About Us

GRIT is a bi-monthly magazine distributed throughout the United States and Canada that celebrates country lifestyles of all kinds, while emphasizing the importance of community and stewardship. As North America’s premier rural lifestyle title, GRIT publishes feature-length articles on a broad range of topics that appeal to those already living in the country and those who aspire to get there. Our readers are well-educated, successful and choose to live on the land for many reasons. Most do not depend on their soil for significant income – some choose not to work their land (in the conventional sense) at all. But all share an appreciation for life out where the pavement ends.

GRIT offers practical advice, product reviews, livestock guides, gardening, cooking and other do-it-yourself information, humor and the inspirational stories of folks who moved to the country and love it. Each issue covers topics related to country living, land management, wildlife, gardening, livestock or pets, skills and techniques, seasonal food, community, machinery or tools, and lifestyle events.

How Does GRIT Today Compare with GRIT of Old?

Today’s GRIT is an upbeat rural title just as it has been since 1882. The magazine is more focused now than before, without being the news piece it once was and that many folks warmly remember. GRIT has evolved from that venerable and respected newspaper to a sophisticated full-color magazine. We still have the same values: Community, Family, Positive Outlook and Sharing. Several departments from the original GRIT have been retained, and, in its new form, the magazine is the perfect companion for folks looking to get the most out of country living.

For a little history read “As American as Mom, Apple Pie & Grit.

Meet the Editors:

Karmin Garrison, Senior Editor

An avid gamer, word nerd, herbalist, and DIYer, Karmin lives on a one-acre almost-homestead in East Texas in a perpetual state of “almost having goats,” and raising heritage chickens, guinea fowl, gardens, fish, and a pig named Ham Solo. When not magicking up words or chasing after kids, she can be found wandering the woods, building something new, fishing, beading and sewing, convincing plants to grow, making everything she possibly can from scratch, or with her nose in a book. Sometimes she sleeps, but that’s usually on accident.

Marissa Ames, Editorial Director

Marissa and her husband travel to Zambia to teach sustainable farming to rural villages and schools, where they have partnered with villages to trial saffron as a potential cash crop that doesn’t compete with local farmers. Currently, she is working on sustainable methods by which Zambian farmers can battle devastating armyworm infestations without purchasing cost-prohibitive pesticides. She volunteers on the board of a local nonprofit that protects food sovereignty and sustainability in rural communities, and she teaches homesteading classes for her local chapter of the National Grange organization. Marissa works to save a critically endangered American breed by keeping rare San Clemente Island goats. Her small homestead has a large vegetable garden where she studies and develops drought-tolerant crops, and makes her own cheese, bacon, soap, bread, and much more.  She spends her free time eating lunch.

Rebecca Martin, Tech Editor for Rural Lifestyles

Rebecca grew up on a farm in Kansas, where she developed a lifelong love of gardening, food preservation, cooking, and DIY. She holds a master’s degree in American Studies, and worked for history museums for many years before coming to Ogden Publications — first with Mother Earth News, and later Grit and Capper’s Farmer. When she’s not sewing, she likes to push the envelope on front-yard gardening and backyard composting.

Amanda Sorell, Senior Copy Editor

Amanda is the senior copy editor for Ogden Publications. At work, she values clarity and connection over upholding rigid grammatical standards. She lives in Seattle with a lively collection of houseplants and cats. She enjoys brewing herbal potions, cooking, learning, making DIY beauty products, and reading and writing about health, literature, and sustainability.

Jessica Anderson, Associate Editor

Jessica joined the editorial staff in 2017 and loves editing articles for the magazines as well overseeing the “Mother Earth News and Friendspodcast. She moved from Pennsylvania, her lifelong home, to Kansas, and quickly fell in love with the small towns, rolling prairies, and open skies. Outside of editing, Jessica enjoys reading and writing, hiking the Kansas trails, baking bread, and perfecting her process of brewing her favorite teas and coffees.

Ingrid Butler, Associate Editor

Ingrid Butler has a BA in English from the University of California, Davis, and an MPhil in Children’s Literature from the University of Cambridge, UK. She enjoys gardening, pickling vegetables, fiber arts, and reading. She is passionate about trap-neuter-return for humanely dealing with feral cats, and loves to grow pollinator plants for the local bees.

Kale Roberts, Associate Editor

Kale has contributed to Grit and its companion Ogden Publications titles since 2012, specializing in renewable energy, natural building and green homes, and community-scale resilience. In his professional life, he helps city governments develop sustainability plans at national nonprofit ICLEI, advocates for local communities within the United Nations climate negotiations, and teaches at the Bard College Center for Environmental Policy. He has worked with the UN Development Programme across Asia-Pacific and served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand. At home, Kale gardens, practices herbalism recipes, and keeps chickens in New York’s Hudson Valley.

Ben Sauder, Web Services

Ben is part of the Web Services Team at Ogden Publications. He recently moved to Portland, Oregon from his hometown in Kansas, and enjoys hiking, camping, and exploring coastal towns and forests. When he isn’t out in nature, Ben can often be found at home where he likes to relax by cooking, playing music, and hanging out with his cat Eno.

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GRIT is published by Ogden Publications, Inc. in Topeka, Kansas. Ogden Publications, Inc. is the leading information resource serving the sustainable living, rural lifestyle, farm memorabilia and classic motorcycle communities. Learn more about Employment Opportunities, our Diversity Commitment and our Green Initiatives.