Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Phoebe Bosche. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Phoebe thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
Naming our magazine/literary organization: The Raven Chronicles:
We chose the name Raven because—as we learned from Upper Skagit storyteller Vi Hilbert (now deceased)—in northern Northwest Coast mythology, Raven is a powerful figure who transforms the world, by accident or on purpose. He is also a trickster, a shape-shifter who is mischievous, often selfish, but brings light to the world. We added Chronicles because the magazine is a record of time and events passing and changing, chronos, and us with it.
Phoebe, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I have been managing editor, and now publisher, for The Raven Chronicles literary organization since 1991. Before that I worked at the High Energy Physics Department at the University of Washington as secretary and program manager. After Kathleen Alcala, Phil Red Eagle and I decided to start a multicultural magazine, I took classes in Adobe InDesign and Photoshop. I have been responsible for publishing 52 issues of Raven Chronicles Magazine and, after 2016, 9 books. In 2025, we will publish 5 books. In my job I edit, design books, proofread, write grants, manage budgets, arrange readings and literary events, and manage a team of editors/proofreaders/pr persons/book reviewers/writers. Working with creative people isn’t always easy: creative work is often ego-driven. So, I must always think of the end product and how best to achieve it. I am proud that under my leadership we successfully transitioned from a magazine publisher to a book publisher. In 2021, our book, Take a Stand, Art Against Hate, won the Washington State Book Award for Poetry.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Because we are a known entity in regional publishing, we now have a fairly large social media presence: especially on FaceBook and through our newsletters. We built our audience through free literary events: readings, podcasts, bookfairs, and our online website. We use Amazon’s Goodreads program as it is an excellent opportunity for new writers/publishers to get their work in the hands of readers. We’ve used MailChimp as a resource to send out newsletters: free with a limited number of daily sends but good for small businesses that are just starting out: easy platform to use. We distribute free books and magazines to many organizations as a public benefit. In the new world of AI, words, and how one uses them to explain missions and goals, still matters.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Living and working as a creative being is all-encompassing. As an editor/publisher it means being in contact daily with people who are driven to express themselves in ways unique and artistic. This affects my way of thinking and problem solving: I too have to think out-of-the-box to produce a product, a book, which represents the uniqueness, the soul, of the writer. This is a rewarding, but challenging, life. Book publishing is not a way to make a huge amount of financial rewards, but it is a rewarding way to live.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ravenchronicles.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ravcron/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raven.chronicles
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phoebe-bosche-3329a4194
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RavenChroniclesPress
- Other: Bluesky:
@ravenchron.bsky.social
@phbos.bsky.social
