About Southern Living

Who We Are

At Southern Living, we celebrate the food, homes, and places that define our region. We seek out the best of the South in everything we do, and we find endless inspiration in Southern culture and traditions. We're serious about our recipes, our hospitality, and making our homes as beautiful and welcoming as possible. We are a guide to the seasons, a helping hand during the holidays, and a champion of Southern creativity.

The first issue of Southern Living was published in February 1966. When The Progressive Farmer Company launched the brand, they declared it the "Magazine of the Modern South." The brand's north star was that it had to stay Southern. "It must and will be in every issue as thoroughly Southern as crepe myrtle, longleaf pine, Mardi Gras, fig preserves, and black-eyed peas," said an early prospectus. It was a radical idea at the time—an aspirational guide to Southern food, homes, gardens, and travel—and it succeeded because the editors understood the power of Southern identity and the practical needs of the audience. It was innovative, risky, and transformative. Within 10 years it was one of the most profitable magazines in the country ("The Most Profitable Magazine in the U.S.", June 15, 1977, Forbes).

Today, we haven't strayed far from the vision laid out by our founders in 1966. We embrace that very same idea by celebrating a more progressive South, one that's constantly evolving. We're committed to celebrating the region in all of its complexity, and we're dedicated to sharing and amplifying diverse voices and multicultural stories in every corner of the South.

Every day, we cover the region with a dynamic mix of content that includes daily news, service, inspiration, real-people profiles, and trusted advice. We're telling soulful stories that readers can't find anywhere else—stories of small towns, lost recipes, and unique traditions. We're engaging with our audience all the time, whether we're swapping recipes in our "What's Cooking with Southern Living" Facebook group or helping readers identify paint colors on Instagram. We also believe in great storytelling, especially when it highlights meaningful aspects of Southern culture and those who are making the South a better place.

Awards and Recognitions

2023: Webby Award Nominee for Best Social Video in the “How-To, Explainer and DIY” category
2022: Signal Awards Bronze Medalist, Individual Episode-Lifestyle category for Biscuits & Jam "Remembering John Prine (with Guest Fiona Prine)"
2022: FOLIO Eddie and Ozzie Awards: Winner, Full Issue, Shelter/Home/Garden: South's Best Issue, April 2022
2022: FOLIO Eddie and Ozzie Awards: Honorable Mention, Single Article, Consumer Lifestyle for "Ms. Opal's Mission"
2022: Webby Award Honoree for Southern Living's TikTok channel in the Social, Art/Culture/Lifestyle category
2022 ASME Award Winner for Photography and Illustration, Best Service and Lifestyle Story for “The Magic of Meringue,” photographs by Antonis Achilleos
2021: FOLIO Eddie and Ozzie Awards: Winner, Full Issue, Consumer Home and Living; Winner, Single Article, "Black Restaurants That Fed the Civil Rights Movement"
2020: IACP Awards: Winner, Culinary Travel Writing: "Jubilee, Jubilee," by Rick Bragg
2019: FOLIO Eddie and Ozzie Awards: Digital Momentum Finalist; Editorial Team of the Year - Honorable Mention; IACP Awards: Culinary Travel Writing: "The Most Perfect Sandwich in the World," by Rick Bragg

2018: Society of American Travel Writers/Lowell Thomas Award: Gold Winner, Travel Coverage
2017: FOLIO Eddie and Ozzie Awards: Winner, Use of Photography, City and Regional
2016: Ad Age: Magazine of the Year Finalist; ASME Best Cover Contest: Finalist
2014: National Magazine Award Finalist, Personal Service: "30 Secrets to Southern Charm," by Caroline McKenzie; FOLIO Eddie and Ozzie Awards: Winner, Feature Design

Editorial Guidelines

Our team of editors and writers are constantly seeking out what's new and exciting in the South. We take great pride in our work and strive to create original, accurate, authoritative, and well-researched content free of ethical concerns, conflicts, and misinformation.

