New York, NY (September 22, 2015) – Irene Edwards has been named Editor-in-Chief of Sunset, it was announced today by Norman Pearlstine, Chief Content Officer, Time Inc. and Evelyn Webster, Executive Vice President, Time Inc. She will report to Group Editor Clare McHugh.

 

Edwards will oversee the editorial operations of the leading lifestyle brand in the West, with Sunset magazine, website, books, video and live events reaching more than six million consumers a month.

 

Edwards takes the reins from Peggy Northrop, who is leaving the company to devote her time to digital projects, including the e-publishing startup she co-founded in 2012, Shebooks. Under Northrop, Sunset increased its mobile audience by 115%, launched a variety of new digital products and significantly expanded its books division. In 2014 the brand received a National Magazine Award for General Excellence, the industry’s highest honor.

 

This marks a return to Sunset for Edwards, who served as executive editor of the brand from 2004 to 2008. Since 2013, she has served as the top editor of Lonny, a digital shelter and lifestyle publication. During her tenure, she significantly increased the volume of daily content to the site and added a number of features, including celebrity home photo shoots, social-media-driven series and special issues on travel and entertaining. The site’s audience quadrupled under her watch.

 

“We are delighted to bring Irene home to Sunset,” said Pearlstine. “She is the archetype of the modern brand leader: editorially savvy, digital first, adept at branded content and curious about every facet of how we live our lives today, from how we eat and travel to how we make our homes—as well as the politics of those decisions. She will be a dynamic leader for Sunset as it moves into its new home in Oakland.” He added, “I’d also very much like to thank Peggy for her leadership and contributions to Sunset these past two and half years.”

 

Between her tenures at Sunset and Lonny, Edwards oversaw the special projects department at Time Inc.’s Travel + Leisure, collaborating with the digital, sales and marketing departments to create branded content and special editorial units with strategic advertising partners. During her first stint at Sunset, she was instrumental in adapting the brand to better reach contemporary audiences. She oversaw the travel, food, home and garden departments and was a strong advocate for editorial coverage of sustainability, innovation and wellness.

 

Edwards began her career at Condé Nast Traveler before moving to California to work at various startups, including the San Francisco city magazine 7X7. She graduated from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Born in Manila, Philippines, Edwards spent part of her childhood in Milan, Italy, before moving to New York. She is relocating from New York to the East Bay with her husband and two children.

 

In June, Time Inc. announced that Sunset would be relocating its brand headquarters to Oakland, California’s Jack London Square in December of this year. The new headquarters will be located at 55 Harrison Street on the Oakland waterfront in the same building that will house the Water Street Market, an artisan food marketplace being developed by Carlin Company, the team behind San Francisco’s Ferry Building Marketplace and Napa’s Oxbow Public Market. Sunset will occupy approximately 20,000 square feet on the second floor of the mixed-use building, and its offices will include a test kitchen and wine cellar. In addition, Sunset will have a continuous presence in California wine country at Cornerstone, a public garden, event and retail space in Sonoma.

 

 

 About Time Inc.  

Time Inc. (NYSE:TIME) is one of the world’s leading media companies, with a monthly global print audience of over 120 million and worldwide digital properties that attract more than 140 million visitors each month, including over 60 websites. Our influential brands include People, Sports Illustrated, InStyle, Time, Real Simple, Southern Living, Entertainment Weekly, Travel + Leisure, Cooking Light, Fortune and Food & Wine, as well as more than 50 diverse titles in the United Kingdom, such as Decanter, Horse & Hound and Wallpaper*. Time Inc. is home to celebrated franchises and events, including the Fortune 500, Time 100, People’s Sexiest Man Alive, Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year, the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, the Essence Festival and the biennial Fortune Global Forum. Hundreds of thousands of people attend our events every year. We have been extending the power of our brands through various investments and acquisitions, including the formation of Sports Illustrated Play, a new company devoted to youth and amateur sports, and the acquisition of inVNT, a company that specializes in live media. We also provide content marketing, targeted local print and digital advertising programs, branded book publishing and marketing and support services, including subscription sales services for magazines and other products, retail distribution and marketing services and customer service and fulfillment services, for ourselves and third-party clients, including other magazine publishers.

 

 About Sunset 

Sunset (www.sunset.com) is the leading lifestyle brand in the West. Through magazines and books, events and experiences, and digital and social media, Sunset covers the West’s best flavors, destinations, design trends, and innovations. Sunset engages and inspires an audience of over five million educated, active and affluent consumers every month through its five regional print editions—Pacific Northwest, Northern California, Southern California, Southwest and Mountain—as well as via all tablet devices and its website. In addition to its print and digital publications, Sunset showcases the region’s unique lifestyle and noteworthy destinations through its flagship events, established home programs, licensing partnerships, books and International Wine Competition.

 

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 CONTACT:

Time Inc.

Daniel Kile

Daniel.Kile@timeinc.com

 

212-522-3640

 

 

Dadascope Communications

Dana Smith

Dana@dadascope.com

 

510-682-3141