25th Anniversary Countdown to Christmas: Day 21

Throughout December, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Martha Stewart Living magazine, I will examine 25 of the most memorable and influential people, moments and milestones at Martha Stewart's company over the last quarter century: the Martha Moments that fans are especially grateful for. I hope you enjoy these reflections on twenty-five years of excellence!

DECEMBER 21: ELLEN MORRISSEY

If there is a department at Martha Stewart Living where I would love to work, it is certainly the special projects department. This is the department that comes up with ideas for special issue publications, for Martha Stewart Living books and anything publishing related that exists outside the regular production of the subscription magazines, Martha Stewart Living and Martha Stewart Weddings. Heading up this department is Ellen Morrissey, Editorial Director, Special Projects Group at MSLO. She joined the company in 2001 as a books editor and oversaw the publication of ten New York Times bestsellers, including Martha Stewart's Cookies, Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook, Everyday Food: Fresh, Flavor, Fast, Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts, and Power Foods. She had previously worked at Gourmet magazine and at HarperCollins Publishers.

What I find so exciting about this department is the genesis of the idea for a publishing project: coming up with ideas for a special issue and gathering all the necessary content to make that special issue a reality. Coming up with subjects for new books and coming up with the content, the organization of the book's chapters, the collation of the information and putting it all together must be such a fun and interesting challenge. Ellen's efforts have been instrumental to the success of Martha's books and through her collaborations with the editors at Martha Stewart Living, she has come up with some of the most interesting and collectible special issue magazines that I know we all love and cherish. Thank you, Ellen! And Happy Anniversary!