s website, ensuring that nothing is lost in translation. He co-runs The Impossible Co. in Osaka with Takeshi Taniguchi and Ponta The Smith.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Benjamin Pratt
Benjamin Pratt co-founded craft beer bar AS IS, in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan. Benjamin is a photographer and runner of single-day 100-mile ultra-marathons, and is an all-round good dude. He grew up doing magic and while no longer practicing, loves cardistry. His beautiful work features on our website as well as in his article accompanying Ricky Smith on a walking tour of the magic history of New York for Issue Two of THE NEAT REVIEW.
Bob Gill wrote a playful article for Issue Four of THE NEAT REVIEW attempting to define 'magic' — a mighty task indeed. Beginning in communications and the worlds of advertising, PR and events agencies, Bob was working closely with UK magician Wayne Dobson to collate an exhaustive trilogy which will comprise Wayne's fabulous legacy.
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Brad Fulton
Texas photographer and card vendor Brad Fulton photographed his friends Dan & Dave Buck in California in the late 90's, and we published a book of his photography, SPLAY.
Bradley Hodgins is a gigging magician in London. His magic is very fooling, employing a blend of old and rare methods with modern sleights, that when combined with his unassuming way of handling cards, make for unforgettable performances. Along with renowned mentalist Chris Rawlins, he has founded the highly sought after magic publication 'Card Games'.
Catarina Marques is creative director and founder of Via Essenza, and her photography features with Helder Guimarães' article in Issue Four of THE NEAT REVIEW.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Christian Grace
One of the most creative magicians there is, Christian Grace is renowned for his clever methods and staggering output on his subscription platform: Magic Monthly. Christian lectured and performed at NEATCON 2023, sharing fooling unpublished effects that reverberated through the convention.
Cyril Takayama
Considered to be one of the earliest pioneers of “street magic” and admired for his compelling storytelling, Cyril Takayama has starred in 16 primetime television specials and two international television series reaching viewers in over 26 countries, and has traveled extensively sharing his own personal brand of magic with the world.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Dan & Dave Buck
Dan & Dave Buck are American sleight of hand practitioners known for their contributions to the art of cardistry. They are twins. Their 2004 instructional DVD 'The Dan and Dave System' is believed to have spawned, or massively expanded, the art form of cardistry and inspired thousands of magicians to learn card flourishing. Following the success of 'The System,' Dan & Dave released a three-box set entitled The Trilogy in 2007 which, unlike the System, also features card tricks, card productions, shuffles, table work, classic flourishes and finger exercises. In 2013 they founded Art of Play as a subsidiary of their lifestyle brand Dan and Dave Industries, Inc. featuring a collection of designer playing cards, many of which were created by Dan and Dave under their own Art of Play label.
Dennis Kim is a phenomenal underground card magician. His magic is very technical and quite difficult, but in his hands it is sublime. New York magician Tony Chang has been heard saying "I pass the torch to Dennis" in honour of Dennis' fervour, zeal and passion for sleight of hand with playing cards. High praise indeed, and wholly warranted.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Derren Brown
Derren Brown is perhaps the best mind reader in the history of mentalism. He calls himself a 'psychological illusionist,' gaining international acclaim through a 20-year television career in the UK, 11 sell-out theatre shows, garnering two Olivier awards and a broadway run in New York City. He has gained a reputation as a performer consistently prepared to break down boundaries.
Amid a varied and notorious TV career, Brown has played Russian Roulette live, convinced middle managers to commit armed robbery, led the nation in a séance, stuck viewers at home to their sofas, motivated a shy man to land a packed passenger plane at 30,000 feet, hypnotized another to assassinate Stephen Fry, persuaded a racist to change his ways and lay down his life for an illegal immigrant, and created a zombie apocalypse for an unwitting participant after dramatically ending the world.
Éireann Leverett continually studies computer science, cryptography, networks, information theory, economics, and magic history. He is also fascinated by zero knowledge proofs, firmware reverse engineering, and complicated network effects such as Braess' and Jevon's Paradoxes. Éireann is a regular speaker at computer security conferences such as FIRST, BlackHat, Defcon, Brucon, Hack.lu, RSA, and CCC. We spoke with him for Issue Two of THE NEAT REVIEW about the nature of deception. He discussed lock-picking as a sport, defeating “Anti-tamper” security screws, why the British Army hired a magician during WWII, and social engineering.
London-based photographer, videographer and film art director Emily Seagrove captured NEATCON 2023 and additional NEAT REVIEW videos, graduating from UAL Chelsea in Fine Arts.
Eric Hu
Eric Hu co-founded Baby Grand, a boutique karaoke bar in Brooklyn. He has done magic for 20 years, and worked for Derren Brown on his Broadway show ‘SECRET’.
