Writer's magazine attracting large following (From Croydon Guardian)
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Aspiring Croydon journalist looking to take her business further
11:20am Thursday 12th July 2012 in Croydon Champions News By Nick Hitchens
Emily-Louise Duff and Tiana Sharlotte Parry
A teenager who left home at 16 has established an online magazine attracting 500,000 viewers in its first six months has been nominated for business champion.
Emily-Louise Duff, who has just completed her A-levels at Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College for Girls, only took an interest in journalism in April last year.
Since then she has completed a summer journalism course and set up Interfusion Magazine, encouraging yong aspiring writers to contribute material for monthly online publications.
She said: “I have a real love of words and expressing myself.
“I got fed up of companies not allowing young people to get their chance so just thought right, I’ll start my own magazine.
Miss Duff, who lives in Stockwell after moving out of the family home age 16, showed her writing ability in winning a Young Reporter Award organised by Newsquest South London.
Using her first hand experience she wrote an article about the problems of homelessness in the capital to win the extra mile award.
She said: “I moved out after my GCSEs.
“I was working as a nanny to support myself.
“It was a difficult decision, things weren’t great at home and I thought it was best for me to try it alone.”
The 19-year-old, who runs Interfusion alongside fellow aspiring journalist Tiana- Sharlotte Parry, 18, is hoping to get a place at the School of Communication Arts, Vauxhall, to continue her training.
Meanwhile she hopes to begin finding advertising for her magazine to generate revenue.
She said: “I never expected it to be so popular so quickly. We have so many people writing in I can’t always fit everything in.
“Ideally I’d love to get to the point where I can pay people for their work and to put out a hard copy, but I’ll have to wait and see.”
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