Behind the Scenes with Allison Hawley March

by Hannah Crawford

Around Rainbow Rumpus, Allison Hawley March is the person who makes sure things get done. Join us this month as Allison tells us what it takes to be the Managing Editor of an online magazine!

Allison, what do you do for Rainbow Rumpus?

I am the Managing Editor, which means I help everyone stick to deadlines and supervise the work of the copy editing team. After the copy editors have looked over the month’s stories for kids, teens, and grown-ups, I go over them again with a fine-toothed comb to make sure we keep the same tone from month to month, and that we haven’t made any big mistakes.

How did you discover Rainbow Rumpus and why did you start volunteering for the magazine?

I love that we create literature for kids that shows everyday families they don’t necessarily get to see in other books. Despite the fact that my husband and I make up a non-LGBT family, I can’t wait to share Rainbow Rumpus resources with my kids someday—this magazine really crosses boundaries, and I think our stories speak to everyone, regardless of the kind of family in which they grew up.

What has been the most challenging part of working for the magazine?

Because we do all of our work online, it can sometimes be hard to stay disciplined with no one but yourself as your "boss." I like to put things off, so I have to really challenge myself to stay on top of when things are due—especially because others are relying on me at different steps of the process.

What is your best memory from working on Rainbow Rumpus?

I love spreading the word about Rainbow Rumpus, and referring friends and parents to the website and the printable picture books. It doesn’t make for one specific memory, because I get to send people to Rainbow Rumpus over and over again!

What was your favorite story when you were a kid?

I can’t possibly pick a favorite book! But two stand out the most in my mind: Matilda, by Roald Dahl, and On the Banks of Plum Creek, by Laura Ingalls Wilder (although I loved her entire series). Both books are completely tattered and dog-eared, and pages are falling out from having been so loved. As I grew older, I really loved Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.

I suppose I really identified with all of the girls in these books, and my parents always encouraged me to be as creative and imaginative as those girls. I still do feel like Anne Shirley (from Anne of Green Gables) on any number of days—lost in my imagination while the world spins around me.

What’s one thing you really want to learn how to do?

I would love to learn to be an artist, and maybe to paint. I have very little artistic ability, but if I could learn to be an artist, that would be pretty sweet.

What sorts of skills do you have to have to be the managing editor of a magazine?

You have to be organized, so you know who has which stories and when they are due, you have to be confident that you can catch mistakes when they happen, and you have to be a nice but firm manager to keep folks on track and on task!