We uphold the principles of the Dotdash Meredith Content Integrity Promise including the following editorial policies:

Sourcing

The Southern Living editors adhere to strict standards for article sourcing. We rely on current and reputable primary sources, such as expert interviews, government, city, and state organizations, and professional and academic institutions. All data points, facts, and claims are backed up by at least one reputable source.

Our content strives to serve and represent all communities. A cornerstone of our reporting and sourcing is to consider multiple perspectives that includes BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and women.

Independence and Impartiality

We believe in independent, fair, and impartial journalism. Our editors and writers are held accountable to a high standard of honesty and transparency, and our original editorial content is not influenced by our advertisers. As such, we maintain a strict separation between advertising and editorial content. Any content that is provided by or on behalf of an advertiser or sponsor, is clearly labeled as such.

Fact Checking

As part of the editorial process, our writers interview relevant, qualified sources for stories, then verify all information and data included in their final stories. We strive to provide proper context and background information to help our readers. All stories are then reviewed and edited by a top editor; we assess content for grammar, accuracy, readability, and relevance. If you have noticed an issue with a specific piece of content, please bring it to our attention by emailing editors@southernliving.com

Corrections

Our editorial team is committed to producing high quality, factual content. If there is an error in a story, we will correct it as soon as possible. All corrections will be clearly labeled as such and will include what changes were made and when. When an article is factually correct, but the language is not as clear or detailed as necessary, the story may be updated without an editor's note.

Timely and daily news stories generally cover a distinct event in time, so they are not routinely updated. Our editorial team consistently reevaluates and updates evergreen content to ensure everything is timely, accurate, and relevant. The date-stamp at the top of each article reflects when it was last updated.

If you believe you have found an error, please notify us by emailing editors@southernliving.com

Recipe Development and Testing

As part of our editorial review process for food content, all recipes created for and featured on Southernliving.com are tested by the Southern Living Test Kitchen and the recipe professionals for accuracy, clarity, flavor, and feasibility for the home cook. Food Editors approve every recipe to ensure it meets our brand standards. If you see a problem with a recipe, please notify us by emailing editors@southernliving.com

Originality

Our team strives to create original, helpful, and fair content on Southernliving.com, which means our stories must be verified, properly attributed, and may not infringe the copyright or anyone's intellectual property rights. Any suggestion of plagiarism is investigated fully and is grounds for dismissal. We expect all contributors on the network to abide by all applicable laws, standards, and accepted journalistic practices including:

Dotdash Meredith editors and writers, including the Southernliving.com team, are prohibited from giving preferential treatment to any outside company, publication, or website based on their relationship with the person who authors or owns that resource. Our editors and writers are also responsible for disclosing potential conflicts of interest that might compromise their ability to share fair and impartial information.

At Southern Living, we aspire to provide the highest quality content produced by humans, for humans. It is against our guidelines to publish automatically generated content using AI (artificial intelligence) writing tools such as ChatGPT.

Community Guidelines

At Southern Living, we encourage our readers to engage and share tips, feedback, and advice to help one another. We believe in fostering a sense of community, especially when it comes to cooking. We moderate every single review and comment added to a recipe. When leaving reviews, we remind you that constructive feedback is always welcome, but rude, mean, disrespectful, or spammy comments are not welcome and will not be approved.

Product Reviews

How do we select the best propane grills for outdoor cooking and best best chairs for every kind of beachgoer? All product reviews on SouthernLiving.com are independent and based on research and product testing conducted by our editors and writers. We share the products we love and that we think our readers will love, too. If you visit certain links within our content, we may receive commissions from your purchases. We never receive compensation for recommending products within our content.

