Remember Howard Junker’s faux retirement last year, before he pulled back at the last moment because they couldn’t find anyone to take his place? Well, they found someone. After his long tenure at Zyzzyva, Junker is finally handing the reins over to the current managing editor, Laura Cogan.
An ad in Poets & Writers tipped me off to the change, but there really hasn’t been any fanfare or coverage.
The only information I’ve been able to find about Cogan is in the liner notes of the Fall 2010 issue of Zyzzyva, written by Junker:
Now serving as managing editor, Laura takes over at the end of the year. Born in L.A., graduated from Marin Academy and NYU, where she took her Master’s (thesis on W.G. Sebald and Samuel Beckett); stints at Penguin, a literary agency (Susan Golomb, who represents Franzen, Vollmann), and Narrative magazine; volunteer work at American Cancer Society, Greenpeace, In Defense of Animals, Jewish Community Center. She’s committed to carrying on the great tradition. I hope you’ll like her as much as I do.
Since Zyzzyva was so firmly rooted in Junker’s aethetic vision, as he was the inaugural and only editor for the past 25 years, it’ll be interesting to see what new directions Cogan will take journal.
I wish Junker all the best in his future pursuits. He has been a lively and longstanding advocate for the small writers on the West Coast.
One thought on “New Zyzzyva Editor”
I’ve only received rejection letters from submissions, but I have framed one of them, because within the letter, Howard Junker puts this line: If the muses should visit you again, please give them my regards.” A great way to soften a rejection letter’s inevitable blow, and bring a smile to a writer’s face.