Introducing VQR’s New Publisher, Deputy Editor, and Advisory Board

As editor of the Virginia Quarterly Review, it’s my pleasure to announce the appointment of Jon Parrish Peede as Publisher and Donovan Webster as Deputy Editor. Peede will oversee all business and administrative operations of the journal, including print circulation, online and digital readership, business development, and external partnerships. Webster will provide editorial and production management for the print publication and online content, and contribute to thematic content and creative direction.

Jon Parrish Peede

From 2007 to 2011, Peede served as Director of Literature Grants for the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, DC. He directed more than $5 million in annual funding to the nation’s leading poets, fiction writers, translators, nonprofit presses and journals, and literary organizations. During his tenure, literary translation applications doubled, and translation fellowships were increased significantly. In addition to directing the Big Read program for two years, Peede served as Counselor to NEA Chairman Dana Gioia from 2003 to 2007. Peede was the founding director of the NEA’s Operation Homecoming program, which resulted in the largest literary archive of US troop writing from Iraq and Afghanistan, an acclaimed anthology, and two award-winning documentaries. He led literary programs in Bahrain, Mexico, Northern Ireland, and other countries. He co-edited an essay collection, Inside the Church of Flannery O’Connor: Sacrament, Sacramental, and the Sacred in Her Fiction (Mercer University Press, 2008).

Donovan Webster

VQR faithful will recognize Donovan Webster from his recent story, “Cod World,” which kicked off the Summer 2011 issue. A former senior editor for Outside, Webster writes
for National Geographic, Smithsonian, Vanity Fair, and the New York Times Magazine. He is the author of several books, including Aftermath: The Remnants of War (Pantheon Books, 1996), which won the Lionel Gelber Prize for the year’s best book promoting global understanding; The Burma Road: The Epic Story of the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II (Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2003); and Meeting the Family: One Man’s Journey Through His Human Ancestry (National Geographic Books, 2010). Webster co-founded the international humanitarian organization Physicians Against Landmines/Center for International Rehabilitation, which was an early member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997.

In addition to naming Peede and Webster to the staff, the University of Virginia’s Office of the Vice President for Research has established a distinguished VQR Advisory Board. The board will advise on matters such as organizational structure, editorial vision, thematic content, and business growth models for VQR. The board includes:

• Marie Arana, Writer-at-Large, Washington Post; former Editor-in-Chief of the Washington Post Book World; National Book Award finalist
• Larry Bridges, CEO, Red Car, Inc.; filmmaker and poet
• Jon Fine, Director, Author & Publisher Relations, Amazon; U.Va. School of Law, J.D. ’91
• David Griffin, Visuals Editor, Washington Post; former Executive Editor for e-Publishing and Director of Photography, National Geographic
• Joe Hutchinson, Art Director, Rolling Stone
• Jay Morse, former CFO, Washington Post; U.Va. A&S ’68
• Amy O’Leary, Deputy News Editor, Online, New York Times
• Siva Vaidhyanathan, Chair, Department of Media Studies, University of Virginia

I am delighted to be joined by such distinguished colleagues and advisers. I hope all of VQR’s readers and contributors will join me in extending a hearty welcome to Jon Parrish Peede, Donovan Webster, and our new advisory board.