Diversity Pledge

Southern Living strives to represent the voice of the modern South. We are committed to sharing, celebrating, and amplifying diverse voices and multicultural stories across the region.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Means:

We are committed to amplifying BIPOC and LGBTQ+ voices throughout our content, actively working to build a diverse team of staff members and contributing content creators.
We use inclusive language, have updated our brand style guide to avoid terms with problematic origins, create culturally sensitive content, and have broadened the scope of our holiday coverage to include reporting from diverse points of view.
We have refreshed older recipes and are committed to properly packaging all new recipes to ensure they are culturally sensitive, give credit to the regions they are from, and do not inaccurately claim authenticity.
We're committed to featuring diverse experts, services, and commerce businesses, representing BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other under-represented groups.
We also consult with the Dotdash Meredith Anti-Bias Review Board in this mission.

To read more about Diversity and Inclusion Pledge, click here.

Privacy Policy

We take online privacy seriously and we respect the concerns of our community of users. We may collect information, including personal information, directly from you if you choose to provide that information. In addition, when you access the Site, we and our third-party partners may automatically collect certain information about you and your visit, including personal information, using tools such as cookies, web beacons and other similar technologies. We may use the information gathered on the Site for various purposes, including responding to inquiries and to serve content and offers to you based on your interests and online activities.

Read our complete Privacy Policy.

Contact Us

Magazine Subscription

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Editorial Inquiries

For questions or comments regarding an article, please email editors@southernliving.com

Advertising Inquiries

To download the Southern Living media kit, please click here.

Press Inquiries

For press queries, you can reach us at southernlivingPR@dotdashmdp.com

Brand Licensing Inquiries

For licensing inquiries, please email brandlicensing@dotdashmdp.com

Leadership/Ownership Structure and Funding

Southern Living is part of the Dotdash family of brands committed to creating accurate, helpful news and information that represents and serves all people. Founded in 1996, Dotdash is an operating business of IAC.

Learn more about the team behind Dotdash Meredith.

Our Leadership Team

Digital Leadership

Sid Evans

Editor-in-Chief

Sid Evans has been the Editor in Chief of Southern Living since 2014. From 2011 until 2014, he was a Group Editor overseeing multiple titles including Southern Living, Coastal Living, Cooking Light, Sunset, and This Old House. He has also served as Editor in Chief of Garden & Gun, Field & Stream, and Men's Journal. His awards include a National Magazine Award for General Excellence from the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME), more than 15 National Magazine Award nominations, as well as dozens of awards from Folio:, the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), the Society of American Travel Writers, and other organizations. He has written for numerous publications, often about the South, and he is the host of Biscuits & Jam, a weekly podcast about food, music, and Southern culture.

Krissy Tiglias

Executive Editor and General Manager

Krissy Tiglias is the Executive Editor and General Manager of Southern Living. She joined the team in 2015 as Executive Editor, and has been working on both both print and digital content ever since. Before Southern Living, Krissy held editorial positions at various other brands including Real Simple, Domino, Redbook, The Knot, Family Circle, and Quick & Simple. Krissy's career is all about storytelling and bringing a brand's mission and story across platforms to delight and inspire audiences. During her time at Southern Living, the magazine continues to be a favorite amongst loyal readers, and the brand has extended its reach onto new platforms, such as Snap, TikTok, and podcasts.Krissy graduated with a B.A. from The College of the Holy Cross, and M.S. from New York University. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

Robert Perino

Executive Creative Director

Robert Perino is the Executive Creative Director for Southern Living. He has worked at several national magazines including Fortune, New York, Men's Health, and Field & Stream. He has over 20 years of experience working in Graphic Design, and has worked at Southern Living for 10+ years.

Jeanne Dozier Clayton

Director of Photography

Jeanne Dozier Clayton is the Director of Photography at Southern Living. She oversees all photo assignments for the magazine for a range of topics including home interiors, travel, gardens, style, and food.

