Founder / Editor-in-Chief

Bethany Joy Lenz became a New York Times Bestselling Author in 2024 with her memoir, Dinner for Vampires, which was also featured in both VOGUE and TIME magazine’s Top 100 of the year, the cover of PEOPLE, in Vanity Fair, Variety, New York Magazine. The memoir also made the “Best of 2024” list for Audible, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble, as well as being chosen for Book of the Month club and a sit down interview with Alex Cooper on Call Her Daddy.

Lenz an award-winning actress, director, executive producer, singer, composer, fine artist and author best known as a lead actor in one of the most popular television shows of the 2000s, One Tree Hill. Her nine-year run on the CW drama made her a pop-culture icon and established a deeply loyal, worldwide fanbase. This led to a divergent career in music, film, television and radio. She co-hosts a chart topping podcast with iHeart Radio called Drama Queens--lauded by the New York Times, Forbes, The Hollywood Reporter, Interview Magazine, and more. The podcast addresses collective #MeToo experiences and promotes healing through female friendship. Generations of American women (14-18 & 25-45) are showing up in droves to engage and re-engage with Lenz and her co-hosts. In her 25 year career, Lenz has established herself as a strong role model for women and girls, and takes that role seriously.

Now, Lenz's long-held dream of starting a publication is becoming a reality with MODERN VINTAGE NEWS, a place where ideas, art, philosophy and fun converge in a very tangible way. The MODERN VINTAGE brand expands even beyond Lenz’ current fanbase, reaching folks who are simply seeking a refuge from the digital noise and reminding us how to critically think, listen, and learn.

Photograph by Robbie Klein

Mark Blankenship

Senior Editor

Mark Blankenship is a man of many hats in the world of theatre and pop culture. He excelled academically at Emory University, graduating with top honors and actively participating in the theatre scene. He also studied theater at Oxford University. Blankenship attended Yale School of Drama from 2002–2005 and holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism.

His writing credits include numerous pieces for The New York Times, Variety, New York Daily News, The Village Voice, The Advocate, Time Out New York, The Huffington Post, NPR and American Theatre. He regularly appears as panelist/expert commentator for CBC News: Sunday and CNN.com.

Blankenship co-founded a popular pop culture blog called The Critical Condition and continues to engage with pop culture in a new format – podcasts. Since 2016, he co-hosts "Mark and Sarah Talk About Songs," a show that delves deep into music with humor and insightful analysis. His achievements have also been recognized by the industry, with him serving as one of seven judges for the Obie Awards and receiving an American Theatre/Jerome Foundation Fellowship for arts writing.

Stephanie Varella

Stephanie Varella is the Los Angeles-based Managing Editor for Modern Vintage News. She was previously an independent producer and Vice President of Jerry Bruckheimer TV, developing shows with all the major studios- 20th, Warner Brothers, Sony and all major broadcast and cable networks as well as the newer streaming outlets. Varella authored the book TV Development: From Idea to Small Screen, is an instructor at UCLA Extension, and a professional consultant for TVDevelopmentCoach.com.