A Message From the Founder of Discovery Girls Magazine

I started Discovery Girls when my daughter Alexa was eight, because I wanted her middle-school years to be different from mine. When I was that age, I’d often felt alone. It wasn’t until years later that I realized that other girls went through confusing times and struggled to fit in, too—I just hadn’t known it back then. I was sure there must be a magazine that connected girls and showed them they weren’t really alone. To my surprise, though, I couldn’t find one. The magazine I wanted didn’t exist…so I began to think about creating it myself.

Right from the start, I knew we’d need to consult real girls to keep the magazine fresh and…well, real. So I got together with 12 girls from our local middle school, and we spent hours huddled around my kitchen table, snacking on pizza or popcorn and talking about everything they were going through.

Working with those girls was such a great experience that I hit upon the idea of traveling around to do our photo shoots. That way, we’d have girls from all over sharing their ideas and experiences. They’d even be our fashion models and cover girls.

And that’s how Discovery Girls was born. Soon after, I hired a small but dedicated staff and we set up shop—in my living room. In the fall of 2000, we published our first issue.

Almost seven years have gone by since then, and how things have changed! For one thing, our office is no longer squeezed into a corner of my home. Instead, we have a sunny office with fuchsia walls, rooms stuffed with clothes for our fashion shoots, and (huge!) stacks of mail from our readers. And instead of being a great little magazine no one has ever heard of, Discovery Girls is an award-winning publication with a readership of more than 700,000 girls!

And the experiences we’ve had along the way—wow! Like the time we returned from an exhausting two-day photo shoot…and discovered that not one of our studio shots had come out! Or the time the stylists we’d hired didn’t show up for a shoot, so everyone had to pitch in to do hair and makeup—even the boys from our graphics department! Or the time we went to an event featuring a boy band and a little-known actress, and snapped tons of photos of the boy band but none of the actress. Her name? Hilary Duff. Within weeks, she was a huge star…and we were black and blue from kicking ourselves!

Through it all, one thing has remained constant: our connection to our readers. Nearly 500 girls have been Discovery Girls, and many, many more have contributed to the magazine in some other way. You’ve shared your stories, your opinions, and your dreams with us. Most of all, you’ve shown true caring for other girls. You continue to inspire all of us at DG every single day. Without you, Discovery Girls would still be just a dream!

Remember: You’re not alone!

Catherine