It’s been a longstanding Tulsa truism for artists: if you want to be successful, leave. At This Land Press, we’re hell-bent on reversing the trend of outgoing talent. As we grow, we plan to become home to Oklahoma’s best creative minds, a place where artists can flourish without having to take flight. It’s already happening.

I’m pleased to announce the addition of several more talents to our team. Local blogger Natasha Ball, who burst onto the social scene in Tulsa with her blog, Tasha Does Tulsa, is our new associate editor. In addition to contributing regular reports, Natasha is project-managing our upcoming culture calendar, which will launch this summer.

Abby Wendle joins us as our new audio producer. An alumni of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Abby boasts an eclectic array of audio journalism experience, from organizations like RadioLab, the BBC, Huffington Post and WNYC’s The Takeway. She’s reported from places as varied as Baku, Azerbaijan, St. Augus- tine, New York City, Asheville and Jersey City.

Local freelance writer Joshua Kline, who has been a frequent contributing editor to This Land, ups his involvement with us. He’s now a staff writer, and he’ll be covering a broad array of topics in addition to tak- ing up some web editing duties. And finally, Anthony Florig, a graduate of the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University, joins us as distribution manager—his natural talent for sales and customer service has already broadened our circulation base signifi- cantly, so expect to see a much stronger local presence of This Land in Tulsa stores and restaurants.

And don’t forget: This Land is made by you and me. If you’re interested in becoming a part of This Land Press, we encourage you to start connecting with us by submitting your work to us. We’re looking for articles—but we’re also about to launch our video and audio projects too, so you can send all of your original work to us to consider. Check out our submissions page online for details. As we continue to expand throughout the year, we hope you’ll encourage the people you know to subscribe to This Land—it’s this particular type of support that acts as an investment in Oklahoma’s creative community—one that we hope is already paying off for you in the pages ahead.