Jake Silverstein (born 1975) is an American writer and magazine editor. He is the

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

'' and the author of ''Nothing Happened and Then It Did'', a novelized

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

Early life and education

Silverstein was raised in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, in a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family, the eldest of two children. His mother was a psychoanalyst and his father an architect. He attended

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

where he majored in English, and later earned an M.A. in English from

Hollins University Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, Virginia, Botetourt Springs, it is Timeline of women's colleges in the Un ...

and then an M.F.A. from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

's Michener Center for Writers in 2006. He was a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

scholar in Zacatecas, Mexico, in 2002.

Career

After graduating from college, Silverstein interned at ''Harper's'' in 1998, continued at the magazine for a year as a fact-checker, then moved to '' The Big Bend Sentinel'' in Marfa, Texas in 1999. Silverstein was the editor of ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. Founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, ''Texas Monthly'' chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the Natura ...

'' from 2008 to 2014, during which time the magazine won four

National Magazine Awards The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

in 12 nominations. Under his tenure, the magazine had a circulation of approximately 300,000 and rising revenue, in contrast to many similar publications in the same period. He became the editor of ''

'' in May 2014, since which time the magazine has won 14

. The Magazine has also won 7

Pulitzer Prizes The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

, in Feature Writing (2015, 2024), Commentary (2020), Criticism (2021), International Reporting (2022), Illustrated Reporting and Commentary (2023), and Public Interest (2024). He is the author of the hybrid memoir-novel ''Nothing Happened and Then It Did'', which he wrote during his M.F.A. program and published in 2010 with W.W. Norton & Company.

1619 Project

As editor-in-chief of the ''

New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazin ...

'', Silverstein has played a role in the 1619 Project, a view of the role of slavery in the history of the United States. Some historians argue the project contains factual inaccuracies and distortions in attributing slavery a central role in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. Silverstein has disputed those claims. The author's essay for the project won a

Pulitzer Prize for Commentary The Pulitzer Prize for Commentary is an award administered by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism "for distinguished commentary, using any available journalistic tool". It is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes that are ...

in 2020, while the project itself has won many other honors. The 1619 Project book spent six months on the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

bestseller list.

Personal life

He is married to archivist Mary LaMotte Silverstein, with whom he has two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silverstein, Jake Living people 1975 births Writers from Oakland, California American magazine editors Writers from Austin, Texas American male journalists The New York Times people People from Marfa, Texas American male novelists American memoirists Michener Center for Writers alumni