Cynthia Horner
Cynthia Horner is a writer, magazine editor, and entertainment industry entrepreneur. An African-American woman, Horner is based in New York City.
Media specialist and former Right On! Magazine Editorial Director, Cynthia Horner was born in Anderson, Indiana, the eldest of three children, and relocated to Southern California where she developed her career as a writer. By the age of 11, she had become the editor of her elementary school newspaper; while attending Newbury Park High School in Newbury Park, California, she became a professional journalist, writing stories about her community and high school for the local newspapers, and was granted early admission to Seaver College of Pepperdine University at Malibu where she received scholarships from Scripps-Howard Publishers, and the Seaver College Department of Communications.
Upon graduation from Pepperdine University she made magazine history by becoming the youngest editor of a nationally published magazine, Right On! Over the years, as a celebrity journalist she has interviewed virtually every African-American entertainer, including such luminaries as Michael Jackson, The Jacksons, Janet Jackson, Prince (musician), Brandy (entertainer), Queen Latifah, and thousands of others. She is recipient of the Journalist of the Year Award from the International Association of African-American Music, and has received countless awards and citations for her contributions to the music industry.
Miss Horner, who currently resides in Middlesex County, New Jersey, has contributed over two decades of service to the political community. Her father, Lawrence E. Horner, was the first African-American Mayor of Thousand Oaks, California, and is still the highest-ranking African-American in the Conejo Valley's political community. Miss Horner has participated in many voter education initiatives, provides mentorship and companionship to senior citizens, and is an advocate for children's literacy campaigns. A frequent guest speaker at elementary, junior high schools and high schools in the New York City school systems, her goal is to continue to have a positive impact on the lives of children throughout the world. As a role model for young people from all walks of life, Miss Horner's ability to spark children's interest in the areas of reading and writing have had an indelible impact on the learning processes of impressionable generations. In June 2010 Cynthia married celebrity photographer Ken Harris who is known in the entertainment world as KENTHEPHOTOGRAPHER.
Currently, Horner frequently makes appearances on talk shows, including the E Channel, BET, and MTV, and is the co-author of several books, including the New York Times best seller, The Magic Of Michael Jackson. Currently, she serves as the President of the Kappa Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority. Miss Horner was honored as Sigma of the Year by her organization in 2001, and received the Sigma Image Award by the Sigma Gamma Rho's Northeast Region in 2002. She was also honored as Soror of the Year in May 2004 by the National Pan-Hellenic Council of Greater New York City for her extensive community service and commitment to the Council.
Recently, Cynthia Horner formed her own entertainment company, Cynthia Horner's Independent Production Services (Cinnamon CHIPS), which is a media relations company under which she spearheads public relations projects, particularly in the non-profit sector, literary projects for herself and others, artist development, marketing and writing/editing projects for teen and adult music and general interest publications. She is the co-founder of another public relations corporation, Switchhouse Press with partner Gregory Williams.
No stranger to the academic world, Miss Horner has tutored young students for a number of years, has taught public relations at New York's The Learning Annex, lent assistance to the English Department for Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus, and has taught journalism at Essex County College in West Caldwell, New Jersey.
In addition she continues to provide expertise in the young adult entertainment field, which includes editorial responsibilities at Word Up! Publications and recently was named Publisher of Right On magazine which was recently purchased by the owners of Word Up, Miss Horner has contributed pieces to the National Enquirer, The Star, The Amsterdam News and various other media outlets.
Cynthia is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Hip Hop Weekly magazine, a glossy celebrity weekly from the founders of the pioneering hip hop magazine, The Source, Dave Mays and Raymond "Benzino" Scott, that was founded in 2006 and is published nationally every two weeks. The magazine covers celebrity news, music, film, TV, fashion and sports from the perspective of the tens of millions of young Americans who identify with hip hop culture.
References
- Cynthia Horner. The Magic Of Michael Jackson. Signet, 1984.