Lisa Lucas has been named publisher of Guernica, the magazine announced this afternoon. The hire marks the first full-time, paid position at the online, nonprofit arts and politics outlet as it ramps up to celebrate its 10 year anniversary.
After a decade as an online magazine, Guernica also announced that its planning a print publication, which Ms. Lucas will help create.
“I am thrilled to be charged with ushering Guernica into a new era of growth and sustainability. For 10 years, the magazine has been publishing the highest caliber of intellectual and literary work for free,” Ms. Lucas said in an announcement. “With keen long-term strategy, we will continue to do so while fostering creative culture by supporting our incredible contributors and expanding our offerings to new platforms.”
As publisher, Ms. Lucas will focus on planning Guernica’s 10th anniversary gala, organizational infrastructure, and fundraising so that the magazine will finally be able to to pay writers, among other organizational changes.
Ms. Lucas had been acting as the publisher in a volunteer capacity. Before joining Guernica, Ms. Lucas spent six years the director of education at Tribeca Film Institute and worked as a consultant for a range of non-profit arts and literary organizations. She is also co-chair of non-fiction programming for the Brooklyn Book Festival.
“Lisa’s proven non-profit-management acumen and passion for Guernica’s mission of bringing the best writing in arts and politics to the public for free make her ideal for this position,” co-founder and editor in chief Michael Archer said in the announcement. “Last year, while volunteer publisher of the magazine, she launched a successful Kickstarter campaign that took a decisive step towards making our 10 year labor-of-love a strong, sustainable non-profit.”