Behind-the-Scenes of Red Hen: A Conversation with Marc Gumbin
By Lizzy Young
We are continuing our behind-the-scenes tour of Red Hen with the newest member of the team, Development Assistant Marc Merrill Gumbin!
Marc Merrill Gumbin is a writer and filmmaker from Tucson, AZ. He is an MFA candidate in Fiction at Vermont College of Fine Arts and a 2018 graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts. His writing has been published in The Normal School and Motherwell and he has been rewarded with writing residencies at Vermont Studio Center and the Gullkistan Center for Creativity. He is currently working on his first novel.
He previously served as the Marketing Assistant and Events Host at premiere West Hollywood bookstore Book Soup, before joining Red Hen Press as their Development Assistant. At Red Hen, Marc is in charge of fundraising, writing grants, donor cultivation, and assisting the Development team. He lives in Los Angeles, CA with his dog Fiona.
Lizzy Young: What are your primary responsibilities at Red Hen?
Marc Gumbin: I am in charge of writing non-WITS grants, donor cultivation, planning next year’s (and future) benefit(s), and assisting Kate.
LY: How did you get connected with Red Hen?
MG: I had known about Red Hen as one of LA’s few local presses thanks to my last job at Book Soup, where I was in charge of running events & social media. One of my coworkers had actually previously been an intern here. Around the time I was looking to move on from Book Soup, I saw a job posting for Red Hen and applied. It felt serendipitous.
LY: How did you get your start in the publishing industry?
MG: Red Hen is actually my first job in the publishing industry! As I mentioned, I previously worked around books (although technically in retail) at the Soup and writing at Writopia, another great nonprofit that conducts Creative Writing workshops for children (in LA, NY, and elsewhere). Before that, I worked briefly in the film industry, in story development and post-production. I’m also now a graduate student at a low-res Creative Writing MFA program, so even though this is my first official publishing gig, I’ve consistently been circling around stories and writing/art in my career.
LY: As a new part of Red Hen, what are you looking forward to the most about working with the Press?
MG: Despite being a very creative person, I’m deeply interested in the business side of arts organizations as well. I’m looking forward to learning more about donor cultivation, raising and securing funds, and how a nonprofit like Red Hen is made sustainable. As someone still interested in film, it feels a lot like producing and that’s a skill I’ve needed to strengthen, which I hope to do in this role!
LY: What are some things you have to do to maintain a nonprofit organization?
MG: On a financial level, we have to raise money through generous donations and awarded grants in order to offset our operating costs. But, to take your question more holistically, I think the #1 trait for successfully maintaining a nonprofit (or any organization) is having a good team that works well together. Leadership is also important. In my short time here so far, I can assure that Red Hen has both of these areas covered!
LY: What are you currently reading?
MG: I’m currently reading 2 books, both nonfiction and fairly new: Hua Hsu’s memoir Stay True (more of a literary read), and Richard Reeves’s Of Boys & Men (more of a current events read).
We are so excited that Marc is now part of the team at Red Hen! We hope you got a better understanding of the nonprofit side of Red Hen through Marc’s answers. Stay tuned for more staff interviews soon!
