Archive for the ‘Paste Magazine’ Category

The Wren’s Nest Publishing Co. Visits Paste Magazine — This Time, in 2010!

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The good folks at Paste Magazine were kind enough to host the Wren’s Nest Publishing Co. students on a tour of their offices once again.  You think they would learn.

As is his habit, Editor-in-Chief Josh Jackson graciously showed us around, which was great.   The students, as is their habit, kept a healthy distance.  A good call, since Josh is absolutely the meanest person I know.*

*Untrue.

We stopped in the offices of MetaLeap Design, who do all the graphic design for Paste, but also for other people, too.  They’re nice like that.

Here are the students with their futures (fingers crossed!) ahead of them: the interns!  Doesn’t it look glamorous?!

Our editors had a lot of questions for Paste’s Editors, all of which they graciously answered.  This is probably when Associate Editor Rachael said that interviewing people made her want to die.

A different view, this time including Editors Austin and Michael.

Paste, go figure, receives a lot of CDs.  Many of them end up here, and some are even on shelves!

They even listen to them sometimes!

Paste Multimedia Producer Kevin told the students about the time he met some dudes who were cleaning up trash at a music festival.  They handed him their demo CD.   Kevin had previously vowed to listen to every CD he was handed by a human, and so he listened.

The result?  The world now knows about The Low Anthem!  (P.S.  Every time Kevin tells that story, he’s handed many CDs.  And he still listens to every one.  What a mensch!)

Everyone who performs at Paste signs this wall.  It’s neat.

Here’s Rachael enjoying a token of our appreciation, courtesy of The Cookie Studio.  Yes, they are that big, and yes, they are that good.

Thanks again to the staff of Paste for sacrificing their time for the sake of our students’ bragging rights.  See y’all next summer!

Wren’s Nest Publishing Co. Entering its Fourth Lap!

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Since 2007, we’ve been lucky enough to work with incredible student editors to create three exceptional literary journals.  So we decided to stop while we were ahead.

KIDDING!

Nope, we’re entering our fourth year with the Wren’s Nest Publishing Co. and couldn’t be more excited.  Sure, we’ve been harping about our new KIPP STRIVE program, but behind the scenes, WNPCo. is on and poppin’.

We’ve sent informational packets to all of the English Department heads of every high school we could think of in Fulton and Dekalb counties and have already heard back from several students interested in Editor positions.  It’s working!

“What do you mean, Editor positions?” you ask.  You crazy ignoramus!  Looks like it’s time for me to break down the whole program.

• –> Throughout the summer we work with a team of 8-10 student editors, all Atlanta-area high school students, who do all the work for us while we take the credit.  Just kidding!  Kind of!  The students really do make all editorial decisions, including which pieces to include, how to format the text, the name of the publication, choosing the cover, etc.  They also learn how to market the journal, and are responsible for soliciting all of the submissions.
• –> The submissions are all from Atlanta-area high school students.  They include short stories, essays, poetry, and artwork — and they’ve been darn good, if I do say so.
• –> The journal is created with and for the Decatur Book Festival, the country’s largest independent book festival.  The journal debuts there on Labor Day weekend and the Editors organize a literary salon to celebrate the journal and its contributors.
• –> Because of our ties to the good people at the DBF, we’ve also been able to do great things like tour the AJC, tour Paste Magazine’s offices (the students’ favorite trip each year), and have writers, authors, marketing professionals and other experts in the publishing world talk to the group throughout the summer.  Which is important, because Lain and I don’t know what we’re doing.

(Our 2009 Editors deciding which of Paste’s awards to steal.)

Lots and lots of information about the program can be found here, including the Editor application due date (*cough* May 9th) and the submission deadline (*double cough* July 5th).

I suggest taking a gander and then telling every teacher, parent, and overachieving teenager you know about the program.  We can only get the word out so far, which is where you come in!

Also, you know what’s fun to do?  Our bidding!  Thank you very much!

Georgia Theater Accepting Donations for Renovation — Cool or Uncool?

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One of the AJC’s new blogs, Inside Access, recently featured news about the Georgia Theatre, which was ravaged by a fire in June.

(Photo courtesy of neuftoes)

The theater, located in Athens, is now accepting donations through the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation to help offset construction costs.  If the commenters are to be believed (and given the history of commenters at the AJC, this is at best hazardous), this partnership has gotten some major panties in a bunch.

Recently, there have been a few for-profit businesses (Paste, Wordsmiths (RIP)) that have asked for donations to keep themselves alive.  The mixing of profit with non-profit tactics really ticked some people off.

Yet we, as a non-profit, ask for donations to stay alive all the time.  Really, it’s pretty much all we do.  And to date, not one person has yelped, “Well, I NEVER!” in response.

