In 1983, Brown, then editing Britain’s Tatler, was invited to New York by S. I. Newhouse Jr. to advise on the foundering Vanity Fair magazine. Brown served briefly as a contributing editor, then took over as editor-in-chief on January 1, 1984. By the time she left, eight years later, the magazine had increased its circulation from 200,000 to over a million and was known for the quality of its writers and its instantly iconic photos, such as Annie Leibovitz’s cover of the pregnant Demi Moore. Brown, who went on to edit The New Yorker, write the bestselling The Diana Chronicles, and launch The Daily Beast and Tina Brown Live Media, kept a detailed diary throughout her years at Vanity Fair. Her memoir recounts how she reinvented a publication she initially found “just dull” and tells the inside stories behind the magazine’s signature moments.
Brown will be in conversation with Madhulika Sikka, public editor at PBS, former executive director at NPR, and creator of the 52 Weeks, 52 Books, 52 Women website and podcast.
