Contact: Caitlin Graf, The Nation, press [at] thenation.com, 212-209-5400

New York, NY, September 20, 2016—The Nation, America’s leading magazine of progressive politics and culture, today announced that David Marcus (@davidimarcus) will lead books and arts coverage as newly appointed literary editor. Based in New York City, he begins commissioning immediately. His predecessor, John Palattella, will transition to editor at large.

“We are delighted to have David Marcus, a superb editor, as wise about fiction and pop culture as about politics, philosophy, and history, take over the books and the arts section,” says editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel. “For two centuries, The Nation has been part of the literary lifeblood of America, and David brings a creative and compelling vision for the future of our cultural coverage in print and online.”

“John Palattella, who stewarded the section for nearly a decade, will become editor at large,” she adds. “John cultivated a vibrant space for ideas and astringent criticism about literature, politics, and culture, and I am excited to see the work he will be commissioning from Europe.”

“I’m thrilled to be joining The Nation as the magazine’s literary editor,” says David Marcus. “With its abolitionist roots and egalitarian commitments, the magazine has been a fount of social progress and critical dissent since its founding. It’s also played host to some of the smartest literary and cultural critics around—from Mary McCarthy and Clement Greenberg to John Leonard and Arthur Danto. It seems to me we’re in a moment in which an exciting new generation of intellectuals is beginning to emerge—and I’m eager to bring their insight and arguments to a broader audience.”

Prior to The Nation, Marcus was co-editor of Dissent, where he served in a variety of editorial capacities since 2006. A PhD candidate at Columbia University, he also taught the history of political thought in the college’s longstanding Contemporary Civilization Program. His essays on politics and literature frequently appear in The New Republic, n+1, Bookforum, and Le Monde.

Assigning for print and online, Marcus will commission essays on literature, politics, history, film, music, and art. In addition to editing in-house critics Stuart Klawans (film), Barry Schwabsky (art), and David Hajdu (music), he will develop a stable of writers and critics who will help carry on The Nation’s long and vibrant tradition of intellectual and cultural argument into the next decade.

In his time at The Nation, John Palattella published a books and arts section defined by erudition and integrity. As editor at large, based in Europe, he will commission and edit articles, with a special focus on translations and serializations. He will also help discover new writers on Europe, science, and American culture and politics.

Marcus will manage The Nation’s cultural coverage with assistant literary editor Matthew McKnight.

For booking requests or further information, please see contact information above.

About The Nation

Founded in 1865, The Nation serves as a critical, independent voice in American journalism and a platform for investigative reporting and spirited debate on issues of import to the progressive community. Through changing times and fashions, The Nation offers consistently informed and inspired reporting and analysis of breaking news, politics, social issues and the arts—never faltering in our editorial commitment to what Nation Publisher Emeritus Victor Navasky has called “a dissenting, independent, trouble-making, idea-launching journal of critical opinion.”

About The Nation’s Books & Arts Section

Anxious discussions on the future of the book review seem to be a staple these days—yet The Nation continues to dedicate one third of its print edition each week to Books & Arts. Twice a year, we devote an entire issue to such coverage; we’ve done so for over 35 years. Over the course of the past decade-plus, we’ve also built a robust culture vertical on TheNation.com, featuring intelligent and sharp takes on philosophy and literature as well as music, architecture, art, and film.

Some of America’s most esteemed writers and poets have appeared in The Nation’s culture pages. James Baldwin published his first piece in the magazine. Other iconic voices include John Steinbeck, Marilynne Robinson, Langston Hughes, Tony Kushner, Toni Morrison, Wallace Stevens, Marianne Moore, John Ashbery, Howard Zinn, Gore Vidal, Adrianne Rich, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Alice Walker, Hannah Arendt, WEB Du Bois, Mary McCarthy, Willa Cather, EL Doctorow, Allen Ginsberg, WH Auden, William Butler Yeats, Anne Sexton, and William Carlos Williams.