Father Alex has lived in Paris for 26 years. He is now about 50. Unless you’re quite familiar with the passion project of one Yoann Fontyn from the early 2010’s, “Magical Sleight,” or unless you’ve visited The Session Convention in England, or unless you pride yourself in taking a keen interest in the Parisian magic scene, it’s likely you won’t have heard before of Father Alex. Alex has been a priest for almost 20 years, and has loved magic since he was a child. He is interested chiefly in gambling sleight of hand, including methods of mucks, cops, palms, dice switches, traditional street games such as the three shell game, and the techniques that can be secretly employed in classic gambling games to rig play to the advantage of the mechanic. He is quick to point out to us, though, that his interest extends only to the point of curiosity; he would never actually gamble, let alone cheat.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Guy Hollingworth
Guy Hollingworth is an English barrister, conjurer, author and lecturer. And a gentleman. As a conjurer he is known for his painstaking adeptness, and skilful performances of card magic. It cannot be overstated: his elegant and effortless sleight of hand with cards has been of immeasurable influence on every single one of our contributors.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Helder Guimarães
Helder Guimarães is a Portuguese performer, magician, and storyteller. Known for his unique approach of sleight-of-hand magic and storytelling, Helder's work has been featured at the Kennedy Center, TED Talks, Talks at Google and Off-Broadway productions. The Los Angeles Times stated "he seems remarkably sincere and trustworthy for a man committed to deception,"[2] and The New York Times recognized him as "a Master of Illusions". He spoke with us for Issue Four of THE NEAT REVIEW.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Hide Yamamoto
Hide Yamamoto is a renowned magician from Japan, famous for his intimate, storytelling magic shows at his "Half Moon" bar in Tokyo. His performances blend staggering sleight-of-hand with personal Japanese stories, engaging international audiences. His magic is described as energetic and highly personal, making him a must-see in the Tokyo magic scene for those seeking authentic, close-up magic.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Jeffrey Kellogg
Jeffrey Kellogg, a world-class card magician, has performed in cities like London, Paris, and Shanghai. His shows are filled with mystery, wonder, and insanely memorable moments. A long-standing regular at Manhattan's Speakeasy Magick at the Overlook Bar by Madison Square Park, Jeffrey photographed our launch event of Issue Two in NYC, November 2019.
Justin Higham
A student of famed New York card magician Edward Marlo, Justin Higham has published over 40 books and is a font of card knowledge. He contributed a number of unpublished multiple card controls to our inaugural issue and taught a series of workshops at NEATCON 2023.
Kez Dearmer is a painter, illustrator and 3D visualisation artist living and working in London. His writing, photography and illustrations feature heavily throughout the REVIEW and our books, and he co-created the DEARMERS playing cards with Alexander Hansford. Kez has been chief illustrator at THE NEAT REVIEW since its inception, and he is to thank for why any of the publications even exist.
Kyohei was responsible for the first Japanese translation of S.W. Erdnase's The Expert at the Card Table book, and he contributed a multiple card shift to the third issue of THE NEAT REVIEW. We also collaborated with him and Tomoya Horiki (pictured above, right) to produce the Second Edition of The Expert at the Card Table, which has since received wide circulation within Japan.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Liu Bolin
Liu Bolin is a Chinese performance artist and photographer known for using chameleon-like methods to immerse himself in environments, earning him the nickname “The Invisible Man.” The artist’s Hiding in the City series camouflages Liu by way of paint, a “silent protest” aimed at the Chinese government’s policies in the years since the Cultural Revolution. “Disappearing is not the main point of my work," Liu has said. “It's just the method I use to pass on a message. It's my way to convey all the anxiety I feel for human beings.” He contributed a number of his photographs to THE NEAT REVIEW Issue Four: Everywhere & Nowhere.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Mael Adler
Mael Adler runs the Factorielle 52 magic bar in Paris, hosting magicians from all over Europe at weekly shows, and contributed an amazing triumph routine to Issue Five.
Manu runs a chocolate factory in the South of France. He's also a fantastic card magician. We met with him in Paris and he shared an interchange-based plot for table work.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Molly Budd
Molly Budd is a visual artist whose multi-disciplinary practice spans photography, sculpture, and printmaking to delve into concepts of space, perception, and existence. Graduating from Falmouth University in 2018, she is currently based in the South West of England, where her work combines experimental imagery with philosophical inquiry, translating an intangible impression of the world through form and material. Molly has taken part in notable exhibitions including the South West Graduate Photography Prize (2018), Studio KIND. Summer Open (2023), and Make SouthWest: Making It (2025).
Paavan Buddhdev is a graduate of the University of Oxford, having completed his Masters in Philosophy. Having worked for a number of startups in central London, he is now a senior product designer at Skin + Me.
Pierric Tenthorey is a Franco-Swiss actor, director, magician and author born in Vevey in 1981. As an author, he has written and directed six short films, five music videos, a novel and a collection of short stories, as well as eight plays and shows. His silent show, "Homme encadré sur fond blanc", a blend of humor and visual magic, has been performed nearly 200 times in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Switzerland. As a magician, he has performed and lectured all over the world (Las Vegas, Hollywood at the legendary Magic Castle, London, Busan, Hamburg, etc…), as well as on television and radio (Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde) and numerous RTS radio and TV programs. In 2015, he received the highest distinction in the art of magic, the title of World Champion. (Grand Prix in Close-up magic at FISM in Rimini).
