2024 Award Winner Michelle Lutsky on Supporting Diversity in a Major Industry

I was surprised to receive the Robin Seaman Award in 2024. For my application, I listed a project management course that I was already discussing with my manager at VIZ Media. The intention for attending the in-person course was to bond professionally with someone who was hired to work with me. With the hybrid work model, we will benefit from spending time together and focusing on professional development. In retrospect, I could have chosen a different use of the grant funds. I have been thinking about how to apply my experience, passion, and skillset to post-retirement work. I am interested in book binding, book repair, book curation, book reviews and being a book buyer or seller. 

I took a cut in pay from a technology job to enter the publishing industry. During the interview, I said that I like books more than phones. Handling cover proofs, tracking production schedules, learning what editors do, talking with graphic designers, and learning the industry from the inside was a dream come true for me. I subscribed to industry newsletters, watched publisher webinars, and acquired pro access to comic conventions. I wasn’t aware of the need for diversity in the publishing industry until I read about the Robin Seaman Award. Filling out the application made me appreciate the communities I’m part of here in the Bay Area.

I’m late submitting this blog post to BAWIP. Can I blame the procrastination on the election year? I have stronger objectives and commitment to my community after the election outcome. My plan is to read more and consume less news media. The inspiration to finally write the blog post was a book I just finished about gender. This book gave me the light-bulb-on, aha-moment, relatable angle that I was looking for about gender. It was a revelation that brought me to tears. Books like these are life-changing and life-affirming. I like to think that anyone reading this has had that experience with reading.

About the author:

Michelle Lutsky started her career as a print professional in 1980, working for Bay Area print shops as a prepress technician. She transferred to the client side as print production lead for a consumer electronics company in-house creative department in 2006. In 2017, she was able to apply her past experience to her current position as Creative Traffic Manager for VIZ Media. As an avid book reader, Michelle was excited to learn about the publishing industry while working for VIZ Media.

Born in San Jose, California to parents from Hawaii, Michelle grew up attending events held by her father’s golf club and her hula dance troop. She began paddling outrigger canoes when the Northern California Outrigger Canoe Association was formed in the 1970’s. In 1995, when the Hokulea Voyaging Canoe sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco, Michelle volunteered for the committee that organized the event to greet the boat. The positive response from the Bay Area Polynesian community instigated the formation of the Pacific Islander Cultural Association. Currently, Michelle is on the boards of the Pupu O Hawaii Outrigger Canoe Club and the Pacific Islander Cultural Association.

The experience of working for companies striving for print and graphic quality, combined with the teamwork and inspiration of her Bay Area ‘Ohana’, has instilled in Michelle a positive supportive attitude and passion for her professional and personal endeavors. She looks forward to working with and supporting the Bay Area Women in Publishing.