In the middle of the recession in 2009, Jamie Millard (no relation to this writer) was ready to find work in publishing. There was just one problem: there were no jobs for her.
After graduating at the top of her class and having done five internships, Millard still couldn't find a position. "So, I decided to stop asking for permission and create my own," she says. Together with a couple other enthusiastic, literary friends she formed
Paper Darts in order to create a new literary magazine.
"We saw the opportunity to jazz up that genre with a more lighthearted tone, to pull in the mainstream reader," she says. "That was our mission, to fill the void of unemployment with something useful."
Although Millard eventually landed a job at the Charities Review Council, she and the other founders kept the magazine going and even hired an editorial director to bring more cohesion to the firm. Recently, Paper Darts published its first book, and the staff members were excited to learn about the book publishing process from start to finish, Millard notes.
The firm has slowly turned into a creative agency as well. They'll be redesigning the popular Pollen newsletter, and taking on other projects as they crop up. Millard says, "We're trying to build a model that can support a full-time staff, but right now, we're just happy with the creative projects that we have. We're having fun with it."
Source: Jamie Millard, Paper Darts
Writer: Elizabeth Millard