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February072008

And Now For a Warm Welcome

Filed under: The Squib Report   Tagged: , , , , ,

Emily and I are very pleased to introduce a new member to the Emdashes team. His name is Benjamin Chambers, and some of you will recall his e-mails on past New Yorker essays and his post comments over the past weeks. We’ve been very impressed by his powers of expression, and we look forward to his sure-to-be-insightful posts.

Benjamin’s column will focus on fiction and will be called The Katharine Wheel, aptly named after The New Yorker’s first fiction editor, Katharine White. We feel certain that Benjamin will roam wherever his interest takes him, stories appearing in The New Yorker each week, stories from the distant past encountered in The Complete New Yorker, novels by people associated with The New Yorker, and so on. And if he has any diverting comments on any other subject, we hope he’ll feel free to contribute those too!

Benjamin is the editor of The King’s English, a prizewinning online magazine that specializes in novella-length fiction, which you should definitely check out. He received his MFA from Washington University in St. Louis and has had his fiction, poetry, and essays published in numerous journals, including The Iowa Review, ZYZZYVA, MANOA, and the Mississippi Review.

I’ve enjoyed corresponding with him in recent days, and I’m sure his wit, wisdom, and good taste will enhance this humble project. Welcome, Benjamin!

—Martin Schneider

Comments

I’m thrilled about it. I’m delighted that we’ll be covering fiction in such detail, and given the 1925-to-infinity scope, what a beat! Benjamin, I know Emdashers (like haberdashers, but with fewer pins and feathers) will enjoy reading you as much as I do.

You guys are much too kind. I’m very pleased to have this opportunity, though. First post, coming right up!

Welcome, Benjamin! I’m so glad emdashes is embracing someone who actually reads — and likes! — the fiction. I always read it but I think I’m a member of a very very small minority.

little sisterFebruary 08, 2008

I think lots of people read the fiction! At least, I see blog posts about it here and there. Anyway, I read it faithfully now.

Thanks, little sister. I don’t always like the fiction, but I respect it - nobody does it as well as The New Yorker.

What a great opportunity.
Thanks.

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