Print 360 supports young writers who want to learn the ins and outs of food writing, graphic design, and publishing.
Mentor pairs who participated in this initiative focused their creativity on designing written pieces of nonfiction, fiction, or poetry for the second edition of Girls Write Now’s zine series, Take Me With You.
Learning Objectives
Identify ‘zines’ as “independently published magazines that highlight the voices of creators on the fringes” by learning the history and impact of zines from the 1930s to the present.
Understand the process of creating their own zine by speaking with editors of magazines.
Create an original piece showcasing food/culture that holds significance for them.
Design a dynamic, visual layout for their original piece.
Talking to the Pros
At our Friday Night Salon, Maile Carpenter, founding Editor-in-Chief of Food Network Magazine and The Pioneer Woman Magazine, and Liz Sgroi, Executive Director of both publications, talked about their journeys as journalists and editors, showing a 360 degree view of the print media world.
Print 360 mentees also learned about the structure of publishing and some of the most pressing issues facing the industry today. At a special panel, mentees heard from alum of Inkluded Academy who are now working in publishing, as well as the founder of Inkluded, Michael Mejias, about this groundbreaking program and how to apply. Inkluded is a nonprofit championing diversity in publishing by training and placing young people from underrepresented groups into their first publishing jobs.
Zine Publication
For the second issue of Take Me With You, mentors and mentees focused on food and culture. They created pieces that celebrate the interconnection between our lived experiences, the food we make and eat, and the people around us who share recipes, meals, and their lives with us. They created pieces that embrace the complexity we sometimes feel about food and culture – what battles are we asked to fight with food in our world today? What challenges do we face when we boldly embrace our culture?
Potluck & Reading
After all our writing about food, it was finally time to try it! At our zine release party, Print 360 mentees read their pieces and brought in food for a communal potluck.
Want to join a Learning Journey?
Stay tuned for announcements about learning journeys in the Winter 2024 Cycle, beginning this October.