Sharon McAuley, the publisher of St. Joseph Media-owned Toronto Life is taking a year sabbatical to read, write and figure out the next chapter after six years at the helm of the magazine and 25 years in the business.

“I really wanted to make sure the magazine was in a good place before I took time off,” she says. “That it was through the recession. I also like round numbers and thought 25 years was a good time to celebrate with some time off. It is a real milestone.”

McAuley oversaw the recent redesign of the monthly magazine last August and has been a champion of the strong presences TorontoLife.com has carved out in recent years. The magazine has a readership of 742,000, according to the latest PMB report.

No replacement has been named for McAuley, who leaves as of May 23.