Assoc publisher of Broken Pencil hired as executive director of IRMA

Tara Flint, the associate publisher of Toronto-based indy magazine Broken Pencil, has been hired as the new executive director of the International Regional Magazine Association (IRMA). She succeeds Andrew Jackson, who will be retiring this fall after six years as ED and more than 25 years in the regional magazine industry, including as publisher of Vermont Life (one of the two founders of IRMA, with  Down East.) 

Flint begins her duties August 19 and will work with Jackson through the annual IRMA convention in Baltimore Sept. 27 - Oct. 1 when he will retire. The convention is being held in Baltimore despite the recently announced closure of Maryland Life, which was to have been the host. 

Flint will be the first Canadian to take the post in  the organization's 53-year history. She is a dual citizen and lives in Toronto. IRMA's membership of 37 magazines draws from both the United States and Canada and among the Canadian members are Cottage Life, Saltscapes, British Columbia, Prairies North and Yukon, North of Ordinary.