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Ponta The Smith
Ponta the Smith is known as one of the world’s foremost coin magicians. In 2009 he released Sick, which was to leave a lasting impact on the world of coin magic. Ponta is not just a coin technician though – he is passionate about all facets of magic, from sleights and routines to theory and presentation. He co-runs The Impossible Co. in Osaka with Ben Daggers and Takeshi Taniguchi.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Ricky Smith
Widely respected in underground magic circles, Ricky Smith is an impressive sleight-of-hand practitioner who has been amazing fans, peers and mentors with his technique for several years. Ricky’s lectures are always entertaining and informative, but unfortunately far too rare. He has worked at the Conjuring Arts Research Center in New York City, and contributed a fascinating magic walking tour of New York with photography by Benjamin Pratt for Issue Two of THE NEAT REVIEW.
Rory Adams is creative consultant and writer for magicians Justin Willman, Dynamo and Neil Patrick Harris. He runs the incredible "One Ahead Club" a newsletter and online database for magic news and industry insights.
Scott is a Scottish graphic designer and cardist based out of London. He produces his own playing cards under his label "Four Corner", and works for the clothing brand SCRT in east London.
We published Shawn DeSouza-Coelho's "Magic as Medium" as an introduction to linguistics, semiotics, phenomenology and the meaning of art, all through the lens of magic and theatre. Shawn's writing in this book explores the space between the ideal and the real. It prods at the moment of astonishment. Citing a vast compilation of work from magicians such as Paul Harris, Eugene Burger, Max Maven and Derek DelGaudio, Shawn dissects the writings of philosophy giants Saussure and Lacan to Barthes and Heidegger, and considers their works alongside and amidst magic.
Founder of magic studio La Campanella, in Nagoya, and former FISM judge, Shimpei Katsuragawa studied music at university, and taught music before becoming a professional magician. He now gives shows and holds classes at La Campanella, and his art is a confluence of music and magic.
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Stephen Long
Stephen Long is a narrative designer and video game writer, who happens also to be a co-writer of the Derren Brown shows: Apocalypse, The Great Art Robbery, Svengali, The Push, Sacrifice. He describes himself as the Long half of the 'Longshark' writing duo, with Iain Sharkey. Olivier award-winning writer, puzzle box-lover, all round good chap.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Takuma Suzu
With over two decades in the automotive and fashion industries, Takuma Suzu has worked
with Bugatti, Barbour, Moncler, Mackintosh and Woolrich to bring their brands to Japan. Born
in Tokyo, where he lives today, Takuma read English literature at university, including a year
studying abroad in Durham, in the UK. He loves rice pudding and describes himself as "pure Japanese but kind of an English old fart."
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Tatanka Tan
New York-based Tatanka Tan is a hobbyist magician, semi-professional gambler and chess player. He studied psychology and sociology, and collects trinkets. He published a staggering tabled card switch — our favourite move we have published — and an article in conversation with Eric Hu for Issue Two of THE NEAT REVIEW.
In 2017, Ting Chen founded China’s first Magic Bar — The Blackstone Magic Bar. This was an intimate theatre that redefined how magic is presented in China, a unique space that showcased some of the best talents in mystery entertainment. THE NEAT REVIEW created a striking brand identity for Ting, and co-created, designed, edited and published the first book of his work, "Reality Is Magic," in 2023. This work led Ting to a world tour, performing in over 18 cities, delivering lectures, and crafting immersive experiences for festivals and one-of-a-kind events.
Tomoya Horiki is a highly respected Japanese magician, known as an "underground legend," particularly for his masterful coin magic, impeccable sleight-of-hand, devious methods, and unique philosophy. We spoke with him for Issue Three: TOKYO, in 2020.
Cyril Takayama, Guy Hollingworth, Arthur Chavaudret et al.
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Tony Chang
Based out of Queens, New York, Tony Chang is responsible for an entirely new aesthetic of elegant card magic. His sleight of hand is unmatched, and the softness and effortless elegance of his card handling has inspired thousands, among them Dan and Dave Buck, Andrew Frost, and Alexander Hansford. While Tony now claims he can't do any of his old material, his thinking and theory is as sound as ever and his teachings can be seen baked into the works of all proficient card magicians worldwide.
Vera Tobin is an associate professor of Cognitive Science at Case Western Reserve University, where she investigates connections between cognition, language, and narrative, with a special interest in cognitive bias and how people think about other minds. Her research looks at how people interpret and construct narratives together. She contributed a fantastic article to Issue Two.
Will Houstoun has a PhD in the history of magical education, supervised by Dame Marina Warner, and is a winner of the European Magic Championships. He holds a Literary Fellowship with the Academy of Magical Arts in Los Angeles and a Research Fellowship with the Victoria & Albert Museum Research Institute. His current research interests lie in exploring the ways in which the skill and approach of the conjurer can be utilised in an educational context. He was guest editor of Issue Four and contributed linocut artworks for our publication "Reality is Magic".
Yoann Fontyn founded "Magical Sleight", a French collective of innovative card magicians known for unique, visual, and challenging sleight-of-hand, rising to popularity through their download releases from Yoann himself, along with Father Alex and Manu Jo.
