Leadership
Founder; Editorial Director + Creative Director
Blinter Magazine was founded by Emily Iris Degn, our creative and editorial director.
Degn noticed a lack of outlets regularly including sustainability and the eco-humanities in their reportage. Having spent a decade in newsrooms and as a contributor for a variety of publications, she decided to start her own magazine.
As a travel writer and climate journalist, Degn has always operated with a single goal in mind: to inspire her readers to see the world and to protect it. Emily’s experience includes editorial collaborations with The New York Times, interviews with high-profile chefs and global leaders, on-site reportage above the Arctic Circle, and beyond. With culinary art training under her belt, she’s also worked in sustainable fine dining restaurants as a chef, granting her a unique perspective to draw upon in travel tales involving food. Her journalism appears in numerous places, including USA Today, TheTravel, Tasting Table, Explore Washington State, The Arizona Republic, Palm Beach Post, About Place, Luxury Daily, The Desert Sun, Peaceful Dumpling, and much more. As a freelance writer and editor, she contributes to multiple outlets regularly, offering expertise and articles in the world of place-based storytelling.
She’s deeply inspired by the work of both scientists and artists and resonates with fields that combine these realms of study. It is this fusion that informs Blinter Magazine‘s stories and Degn’s extensive writing and visual media portfolio. An accomplished creative writer and artist, Degn has been nominated for multiple titles, including the Best of the Net. Her eco-poetry, nature essays, and flash fiction have been published in dozens of magazines both locally and internationally. She has also served as editor of multiple literary magazines herself and as chief judge of Roanoke Review‘s international eco-poetry contest.
Her first full-length poetry book, Warmly, The Wild, from Finishing Line Press, is out now. You can learn more about it here. As the 2026-2027 Writer in Residence at Seattle Public Library in the Pacific Northwest’s UNESCO City of Literature, she’s also working on her first novel, an upcoming climate-fiction.
Degn double majored in Creative Writing and Environmental Studies at Roanoke College, a private liberal arts school in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. While there, she also earned an Art History minor, concentrating in Gender and Women’s Studies. She earned multiple awards for her environmental justice work, her veganization of the on-campus dining program, and her many eco-humanities projects. She also helped establish the college’s first publishing concentration.
You can visit her personal website to learn more about the woman behind the magazine, or go to her professional website to dig into her travel writing or work with her.
Read Emily’s articles at Blinter Magazine here
Contact: emirisdegn@gmail.com
Chief of Photography and Videography
Nicholas Allen Morgan is Blinter Magazine‘s chief of photography and videography.
Having earned his Bachelor’s degree in Communications and New Media with a concentration in Digital Filmmaking and Video Production at Shepherd University in West Virginia, Morgan has participated successfully in a range of film festivals and projects. He has since worked with numerous outlets and collaborators throughout the years, contributing both his photography and videography.
From shooting glaciers in Iceland to capturing the geological layers found in the Badlands, Morgan specializes in outdoor photography and film, centering the colors, textures, and adventurous spirit of nature in his work. At Blinter Magazine, he helps bring stories to life through his imagery and keen eye.
Browse his gallery and samples of his visuals for Blinter Magazine here
Contact: nmorgan7190@gmail.com
Columnists
Birding Tourism Columnist
Keri Stewart (she/her) is Blinter Magazine‘s birding tourism columnist.
Her poetry has appeared in The Northeast Coast, Pastel Serenity Zine, and INKWELL, among others. After spending a semester researching lighthouse keeping in the late 1890s and the Scotch Cap Lighthouse incident of 1946, Keri wrote a short story called “122 Feet” that’s been picked up by Lone Peak Literary Magazine. During her BA in Psychology at UNH, Keri completed a Creative Writing minor, leading her to taking on the challenge of completing an MFA in Poetry. Now in her thesis year, Keri is starting to put together a collection of poetry. She also looks forward to being the Poetry Editor at Barnstorm Journal for the 2026-2027 UNH school year.
Visit her LinkedIn to learn more about her work.
Read Keri’s articles at Blinter Magazine here.
Contact: stewartmkeri@gmail.com
Sustainable Cities Columnist
Faythe Endres is Blinter Magazine‘s sustainable cities columnist.
While getting her environmental studies degree, Faythe became interested in the
larger role environments play in shaping us and our power to shape our environments, leading her to an interest in urban studies. She is currently finishing her thesis on homeless service provision and the themes of a right to housing, and a critical look at the role of non-profits. Faythe is interested in community and civic engagement, the intersection between the built and natural world, and our stewardship towards and understanding of land
and property.
Read Faythe’s articles at Blinter Magazine here.
Contact: faythendres@gmail.com
Photojournalists
Photojournalist Lead
Gabrielle Granillo is Blinter Magazine‘s photojournalist lead.
Gabrielle’s work has been featured across the globe, from the United States to Iceland, and most recently, Denmark. Using her extensive background in writing and photography, she focuses on culture, travel, and nature in her work.
Gabrielle has studied in Ireland, Copenhagen, and Iceland, developing her portfolio around cultural immersion and exploring what it means to experience tourism through the lens of locals. In 2024, Gabby studied the aesthetic, architecture, and art of Ireland (which can be found on her website). She also completed an internship in Iceland: a hiking exploration studying the landscape and culture (Global Treks and Adventures. “Exploring Trails of Wonder.” Treks Iceland, Issue 6, 2025). In 2025, she worked for the Danish Institute of Study Abroad as a staff photographer, capturing student life, culture, and language.
Currently, Gabrielle works with Blinter Magazine to express her love for photojournalism by documenting different countries and capturing their essence–immersing herself in one community at a time.
Visit her LinkedIn or her portfolio to learn more about her work.
Read Gabrielle’s articles and view her photographic work for Blinter Magazine here.
Contact: gabbygranillo@gmail.com
Alumni
Nate Smith | Jenna Mattern | Teresa Gallo | Hannah Dourgarian | Gabby Cournoyer | Carmella D’Acquisto | David A. Björnsson | Victoria Williams | Heather Canfield | Jasmine Utter | Marlén Garcia | Oliver Dauert | Peter Cairns | Sam Mayer | Teo Jaworski