Now, I know there are inherent differences (like tax-exemption).  But how severe are those differences from the viewpoint of the Average Joe who’s happy to see both the Wren’s Nest and the Georgia Theatre in his neighborhood?  Should he not financially support the theater because it’s for-profit, even though the end result is essentially the same for him?

I know the simple logic is “Well derr, Amelia — you support the theater by giving them money to see shows they put on.  Idiot.”  But that’s hard to do when the theater is all “non-functional” and “charred.”

In the interest of full disclosure, I have donated my hard-earned pennies to for-profits, but not all that asked.  And with a lot more deliberation than when I’ve donated to non-profits.

What do y’all think?  Would you donate to the Georgia Theatre?

An Article on The Wren’s Nest Won An Award — It’s About Damn Time

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Did you know that Rachael Maddux won the Magazine Association of the Southeast’s 2009 Silver GAMMA award for Best Feature with her article on The Wren’s Nest?

Neither did we.  Read the article — Dummies in the Attic — to relive the magic, Paste Magazine July ’08 style.  I’m not going to say a great writer is nothing without a great subject, but I sure am going to plant the notion.

Rachael’s (undoubtedly impressive) certificate of achievement was not highlighted during our recent tour, for reasons I do not understand.   Rachael and her modesty are the worst. I mean, best!  (I mean worst.)

Paste Magazine Hosts the Wren’s Nest Publishing Co. and We Have Photos To Prove It

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Today marks the one-week anniversary of the Wren’s Nest Publishing Company’s annual tour of Paste, a music and culture magazine of international renown.

As always, the editors in our high school literary journal program said (over and over) it was the best thing ever.  As always, I agreed.

Josh Jackson, editor-in-chief at Paste, showed us around and answered the (truly outstanding) questions he received from our high school editors.  Turns out he knows a thing or two about the magazine he created.

Throughout the tour, the editors were reminded that Josh would neither bite nor scratch.

Nevertheless, they kept their distance — just to play it safe — as you can see above.  I think this is hilarious.

Our editors got the chance to meet Paste’s professional, real-life editors and ask more questions.

Later, our editors enviously applauded the Paste’s staff’s ability to do work with their feet up while eating cookies.  Now they all want internships.  Go figure.

Josh showed us Paste’s CD and DVD room, which is… a room full of CDs and DVDs they receive at the magazine.  There were also bins of “garbage CDs” just outside of the picture, but those seemed too sad to show.  Though don’t let me keep you from taking a moment to use your imagination.

In the recording studio Josh dropped a major bomb — Paste is featured in Guitar Hero 3.  This was not taken lightly.  The ladies above made eager vows to play and confirm upon returning home.

Just outside the recording studio there’s a wall with signatures from artists who have visited.  The editors spent not a small amount of time poring over the signatures.

Here our editors take delight in all of the awards Paste has won.  They’re real team players.  If you look closely, you can see that Paste was in Atlanta Magazine’s Best of Atlanta for 2007, just like The Wren’s Nest.

In the end, after an amazing tour and approximately 1,100 questions, it was time to leave.  I think you can tell from our editors’ faces what an awful time they had.

Thanks again, Josh!  And thanks to Rachael for helping us set it up — you guys can tour our (one room) office anytime.

Paste Magazine in Trouble — You Can (and Totally Should) Help!

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The award winning and totally awesome Paste Magazine is struggling to release its next issue.  They may put out a phenomenal magazine, but they haven’t been immune to the recession.

Here’s how you can help.  Below are just a few self-absorbed reasons why –

• The Wren’s Nest was featured in Paste in July ’08, accompanied by the toughest picture of Lain ever taken.  We love the article, Dummies in the Attic, and it was a treat to work with the writer.

• Paste has long been a strong supporter of the literary community in Atlanta and neighboring Decatur.  You know the our wonderful partners at the Decatur Book Festival?  Their offices used to be in Paste.  Plus, when Wordsmith’s, an independent bookstore, was hurting, Paste hosted a fundraiser.  Community oriented indeed.

• For the past two years Paste has been the highlight tour of our Publishing Company program, according to our Editors, who are known for telling it like it is.

And that’s just us.  We’ve barely touched how great the actual magazine and website are (answer: very).

You can read the letter from Paste’s Editor Josh Jackson (pictured above) to readers here, find FAQs here, and most importantly, donate here.  Be sure to check out all the music you get in return for donating.  Good deeds can be rewarded!

Lain has already donated $25, and I’ll be doing the same shortly.  And remember — we’re but poor nonprofit folks.  Show us how it’s done, please.