She joined the Southern Living team in 2010, but prior to that, she was a photo editor at Southern Progress Custom Publishing, Time Inc Content Solutions, and Health magazine. She has spent 20+ years managing talent, negotiating budgets, and worrying about the weather, but occasionally she gets to do her very favorite thing, which is sit on the beach with a cocktail and a stack of magazines (it's too bright on the beach to scroll).

Jeanne lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with 2 children, 2 cats, 2 dogs and 1 husband.

Andy Estill

Production Director

Andy Estill is the Production Director at Southern Living. A project manager with over 20 years of experience in production management and process improvement, he joined the team in 2022 and now manages production of the print magazine.

He is a graduate of the University of Montevallo and lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

Alana Al-Hatlani

Associate Food Editor

Alana Al-Hatlani is an Associate Food Editor at Southern Living where she works with the Deputy Editor to plan and write monthly print food features and stories. Before joining Southern Living, she worked as a baker in restaurants and bakeries. Alana graduated from New York University with a degree in journalism. She then went on to graduate from the Seattle Culinary Academy with a diploma in pastry arts. She now lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her partner and pup.

Betsy Cribb Watson

Senior Home and Features Editor

Betsy is the Senior Home and Features Editor at Southern Living. She writes about a veritable potpourri of topics for print and digital, from profiling Southern movers-and-shakers and celebrating family traditions to highlighting newsy restaurant openings and curating the annual holiday gift guide. Prior to joining the Southern Living team in 2017 as the style editor, she worked at Coastal Living as an assistant editor covering pets and homes.

Brennan Long

Associate Director Social Media

Brennan Long is the Associate Director Social Media at Southern Living. She joined the team as an Editorial Fellow in 2014, and she's been lurking in the comment section on Southern Living's Facebook page ever since. Today she works on content and audience growth across the brand's social platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat.Brennan grew up in Southwest Virginia, and graduated from University of Richmond with a B.A. in journalism. She now lives in Richmond with her husband and two rabbits, Poppy and Jack.

Cameron Beall

Associate Editor

Cameron Beall grew up immersed in generations of Southern hospitality. She witnessed from a young age the personal attention given to every aspect of designing homes and was surrounded by well-seasoned authors and tastemakers, which has inspired her professional career. Cameron is now at the heart of custom home building, taking deep dives into the nuances of homes and the character they establish in the building process. She holds a degree in marketing and minors in studio art and Spanish from the University of Georgia.

Catherine Jessee

Assistant Digital Food Editor

Catherine Jessee is an Assistant Digital Food Editor at Southern Living. She is a writer, editor, and recipe developer with a passion for Appalachian foodways, culture, and history. Prior to joining the Southern Living, Catherine tested and developed recipes for print and digital publications like EatingWell, Food & Wine, Real Simple, Serious Eats, Southern Living, and more.

Ivy Odom

Senior Editorial Producer

Ivy Odom is an Editorial Producer for Dotdash Meredith and hosts an array of lifestyle videos. She also authors a bi-monthly recipe column for Southern Living. Ivy has over four years of experience as on-camera talent across multiple platforms, including TikTok, Snapchat, television, and other social channels, as well as extensive producing and editing experience for TikTok.Ivy earned a B.S.F.C.S. in Consumer Journalism and a B.A. in Spanish from The University of Georgia and graduated first in her class from the culinary arts program at L'Academie de Cuisine. Ivy grew up in Moultrie, Georgia and now lives in Birmingham, Alabama, where it's a really fun place to be a Georgia Bulldawg.

Jenna Sims

Senior Digital Editor

Jenna Sims is a Senior Digital Editor for Southern Living and joined the team in 2014. She writes, produces, and ideates content with a focus on email growth and commerce content. She covers a range of topics in the lifestyle space from holiday gift guides to new product launches to tips for cooking with your air fryer. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Jenna will never turn down a trip to the pristine white sand beaches of the Gulf Coast and enjoys scouring antique stores to add to her vintage deviled egg plate collection.

