In early February, the Big Sky Sun Journal had the opportunity to speak with book editor Julie Stevenson.
Stevenson used to be the editor for the original Sun Journal in its heyday in the 90s, and used the skills obtained from the high school’s journalism program to become a well-respected and highly regarded literary agent.
Check out the full interview below to learn more about Stevenson and her time with the Sun Journal.
Ashlynn Lewis : Could you give us a quick recap of what you produced for the Sun Journal?
Julie Stevenson: Sure, we produced a physical newspaper that would come out once a week and it would be distributed to all the classes. So it was like ‘work on a deadline.’ I think it was either once a week or twice a month, I can’t remember now if it was like bi-weekly or weekly. … But basically, it was a physical newspaper and we worked on different stories about the school and then we would print that and distribute it to the student body. But it was very student-led and directed, so we covered what you would see in the Missoulian today, like we covered sports, we covered activities, we covered big events that were happening at school, and then it also gave me as the editor – I was the editor for my junior and senior year, before that I was just kinda on the staff – but it gave me an opportunity to even go outside of the community and interview people and sort of learn about our community [by] interviewing people. I remember I got to interview Archbishop Desmond Tutu, I don’t know if you know who that is, but he’s a very prominent figure in South Africa working for human rights and human justice issues, so he came to Helena to speak in the 90s and I remember I got to go to Helena and sort of be there as part of a press core and hear his speech and get to cover that for the paper. That was a highlight for me.
Lewis: How would you rate your experience with the Sun Journal (out of 10)?
Stevenson: I’d say it was a 10, and the reason that it was a 10 is because it gave me an opportunity to build my skills in writing and communication and have a voice in the school and develop my sense of self. So, all of those things are really important while you’re young because you’re kinda still trying to figure out who you are, and when you have an opportunity to write, that often leads to self-expression and self-understanding. And that was really important for me … and I had a great teacher, Mr. Junkert, because he was really open to that and created an environment where students felt free to both express themselves and explore.
Lewis: What was a time you felt yourself changing and becoming a better editor?
Stevenson: I think this is a good question because when you’re an editor, you are in charge of not just your own writing, but other people’s writing and of deciding how a story should flow, if it’s working or not working, and telling someone else how to write their story. I learned by making a big mistake, actually. I used to be a staff writer then I was the editor, and as the editor, I was like ‘okay, I know best, I’m gonna tell this person that this story isn’t really working very well and here’s why and actually I’m just gonna change it.’ So I went in and changed this person’s story without really talking to her or working with her very well, and when she came back, she knew that her story had been changed and it was really hurtful to her and I realized that I had screwed up in a really big way because I should’ve talked to her about the edits before I just went in and changed her writing. But I didn’t know that, I thought my job was to be the boss. I had to learn that being in charge doesn’t just mean plowing over people and doing what you think is right, it also means communicating and working with someone. So, I learned by making a mistake.
Lewis: Did the Sun Journal help build any skills that you’re using in your current job?
Stevenson: Yeah, so my current job, I’m a literary agent, and I lived in New York for many years where I developed that career. I went to graduate school in New York, then I lived there for 12 years while I was building my career in publishing. Basically, [as a literary agent] I look for talent by reading lots of manuscripts. So, if somebody wants to be a published writer, they’re gonna send a literary agent their unpublished novel. It just comes in and they’ll send me a file and it’s like 300 pages and it’s their novel that they want published, and I will read it and decide if I think it’s any good. And if I think it’s any good, then I will sign them to my agency, which is an agreement that a writer signs with a literary agent to say that I’m representing the writer.
Lewis: What do you think of the present day Sun Journal?
Stevenson: Well, I haven’t seen it, but I’m very excited about it. I’m very excited that you guys are doing it because having an opportunity to learn how to do journalism well will serve you in the future. And it’s also a really important contribution to our society because we need a free press, and the free press is there to provide information that sometimes isn’t freely given. So the free press is there to investigate, it’s there to understand what’s happening in society and report that to people, it’s there to be a check on power. The free press is really important and the Sun Journal, by teaching kids and students those skills of journalism, they’re teaching them to have a role in our society that’s pretty important.
