On April 22, 2014 Desiree Rogers, CEO of Johnson Publishing Company (JPC), named Mitzi Miller as the new editor-in-chief of EBONY magazine, effective immediately.
Miller, most recently served as editor-in-chief of JET magazine, a post she had held since May 2011. Wendy Wilson, the current managing editor of JET magazine, will now oversee the day-to-day operations of JET magazine.
“Mitzi is a gifted editor with tremendous energy and passion, and her strong editorial background will catapult the EBONY brand to greater heights,” said Rogers. “We are thrilled to have Mitzi in our JPC family and are excited to see the new direction she will bring to the magazine.”
“I am extremely humbled to be trusted with the responsibility of leading the number one African-American publication in the country,” said Miller. “Amy Barnett is an exceptional editor, and I am honored to succeed her as editor-in-chief at EBONY. I am excited about all the possibilities as I assume my new role.”
While at the helm of JET magazine, Miller revamped the iconic 62-year-old brand with the magazine’s first and only successful redesign, re-launch of the Jet website and an increased social media presence. An award-winning journalist and bestselling author of five books, Miller is regularly a featured guest on several national television programs, including ABC’s Good Morning America, TV One’s News One Now with Roland Martin, MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry and CNN’s CNN Newsroom.
Prior to joining JET, Miller served as the editor-in-chief of SET Magazine. A former associate editor at JANE Magazine, she began her editorial career in 2001 at HONEY magazine. Miller holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Florida A&M University and currently sits on the Jack & Jill of America Foundation Board. Her recent accolades include recognition among The Root 100 honorees for 2013, Florida A&M University’s 125 Outstanding Alumni of the Quasquicentennial, and Crain’s Chicago Business Magazine’s 2011 40 Under 40 roster.
Miller succeeds Amy DuBois Barnett, who is leaving EBONY after serving as editor-in-chief since 2010.
About EBONY magazine
EBONY is the No. 1 source for an authoritative perspective on the African-American community. The monthly magazine, now in its 68th year, reaches nearly 11 million readers. EBONY magazine features the best thinkers, trendsetters, hottest celebrities and next-generation leaders of African-Americans. EBONY magazine ignites conversation, promotes empowerment and celebrates aspiration. Available nationwide on newsstands and the iPad, EBONY magazine is the heart, the soul and the pulse of African-Americans
If you were me, what would you do?
Jocelyn McSayles
Aspirant Auteur
I’m entirely the artist, tired and wearied, yet observant, hopeful, eager to alter the world for a lighter version. My novels are filled with poetry, heart, art, and tales of darkness, depth, homelessness, depression, intimate partner violence, all based upon my interpretations of real events.
I have always had the gift of being a storyteller, and, I have funneled that gift into five manuscripts which I have a desire to publish (as the sixth is a compilation of my poetry), so that the world may have another message, another tale that might inspire, change, and advance this world. I also want to work to end homelessness on a world scale. I just have to find the right way in which to do it.
I have six books that I’m seeking representation and publishing for! I hope to soon follow in the steps of Khaled Hosseini, Maya Angelou, Robert Frost, and Richard Wright for the following reason.
I’d say that my books have the realism of Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns), the shock and boldness and accuracy of Richard Wright (Black Boy, Native Son), the poetry of Dr. Maya Angelou and Robert Frost, the bildungsroman of J.D. Salinger, and the perilous romance of Ian McEwan (Atonement). But, too, the passion of myself, the words of a 21st century youth, on the brink of adulthood with the ambition and hopefulness everyone first holds. I hope that you might be able to help me.
In the words of my architecture professor, my desire to be published is like “Horton Hears A Who… you know, you have to believe in it… at some point (praise the Lord ^.^) you’re going to have to hear a Who… at some point, you’re going to have to believe in what you’re doing” and, I believe in this. Thank you for seeking to connect!
. I am 22, right now, and, I have a passion: writing. I have six books in my belt but no one who will actually do anything about helping me in my struggle to have those words published outside of giving me advice to find a literary agent; a seeming impossibility when no one wants to take a risk on the 22 year old newcomer that has not a name. Everyone says be young, follow your passion, yet, when I say that I want to follow my passion, no one wants to help me unlock the door, though they see that my arms are full. What am I to do? Self-confidence and patience won’t help me with loan-repayment. Must I settle in a ten-year job I hate just to pay the bills when I could just do what I love, which is continue writing, if only I could share it with someone other than my jump drive device?
For we who are 22 could use a bit more help and less advice in our lives. I have four years of University and a degree worth of advice from the world’s best scholars and writers, etc. What I need, being currently 22 with six books that no one wants to help publish, is not more words, not more encouragement or people telling me to stick with it, that I can publish the books if I just hold out, or to work a job outside of my interest, just to at least start paying back loans that I cannot afford. What we, the current generation of 22-year-olds, need is not our parents and the prior generations telling us to live and be young, or simply telling us what to do or to believe and hold out. What we need is a bit more than faith in our abilities or that everything will turn out right. Surely, we have that. What we need is someone who has walked the path we are currently treading upon to give us a hand up, not a hand out. Help us to achieve our goals, don’t simply tell us that we can.
Thank you! *^.^