And now, for my next trick… a blog post on a Saturday! I wanted to finish up this mailbag for you guys yesterday, but I didn’t have time. So here you go: the first ever weekend OWL blog post.

Ta-da!:

Q: Who was the first editor of OWL? (I know one thing for sure: you are the best editor of OWL!)
— Mary

CB: Wow, Mary! Thanks so much for the compliment.

To your question, the first editor of OWL was Annabel Slaight. She helped start the magazine way (way) back in 1976. I interviewed her on the blog a while ago, and she’s not only an amazing magazine pioneer, she’s also very cool. You can read the whole interview here.

Q: How do you become an editor? ’Cause I’d love to be one.
— Sydney

CB: A follow-up question! Awesome. There are lots of different ways to become an editor. First and foremost, though, you have to have a love of reading and writing, and you have to do both as much as you can. It’s also important to become an expert in your field. If you want to edit, say, a magazine for kids, you need to know all you can about magazines for kids.

Finally, all editors at OWL have a university or college degree in something, but there isn’t one particular degree that you need to have.

Q: When I was visiting my cousin she said she was on the OWL Think Tank. What’s that?
— Ceanray

CB: Hi, Ceanray! OWL’s Think Tank is a group of more than 50 kids from across North America. We communicate with them by email, and they help us out with all sorts of stuff. One week we might ask their opinions about upcoming “Hot Topic” questions. The next, we might send them some pages of a new Owlkids book to look at. They’re a hugely important part of the team!

If that sounds like fun, look out for the Think Tank page in the April issue. We publish a full-page invite every year.

Q: Sorry, I’m kinda confused about the Photo Contest. Can I email photos? Or can I print them out and send them? Or do I have to get them developed and then send them?
— Cheryl

CB: Good question, Cheryl. You can send them one of three ways: email them to owl@owlkids.com, print them on high-quality photo paper and send them, or get them developed and send them. We print the winners in the magazine, so we need to receive them in the best quality possible.

Can’t wait to see all your entries for this, by the way. Should be fantastic!

Q: Craig, do you have any pets?
— Madeleine

CB: Does a plant count? If not, then, sadly, the answer is no. However, I do have this YouTube clip of several dogs tilting their heads back and forth in hilarious ways:

That has to count, right? Right. (Also, just in case you’re curious, my plant is a jade plant. Named Jay.)

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That’s it from me, guys. I hope you all enjoy the weekend, and I’ll talk to you next week. Big news around the OWL office!

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 at 10:03 am in Mailbag.