Rose Cushing

I've been working in media for 30 to 40 years. I started my career in the medical industry, working for a heart surgeon and a neurosurgeon. Before moving into horse magazines in 2008, I worked for newspapers and developed magazines. I love horses and have always loved horses, and I had a big background in media, so I combined those passions. I own a publishing company called Cushing Publishing where I've published 53 books. In the horse industry, I have a magazine called Southeast Hoof Beats and a podcast called Today's Horse Woman. I also produced and hosted a TV show for 12 years. When COVID came, it put me out of business with the horse stuff because events and things were shut down, so I wrote a book and published it. I had a chance to serve as president for a writer's group in Smithfield, and I met the Poet Laureate Shelby Stevenson, who said he wanted me to be his publisher. That's how I started my publishing company. I've made it my mantra that there are a lot of good writers and good stories, but they don't have a chance of landing a real publisher or an agent because they don't have huge social media followings and they're just regular people, so I give them that opportunity to have a shot at publishing their book. In the literary world, I have a magazine called Speaking of Writing and a podcast called Carolina Writers Speak that's for writers. I do all the social media stuff for all my businesses and have stayed very current with technology. I've been very blessed that I've learned how to do it all, and I've been very fortunate that a lot of people mentored me, so I'm very happy to give back.