Josh Miller

Senior Food Editor

Josh Miller is a writer, editor, recipe developer, and food stylist who has been writing about Southern food and working in the publishing industry for the past 20 years. His work has appeared in Southern Living, Food & Wine, Cooking Light, Taste of the South, and Southern Cast Iron magazines.

Kaitlyn Yarborough

Editor

Part of the Southern Living team since 2017, Kaitlyn Yarborough Sadik is a Georgia native living in Austin, Texas, who covers a wide variety of topics for both the magazine and website, focusing on culture and lifestyle content, as well as travel in the South.She earned a B.A. in Journalism at the University of Georgia. She hopes to inspire your travel bucket list with her features on road trips through Texas Hill Country, bourbon tours in Kentucky, and the best beach getaways on the Gulf Coast.

Katie Strasberg Rousso

Associate Editorial Director, Lifestyle

Katie is the Associate Editorial Director for Southern Living where she focuses on content strategy and audience growth. She has more than a decade of experience in lifestyle and branded editorial and covers a variety of topics in travel, food, and home. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Katie graduated summa cum laude at The University of Georgia and now lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with her husband, daughter, and pup. When she's not at her desk, you can find her coordinating cake layers, enjoying a jog, or hiking through the South one trail at a time.

Kimberly Holland

Associate Editorial Director, Food

Kimberly Holland is a writer and editor with 17 years of experience in food, lifestyle, travel, and health content. She has been published in Southern Living, Real Simple, Allrecipes, EatingWell, Cooking Light, and other publications. Kimberly has been cooking since she was old enough to hold a spatula. She started her career at Health magazine and later joined Cooking Light. There, she quickly became enamored with recipe development and menu building, launching the brand's first meal planning column, The Sunday Strategist. Today, she serves as an Associate Editorial Director for Southern Living.

Lisa Cericola

Deputy Editor

Lisa is the Deputy Editor at Southern Living and joined the team in 2015. She works with the Southern Living Test Kitchen to create recipes for the site and print magazine, edits the magazine's food section, and writes digital food stories as well. Previously, she was the features editor at Food Network Magazine and has more than 15 years of experience writing, editing, and managing photo shoots for print and digital lifestyle brands.Lisa grew up in South Florida and now lives in Birmingham. She misses home-grown mangoes, but now she enjoys meat-and-threes, Alabama peach season, and boiled peanuts.

Symiah Dorsey

Assistant Editor

Symiah Dorsey is an Assistant Editor at Southern Living, where she writes for both print and digital media. Symiah recently graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University with a B.A. in strategic communication and a minor in German. During her time at university, she served as Editor in Chief of her campus newspaper and designed content for her student yearbook. Symiah has a passion for travel and enjoys exploring new destinations, culture and cuisines. She hopes to create content that inspires like a Pinterest board, blending beautiful visuals with practical advice.

Tara Massouleh McCay

Senior Travel and Culture Editor

Tara Massouleh McCay is the Senior Travel and Culture Editor for Southern Living. A writer and editor with 10 years of experience in producing lifestyle content for local, regional, and national publications, she joined the Southern Living team in 2021. A Birmingham native and graduate of the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!), Tara loves to travel but will always call the South home. Her favorite trips involve climbing mountains and seeking out a city's spiciest foods.

SouthernLiving.com Digital Editorial Staff

Executive Editor and General Manager Krissy Tiglias

Associate Editorial Directors: Kimberly Holland, Brennan Long, Katie Strasberg Rousso

Senior Editors: Ivy Odom, Rebecca Angel Baer, Jenna Sims,

Senior News Writer Meghan Overdeep

Editor Mary Shannon Hodes, Kaitlyn Yarborough

Southern Living Magazine Editorial Staff

Editor in Chief Sid Evans

Executive Creative Director Robert Perino

Director of Photography Jeanne Dozier Clayton

Production Director Andy Estill

Deputy Editor Lisa Cericola