Radio Interview with Leah Larson

TEXT VERSION:

The publisher of this magazine for young Jewish girls knows her audience well.

A two year old magazine called YALDAH, the Hebrew word for girl, is geared towards Jewish girls ages 8-14. At 14 years old, publisher and editor in chief, Leah Larson, first started YALDAH magazine when she realized that there was nothing else quite like it, and that it was exactly the sort of thing she herself would like to read. The quarterly magazine boasts 600 subscribers after only 2 years and 6 issues. Leah is here to speak with us today.

Bnai Brith: Hi Leah, welcome to Bnai Brith radio studio J. Thanks for being with us.

Leah Larson: Thank you,

BB: Tell me where the idea for YALDAH came from.

LL: I had always looked for a magazine like YALDAH and I never really found it. I had found magazines that were just for Jewish children or just for girls, but nothing specifically for Jewish girls ages 8-14. And finally when i was 13 i decided to make that magazine.

BB: What aspects of the magazine are you directly involved with?

LL: I'm directly involved with almost all aspects: I do editing, I plan what's going to be in each issue, I'm the webmaster, I do the design and layout, the publicity, I answer e-mails and letters from our readers, i coordinate the subscriber list, I'm the photographer, the illustrator...I really do most of it.

BB:Thats a whole set of skills, these are things I imagine you'd have to learn as you go, I mean, you're 14 years old so it's not like you got to go to college for these sorts of things. What skills would you say you really have to learn through doing?

LL: One of the hardest things was learning how to get advertising, and even now it's still a challenge. I'll call up companies and write letters but that was a lot harder than I thought it would be. And also things like budgeting, and learning how to get a tax ID number... or, you know, file taxes... that I had no idea about before I started YALDAH.

BB: Who do you have helping you, sort of guiding you?

LL: I have my parents, and I have an editorial board but those are also girls. They help with the editorial aspects. They'll give ideas for articles and they'll proofread, and test crafts. And then we have a lot of family friends that have given me advice, like my father's coworker at work: she works in design so she's been advising me about some design aspects of a magazine, and what programs to use, and then another family friend who publishes her own magazine has given me a lot of helpful information about everything on starting a magazine.

BB: A sample of articles you've published includes recipes, quizzes, tips for babysitters, purim costumes, tzedakah projects, feature stories about Jewish girls in other countries... what would you say you like researching or writing about the most?

LL: One of the most inspiring things to write about is just other Jewish girls out there who are doing amazing things or interesting things, so I really enjoyed working on those articles. From the Jewish singer who sings about Jewish topics and some of her songs are in Hebrew, it was very inspiring to hear how she's just dedicated to what she does. And another girl describing what it's like to act in a jewish movie, and another girl who has diabetes who wrote about a walk she organized to raise money... it's just really inspiring to hear about other Jewish girls doing great things,

BB: Do you ever worry that you'll run out of ideas? How do you spark up your creative juices?

LL: Well I do read other magazines for ideas, but as of now, i haven't had any trouble thinking of ideas for articles. The problem really has been deciding what can fit in the magazine, and what will have to wait for the next issue. And with our editorial board and anyone really can send in ideas for articles they'd like to read, there's a huge mount of articles waiting to be written.

BB: Now you're 14 years old and you gear your magazine towards ages 8-14. When you turn 15 and get later on into your teen years, do you think you're going to change the target audience or would you like to continue publishing for that group?

LL: I've considered that issue and I think i will keep it for ages 8-14 because, like I said, there really isn't another magazine out there for that age group. And that's what the magazine is, and i can kind of be independent of that. But I want to make sure it is still published by Jewish girls so there will be another editor or editorial helper, in that age range, and there's the editorial board, and my sister is just turning 8 when i turn 15 so we'll have another family member that's in the age range also.

BB: What do you do in your spare time, or is all your spare time invested in the magazine?

LL: I don't have too much spare time, but I do enjoy writing outside of the magazine, i'll write short stories. I also enjoy scrap-booking and photography, but pretty much all of my time is devoted to YALDAH.

BB: A renaissance woman! What sort of feedback have you gotten?

LL: I've gotten tremendous feedback from our readers and from their parents also. Very, very positive. A lot of girls wrote to me saying that either they were inspired to be creative, which is kind of our mission, by reading something in YALDAH. Another girl said that when she read about a girl who donated her hair to locks of love, she was also inspired to do that. Girls have written that it really gives them a feeling of a sense of connection to Jewish girls. And their parents really also say that they're really glad that YALDAH exists, and they think it's a great thing for their daughter, and they wish it was around when they were younger.

BB: How would you say YADAH magazine has changed your life?

LL: Well, I'm definitely a lot busier! But I also have a lot of friends and connetions from all over the world now. I have girls e-mailing me from China and Panama and Uruguray, you know, it's just... there's a huge network now of girls out there who are helping with YALDAH and sending in their ideas and, you know, just ...being e-pals. And also I guess I feel more mature, like I've had this experience of running a business, so that's a lot different than it used to be.

BB: You've done a lot for a 14 year old. What else do you hope awaits you in your future?

LL: I would like to continue with YALDAH and see how that goes. Also i'd like to incorperate writing somehow, become a writer, and a lot of the talents that i'm using for YALDAH I'd also like to continue... maybe some photography or art. I enjoy teaching also, so hopefully I can do that when I'm older. And, I don't know... I'll take it a year at a time.

BB: Leah, thank you so much for speaking with us and best of luck to you.

That was Leah Larson, the 14 year old publisher of YALDAH magazine. Find out more at www.yaldahmagazine,com.