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''The Writer'' is a United States magazine for writers, published monthly by Madavor Media.


History

''The Writer'' was first established by William H. Hills and Robert Luce, two ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' reporters, as "a monthly magazine to interest and help all literary workers", in April 1887. Until the November 2000 issue, it was published in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. It is the oldest magazine for writers currently being published, and one of the oldest continually published magazines in the U.S. It is targeted at writers, and includes articles offering advice for writing and resources for publishing. ''The Writer'' offers articles of interest to both novice and experienced writers, including market news, interviews, and tips on how to hone one's skills in particular aspects of the craft. Over its 135-year history, ''The Writer'' has been overseen by a number of editors. Hills remained associated with the magazine until February 1926. On page 54 of that issue, he wrote a farewell essay in which he stated he felt he was putting the magazine in safe hands as he resigned his place as editor to William D. Kennedy. Luce, who later became a
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...
, remained with the magazine through September 1888. Hills is listed on the masthead as editor from April 1887 – September 1920, followed by Margaret Gordon as editor from October 1920 – September 1925. Hills is again listed from October 1925 until his retirement in February 1926. No explanation for Hills' absence from the masthead during Gordon's tenure is mentioned in those issues; but an editorial by Gordon in the Sept. 1925 issue (page 132), which refers to Hills as the magazine's conductor for nearly 40 years, suggests he was still involved in its operation, even if his name wasn't on the masthead. Hills' obituary in the December 1930 edition (page 315) also seems to indicate he was involved with the magazine continuously from 1887 to 1926. William Dorsey Kennedy served as editor from March 1926 – December 1928. From 1929 to 1933, an
editorial board The editorial board is a group of editors, writers, and other people who are charged with implementing a publication's approach to editorials and other opinion pieces. The editorials published normally represent the views or goals of the publicat ...
was listed, which prominently featured Virginia C. Lincoln and Bertha W. Smith. Other board members changed, but Lincoln and Smith, who were listed as publisher and
managing editor A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication. United States In the United States, a managing edi ...
, respectively, by the October 1929 issue, remained in those positions until February 1934. From March 1934 – January 1936, Sargent Collier and Samuel G. Houghton served as publishers and editors. The longest editorial era began in February 1936, when A.S. Burack took over the editor's chair. He would remain editor until his death in August 1978. Burack's widow, Sylvia, then took over as editor (and later as publisher as well). In 2000, she sold the magazine to
Kalmbach Publishing Kalmbach Media (formerly Kalmbach Publishing Co.) was an American publisher of books and magazines, many of them railroad-related, located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. History The company's first publication was ''The Model Railroader'', which be ...
. From November 2000 to October 2007, ''The Writer'' was edited by Elfrieda Abbe, who also became publisher with the September 2006 issue. As of the November 2007 issue, she turned the editorial reins over to Jeff Reich (formerly the magazine's managing editor), to focus exclusively on her duties as publisher. She was preceded as publisher by Russell G. Larson and Judith Hill. ''The Writer's'' current editorial board consists of James Applewhite, Andre Becker, T. Alan Broughton,
Eve Bunting Eve Bjørgum Bunting (née Bolton, December 19, 1928 – October 1, 2023), better known as Eve Bunting, was a Northern Irish-born American writer of more than 250 books. Her work covered a broad array of subjects and included fiction and non-fic ...
,
Mary Higgins Clark Mary Higgins Clark (born Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins; December 24, 1927 – January 31, 2020) was an American author of suspense novels. Each of her 51 books was a bestseller in the United States and various European countries, and all of her ...
, Roy Peter Clark, Barnaby Conrad, Lewis Burke Frumkes, James Cross Giblin, Gail Godwin, Eileen Goudge,
Rachel Hadas Rachel Hadas (born November 8, 1948) is an American poet, teacher, essayist, and translator. Her most recent essay collection is ''Piece by Piece: Selected Prose'' (Paul Dry Books, 2021), and her most recent poetry collection is ''Ghost Guest'' (Ra ...
, Shelby Hearon,
John Jakes John William Jakes (March 31, 1932 – March 11, 2023) was an American writer, best known for historical and speculative fiction. His American Civil War trilogy, '' North and South'', has sold millions of copies worldwide. He was also the author ...
, John Koethe,
Lois Lowry Lois Ann Lowry (; née Hammersberg; born March 20, 1937) is an American writer. She is the author of many books for children and young adults, including '' The Giver Quartet'', '' Number the Stars'', the Anastasia series, and '' Rabble Starkey''. ...
, Peter Meinke,
Robert B. Parker Robert Brown Parker (September 17, 1932 – January 18, 2010) was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works include the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. ...
, Katherine Patterson,
Elizabeth Peters Barbara Louise Mertz (September 29, 1927 – August 8, 2013) was an American author who wrote under her own name as well as under the pseudonyms Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels. In 1952, she received a PhD in Egyptology from the Universi ...
, Arthur Plotnik, and William G. Tapply. The late Phyllis A. Whitney had been a long-time editorial board member until her death in 2008. Over the years, the magazine has gone through a number of physical changes. The first issue had only 18 pages; and for years ''The Writer'' had no illustrations. Currently, ''The Writer'' has more than 60 pages per issue, and includes color photographs on both the cover and interior. The magazine's slogan has changed as well, since its inception. From at least 1896 to September 1925, the cover read, "A monthly magazine for literary workers." This changed to "An author's monthly forum" in October 1925. The new slogan ran until at least October 1929. From at least October 1930 – April 1932, the slogan changed subtly to "the author's forum." In March 1934, the slogan changed to "The pioneer magazine for literary workers", and would remain until October of that year. In November 1934, the slogan changed to "The oldest magazine for literary workers. Founded in Boston, 1887", and remained until 2000. At that point, the slogan changed to "The essential resource for writers since 1887." The slogan changed in December 2008 to "Advice and inspiration for today's writer," and again in January 2012 to "Imagine • Write • Publish." In May 1962, during its 75th anniversary, ''The Writer'' was honored with a congratulatory letter from President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
. As of 2011, ''The Writer'' has won the ''
Folio The term "folio" () has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging Paper size, sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for ...
'' magazine Editorial Excellence Award nine times. In 2012, Kalmbach sold ''The Writer'' and ''BirdWatching'' to Madavor Media.'The Writer' Returns to Boston
''Publishers Weekly'', August 28, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2017.


See also

* ''The Writer'', April 1947, 60th anniversary issue


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Writer, The 1887 establishments in Massachusetts Literary magazines published in the United States Monthly magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1887 Magazines published in Boston