Erin Bried
American magazine publisher
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Erin Bried is an American publisher, author, and the founder and editor-in-chief of Kazoo magazine, the first children’s magazine to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence, in 2019.[1] She is the author of three books, including How to Sew a Button: and other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew.
Erin Bried | |
|---|---|
Bried with her National Magazine Award in 2019 | |
| Born | Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | Pennsylvania State University |
| Known for | Editor-in-chief, Kazoo magazine |
| Spouse |
Holly Bemiss (m. 2008) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | kazoomagazine.com |
Early life and education
Bried was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to William Bried, a lawyer, and Claire Bried, a teacher.[2] She attended Parkland High School in South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania[3] where she was captain of the soccer team in her senior year[4] and was nominated for the first "Soccer Scholar Athlete Award" from the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference in 1992.[5]
Bried then attended Pennsylvania State University’s Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications,[6] where she graduated with a degree in advertising in 1996.[7][8]
Career
Between 1997 and 2015 Bried worked at Condé Nast as an editor at Glamour and then editor-at-large at Self.[9] She was also a writer and editor for Golf for Women, Women’s Health[10] and Good Housekeeping.[11]
Bried decided to create Kazoo magazine in 2016 in response to a shopping trip with her 5-year old daughter, where the covers of the girls’ magazines they looked at “all had dolls, lip gloss and princesses on them; they all had articles about ‘how to get pretty hair, how to have good manners’".[12] In creating a print-only magazine, Bried saw the “magazine as an opportunity to politicize girls at a critical moment in their lives, to ‘shore up their foundation’ of empowerment before the pressures of patriarchy set in during adolescence.”[13]
Bried is the only full-time staff member of the magazine, she writes everything except the fiction.[14] On behalf of Kazoo she has appeared on Today, Better TV and NPR.[15]
Kickstarter campaign
Bried launched a Kickstarter campaign in March 2016, with the aim of raising US$150,000. Two of Bried’s friends, both filmmakers, made a launch video that “went viral” and Neil Gaiman and Roxane Gay tweeted about it.[16] Within 30 days the campaign had raised $171,215 from 3,000 people.[17] At that point, it was the highest funded journalism campaign on Kickstarter (this record has since been superseded).[18] Almost one third of the donations came from first-time backers.[19]
Publications
Bried has published or edited the following books:
- Noisemakers: 25 Women who Raised their Voices and Changed the World (2020)[20] Editor. Pub. Knopf Books for Young Readers ISBN 9780525580171
- How to Sew a Button: and other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew (2009)[21] Pub. Ballantine Books ISBN 978-0385365208
- How to Build a Fire: and other Handy Things Your Grandfather Knew (2010)[22] Pub. Ballantine ISBN 978-0385365192
- How to Rock your Baby: and other Timeless Tips for Modern Moms (2012)[23] Pub. Hyperion ISBN 978-1401324599
Awards and honours
In 2022, Bried was named a Parkland School District Education Foundation Distinguished Alumna and her name was added to its Wall of Honor.[24]
Personal life
As a student at Penn State, Bried met Holly Bemiss. In 1997, they moved to New York City[25] and married in 2008 at Prospect Park, Brooklyn.[26] A photo of Bried and Bemiss at their wedding ceremony appeared on the cover of New York Magazine’s 2008 winter issue.[27][28] Bemiss is a literary agent. They have two children.[29]
