Aaron Van Pykstra, publisher of the Bowen Island Undercurrent, is pleased to announce that Susanne Martin is the paper's new editor.
Martha Perkins will continue to provide guidance as managing editor but Martin will take over the day-to-day responsibility of providing readers with the type of coverage that has earned the Undercurrent the distinction of being the best newspaper in its circulation class in Canada.
Martin has a long history with both the Undercurrent and Bowen Island. She and her husband Victor Chan moved to the island in 1993 and raised their two daughters, Lena and Kira, here. They had a restaurant in Snug Cove for four years, making them aware of the joys and challenges of running a business on the island. She has also worked with the Bowen Island Chamber of Commerce and the Bowen Island Arts Council and is deeply engrained in the local community.
The publisher of two travel books on Prague and Nepal she is also a freelance writer whose fiction and personal essays have been published in magazines and anthologies.
Over the years, she's held various roles in all aspects of the Undercurrent and is very much aware of the important role the newspaper fills in the community. She's provided the newspaper with continuity and is a respected feature writer and reporter both in the community and beyond.
Perkins joined the Undercurrent in November 2009. She is now the editor of Black Press's urban weekly, WE Vancouver, and praises Martin's appointment.
"Susanne's knowledge of the island, the way she engages with Islanders and her considerable writing talents will all serve the readers of the Undercurrent well," Perkins says. "I'm so thrilled that is taking on the role."
In early 2011, the Undercurrent was judged to be the best newspaper in its class by the Canadian Community Newspaper Association. It also came second as best newspaper overall in the British Columbia Yukon Community Newspaper Association awards.
