Sturgis, Ingrid

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Sturgis, Ingrid

PERSONAL: Born in New York, NY; married; husband's name Edwin B. Lake. Education: City College of the City University of New York, B.A.; New York University, M.A.; Stanford University Professional Publishing Course, 1999. Hobbies and other interests: Reading mystery novels, collecting art, fishing, yoga.

ADDRESSES: Office—Essence, 1500 Broadway, 6th Fl., New York, NY 10036. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Journalist. New York City Board of Education, New York, NY, teacher, 1978–80; Chocolate Singles, New York, NY, staff writer, 1982–87; WBAI-FM radio, New York, NY, reporter, 1985–86; New York Pulse, business editor, 1985–87; Bank Systems and Equipment, New York, NY, associate editor, 1987–88; Times-Herald Record, Middletown, NY, business reporter, 1988–89; Emerge, New York, NY, contributing editor, 1989–95; Poughkeepsie Journal, Poughkeepsie, NY, features editor, 1990–92; Courier-News, Bridgewater, NJ, special sections editor, 1992–94; Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, PA, copy editor, 1994–97; BET Weekend, Washington, DC, managing editor, 1997–2000; Savoy, Washington, DC, managing editor, 2000–01; Essence.com, New York, NY, editor, 2001–.

MEMBER: New York Association of Black Journalists (lifetime member).

AWARDS, HONORS: Fairchild fellowship in journalism, New York University, 1982; New York Association of Black Journalists Service Award, 1989; Unity Awards in Media, 1999.

WRITINGS:

The Nubian Wedding Book: Words and Rituals to Celebrate and Plan an African-American Wedding, Crown (New York, NY), 1997.

Aunties: Thirty-five Writers Celebrate Their Other Mother, Ballantine (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to periodicals, including Savoy, Essence, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

SIDELIGHTS: Born and raised in New York City, author and editor Ingrid Sturgis worked briefly as a teacher prior to switching to journalism. She served in a variety of positions with such periodicals as the Poughkeepsie Journal, Philadelphia Inquirer, BET Weekend, Savoy, and Essence. She continues to contribute articles to a variety of publications, including for the Black Issues Book Review. As editor of Essence.com beginning in 2001, Sturgis managed the editorial staff for the Web site and oversaw the flow of content.

Sturgis's first book, The Nubian Wedding Book: Words and Rituals to Celebrate and Plan an African-American Wedding, is a collection of traditions and photos of black weddings, with historical information covering antebellum America, Africa, and the Caribbean. The volume also includes suggestions for recipes, toasts, prayers, and vows.

Aunties: Thirty-five Writers Celebrate Their Other Mother collects works across a wide spectrum of writers, addressing their relationships with their aunts. Sturgis includes essays about biological aunts who have stepped in to take on another role or to fill a void. She divides the book thematically according to the roles writers have assigned the women in their lives, from alternate mother to role model. Not all the relationships are picture perfect; as Sturgis also includes essays about aunts who are irritating or problematic in some way. Margaret Flanagan, in a review for Booklist, wrote that "these tributes to the second mothers … constitute a heartwarming contribution to the literature and lore of the American family." Angela M. Weiler, writing for Library Journal, found the essays somewhat uneven in quality, but concluded that "all of the essays are … memorable, relating experiences that have had a lasting effect."