The cover of this week’s Time Magazine features writer Jonathan Franzen, whose new novel, Freedom, publishes at the end of August. As the New York Times points out, he’ll be the first living writer on the cover in ten years. To get there, an author must brew the perfect combination of sales, publicity, and cultural impact. (Only a small fraction of the authors on Time’s 100 Novels list ever made the cut for a spot on the cover.) After the jump, we’ll take you through the last 15 Time covers featuring a living writer, and explain what landed them there.
There was once a time when a writer — of novels, non-fiction, short stories, or poetry — regularly appeared within the red border of the weekly. In the 1950s and ’60s it happened every few months, or even weeks. This new cover is both an obvious mark of the digital age and a great honor for Franzen. As we look back at this celebrated list we hope this cover is the start of a new trend for Time.
Note: Click any of the covers to proceed to the associated Time article.
Comments (11)
Who does your research? You missed Tom Wolfe – November 2, 1998 and Toni Morrison – January 19, 1998. There are possible others.
nevermind…
Irving totally wants to wrestle the photog to the ground…then possibly sleep with his wife.
TIME should be prepared for him to object to his image being on the cover, saying he doesn’t like being associated with the other authors who’ve been featured. Pompous ass.
There’s another one you missed. What about this handsome demon? http://www.calebjross.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/TimeCaleb.jpg
Time Magazine must have the most annoying website that I’ve ever been on.
[...] Честь великая, но в вечность, что любопытно, попадают не все. [...]
[...] on the cover of Time Magazine. This is meant to be a big deal. Since the late 70s there have been 15 other authors. Franzen is the first living author in 10 years. The last was Stephen King when he published his [...]
[...] Franzen, whose latest novel, Freedom, is due out at the end of the month. Flavorwire lists the 15 Writers Featured on the Cover of Time and remarks that Franzen is the first living writer on the cover in ten years, as noted by the New [...]
[...] jolt of expertly wielded misery that made his break-out novel The Corrections such a success. The Time magazine-anointed author‘s latest take on the disorder known as the modern family is masterfully crafted, while [...]
[...] Now, I read lots of books. And yet, somehow, the sum total of my knowledge of Jonathan Franzen before this fandango was that I had seen his books on the shelves and I thought it was really weird that Time lit him up like a Neanderthal in a science museum, since he was the first living novelist on Time’s cover in ten years. Wow, this douchebag must be pretty hot shit, even if he’s no Neil Simon. [...]
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