Noah Bunn

For a long time, Noah Bunn thought he’d have to choose between being a writer or an art director. But a conversation with an award-winning writer helped debunk that notion.

During the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference last summer, Bunn chatted about his career choices with Gary Smith, a writer for Sports Illustrated. Smith also signed a copy of one of his books for Bunn.

Later, Bunn opened the book and found the following inscription: “To Noah. Never choose. Do Both.”

Smith’s message struck Bunn.

“It took somebody of that standing really to say, ‘Quit being an idiot. If you can do both, you can do both,’” he recalled.

Bunn, a master’s student in the Mayborn, has already proven he can work in both capacities. He served as the art/creative director for the 2010 issue of Mayborn magazine. And in the same issue, he wrote a provocative piece about renowned writer Hampton Sides called, “Hampton’s Place.”

He also is the current art and creative director for The New Individualist. And he’s working on a story about Gene Weingarten, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, for this year’s MAYBORN magazine. Weingarten is a featured speaker at the annual Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference in July.

Bunn credits faculty member, George Getschow, for helping him realize he must be a storyteller first before he can produce good art direction and writing. Bunn said Getschow doesn’t make distinctions between photojournalists, magazine writers and newspaper reporters.

“The greatest thing about George is that in everyone he can see a storyteller,” Bunn said. “He sees stories and storytellers.”

Bunn’s personal aspirations are to meet the love of his life and start a family. His professional goal is to be a magazine publisher. And someday he’d like to teach others how to run a magazine.

Bunn has already started to hone his leadership skills under the guidance of his mentor and faculty member Cathy Booth Thomas.

“I think she helped me—and I still have a lot to learn—to begin to pick up some of the things I would need down the road to manage a staff,” he said.

He said Thomas’ professional experience and her personality traits have made her the perfect mentor. Last Spring, he took Thomas’ class in which he got to work on the MAYBORN magazine.

He said the class experience taught him patience, and how to work with his peers to achieve a desired outcome.

“You might know what’s best, but until you figure out how to get that out of a group of 10 people—what is best is just a theoretical something,” he said.