Susan L. Taylor

"Susan Taylor" redirects here. For the American biochemist, see Susan S. Taylor.

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Susan L. Taylor in 2009

Susan L. Taylor (born January 23, 1946) is an American editor, writer, and journalist. She served as editor-in-chief of Essence from 1981 through 2000. In 1994, American Libraries referred to Taylor as "the most influential black woman in journalism today".

Early life

Taylor was born in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City to a Trinidadian mother and a father from St. Kitts. She grew up in East Harlem, where her father owned a clothing store. She went to a Catholic school. As a teenager, she moved with her family to the New York borough of Queens.

Essence

Taylor started her career at Essence, a magazine for African-American women, in 1970, the year the magazine was founded. Her first position at the magazine was freelance fashion and beauty editor. At the time, she was a divorced single mother without a college degree.

By 1981, Taylor had risen to become editor-in-chief, a position she held until 2000. During the 1980s, she attended night school and earned a B.A. from Fordham University.

In addition to her editing responsibilities, Taylor had success building the Essence brand. She was executive producer and host of Essence, the Television Program, a syndicated interview program broadcast on more than 50 stations for four years during the 1980s. In the 1990s, she began Essence Books.

Taylor's monthly inspirational column, "In the Spirit", became a popular feature of the magazine. She published three volumes of selected columns.

In 2000, Taylor was promoted to publications director. She left the magazine in 2008.

Awards

In 1987, Taylor received the Matrix Award from New York Women in Communications.

The Magazine Publishers of America gave Taylor its Henry Johnson Fisher Award, considered one of the industry's highest honors, in 1998. She was the first African-American woman to receive the award.

In 2002, Taylor was inducted into the American Society of Magazine Editors' Hall of Fame for her work at Essence.

In 2003, Exceptional Women in Publishing (EWIP), formerly Women in Periodical Publishing, presented Taylor its fifth annual Exceptional Woman in Publishing award.

The NAACP gave Taylor its President's Award in 2006.

Taylor is an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority; she was inducted on July 13, 2013.

Published works

• In the Spirit: The Inspirational Writings of Susan L. Taylor, 1993.
• Lessons in Living, 1995.
• Confirmation: The Spiritual Wisdom That Has Shaped Our Lives, 1997. Co-authored with Khephra Burns.
• All About Love: Favorite Selections from "In the Spirit" on Living Fearlessly, 2008.