By Drew Grant 8/14/12 4:08pm

Celebrities and politics

Jesse Eisenberg, yurt-dweller (90days90reasons.com)

Jesse Eisenberg is Living in a Yurt in Mongolia, So Vote For Obama!

As we have previously noted, The Social Network star Jesse Eisenberg is now a full-fledged member of McSweeney’s disciples, worshiping at the feet of Dave Eggers at 826Valencia. So it’s not that surprising to find the actor stumping for President Obama over at 90 Days, 90 Reasons, the McSweeney’s offshoot nonprofit which serves to “re-inspire the grassroots army that got Obama elected in the first place.”

So why does Mr. Eisenberg think you should vote? Because he’s currently living in a yurt in Mongolia, that’s why. Read More

By Drew Grant 8/01/12 6:06pm

Celebrity writing

Hard to swallow (Sony)

McSweeneylicious: Jesse Eisenberg’s Fictional Food Stories Are Hard to Swallow

If the cliche for actors used to be “But what I really want to do is direct,” then the updated version would be “But I really want to do is blog.” It makes sense. These people are already rich and famous: they can afford not getting paid, plus, it makes them look intellectual and proves that they are more than dancing little monkeys who can memorize dialogue and cry on cue.

The latest literary star in the making is The Social Network‘s Jesse Eisenberg (who has actually been writing one-offs for the site since 2009), who started his own whimsy-column back in May, “Bream Gives Me Hiccups: Restaurant Reviews From a privileged Nine-Year-Old.” Sounds adorable, right?

It’s not. Read More

By Emily Witt 10/05/11 11:55am

Hires

Nosowsky.

Ethan Nosowsky Named Editorial Director at McSweeney’s

Ethan Nosowsky has left his role as editor-at-large for Graywolf Press to take a job as editorial director at McSweeney’s, announcing the move today on Twitter. Mr. Nosowsky used to work as an editor at Farrar, Straus and Giroux and is also the “consultant for innovative literature” at the Creative Capital Foundation. He has a more traditional book publishing background than some at McSweeney’s, a sign that that its San Francisco-based books division will likely become more aggressive about acquiring work. Read More

By Kat Stoeffel 10/03/11 7:19pm

grantland

McSweeney’s Publishes Grantland Quarterly, Blog-to-Print Journal

Today Grantland began selling Grantland Quarterly, a print anthology of the best reads from the sports and culture site so far. It is edited by Bill Simmons and Dan Fierman.

ESPN and Grantland have contracted McSweeney’s to handle the production and distribution (which, in retrospect, explains why Dave Eggers is a Grantland contributing editor). Read More

By Emily Witt 7/01/11 8:56am

Broadway

The plot.

Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon Writing 826 Valencia Musical

Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon are working on a musical about McSweeney’s non-profit 826 Valencia’s Superhero Supply Store in Park Slope. It’s true, Ms. Waldman told us! It will be called The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company. Michael Mayer, of American Idiot and Spring Awakening will direct; Peter Lerman, a young up-and-coming musical talent, will compose; Read More

By W.M. Akers 8:52pm

What We’re Reading: Art Of McSweeney’s

The Gist: A coffee-table retrospective of twelve years of McSweeney’s, told issue-by-issue and book-by-book, and, focusing on the text-heavy, deliberately arcane design that marks everything Dave Eggers has ever touched.

Author: The editors of McSweeney’s
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Page Count: 256
Pages Read: 50ish? We were skipping around.

Does It Work? It’s clogged by tepid interviews with the people responsible, Read More

By Molly Fischer 2/15/10 6:08pm

It’s Hip to be Profitable

Today, a bicoastal examination of the future of media.

Dave Eggers spoke recently at Berkeley’s J-School about print journalism. He and fellow McSweeney’s leaders took the opportunity to explain the economics of the quarterly’s recent newspaper experiment, the Panorama. Reports SF Weekly:

Many people assumed Dave Eggers’ business model for the next-generation Read More