In the biggest staff shakeup since Aaron Hicklin took over Out – the gay magazine with straight people on the cover – exclusive word arrives from fagala cousin Queerty that publisher Joe Landry is out the door. And he's headed for BlackBook. You know, the magazine where Hicklin was just editor.

But from what we understand, his exit was a long time coming.

As our same-sex-inclined cuz explains:

We asked around for a bit of explanation, but have yet to turn up anything concrete. One thing's for sure, the formerly LA-centric Landry's going to spending a lot of time in New York, where Blackbook and Out both have offices. If any of you kids have more information, we'll gladly accept…

As for who will fill Landry's seat? Your guess is as good as Out's - they're apparently on the prowl.

Meanwhile, Landry has been the sitting publisher at Out (and The Advocate, Out Traveler, etc.) for, like, ever. And as you could guess from the thinning of the book, owner PlanetOut Partners hasn't exactly been pleased with his performance. Publicly, they'll blame the growing struggle of the gay market, which Details and GQ continue to infringe upon. But as one insider puts it, "he'd grown too comfortable in the position" and wasn't pushing the brand as heavily as he should have.

And thus, he's making a well-played exit, likely good news for all parties.

Also worth noting: This is the third exit from an Out staffer on their way to BlackBook.

Also, also worth noting: Unlike most incoming EICs, Hicklin has yet to make significant slashes on the editorial side.