The Guardian announced today that it is further expanding its US opinion section with the addition of nearly a dozen columnists and contributing opinion writers. The announcement was made by Guardian US editor in chief Katharine Viner.
The appointments reflect the Guardian's commitment to significantly expand its roster and elevate diverse and thought-provoking voices from across America. It is the largest addition of opinion writers for Guardian US.
New Guardian US columnists include feminist author Roxane Gay, who will write a biweekly column on the intersection of identity, culture and the internet; gonzo writer Jeb Lund, who will pen a weekly column on politics, sports, media and the American identity; Freedom of the Press Foundation director Trevor Timm, who will write a twice-weekly column on national security, privacy and press freedom; award-winning investigative reporter Steven W. Thrasher, who will write a weekly column on the intersection of equality, race, social justice and social sciences; and technology essayist and editor Jess Zimmerman, who will write a weekly column on the tech industry and internet culture.
They join regular Guardian US voices, including Jessica Valenti, Gary Younge, Oliver Burkeman, Megan Carpentier and Emma Brockes.
Contributing opinion writers include religious scholar and bestselling author Reza Aslan; historian and activist Rebecca Solnit; former xoJane managing editor Rebecca Carroll; Union Station magazine editor Syreeta McFadden; political science professor and blogger Scott Lemieux; feminist organizer Hannah Giorgis. They will contribute on a rotating, monthly basis.
"I'm delighted to welcome such a diverse and talented group of writers at this exciting time of growth at Guardian US," said Viner. "They bring a unique combination of provocative ideas, incisive analysis and lively commentary that will ensure our coverage reflects the broad range of issues our American readers care about most," she added.
Over the past year the Guardian delivered record online traffic in the US, with nearly 27 million unique visitors and over 30% audience growth (ComScore, Sept 2014). Globally, the Guardian has passed the New York Times to become the world's second most popular English-language newspaper website, with 42.6 million worldwide unique visitors (ComScore, Sept '14), a 12.3% month-on-month increase. US revenues more than doubled on the previous 12-month period, reflecting increased advertising and sponsorship demand, whilst editorially, the Guardian won numerous US and global awards for its reporting of the NSA revelations, culminating with the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
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Note to Bookers & Editors:
Roxane Gay (@rgay) is the author of Ayiti, An Untamed State, Bad Feminist and the forthcoming Hunger. She is based in Lafayette, Indiana, where she teaches English at Purdue University.
Jeb Lund (@mobute) is a former columnist for Gawker and Sports on Earth. He also contributes to Rolling Stone, Vice and elsewhere. He is based in Tampa.
Trevor Timm (@TrevorTimm) is the co-founder and executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation and a former legal analyst and activist for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He is based in San Francisco.
Steven W. Thrasher (@thrasherxy) is a former staff writer at the Village Voice. Thrasher was named Journalist of the Year 2012 by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his investigative feature writing in the Voice, the New York Times, and Out. He is based in New York, where he is a Henry M. MacCracken Doctoral Fellow in American Studies at NYU.
Jess Zimmerman (@j_zimms) is a freelance writer whose work has appeared at the Hairpin, Aeon, Time and elsewhere. She is based in New York.
Reza Aslan (@RezaAslan), an internationally acclaimed writer and scholar of religions, is the author of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. He is based in Los Angeles, where he teaches creative writing at the University of California, Riverside.
Rebecca Carroll (@rebel19), the director of digital media and marketing at Scenarios USA, is also a writer, editor and author of several nonfiction books. She is based in New York.
Hannah Giorgis (@ethiopiennesays), an organizer working to end violence against girls and women, is based in New York.
Scott Lemieux (@LemieuxLGM), a professor of political science at the College of Saint Rose and a blogger at Lawyers, Guns & Money, is based in Albany.
Syreeta McFadden (@reetamac), the managing editor of Union Station magazine, is based in New York.
Rebecca Solnit, a writer, historian and activist and a contributing editor at Harper's magazine, is based in San Francisco.
Contact:
Gennady Kolker
Director of Media Relations, Guardian US
gennady.kolker@theguardian.com
+1 (347) 515-2001
About Guardian US
Guardian US is the Guardian's New York-based newsroom that covers American and international news for an online, global audience. Guardian US merges the innovation and energy of a startup with independent, groundbreaking, award-winning journalism and backing of the Guardian brand
About Guardian News & Media
Guardian News & Media (GNM) publishes theguardian.com, the third largest English-speaking newspaper website in the world (comScore, April 2014). Since launching its US and Australia digital editions in 2011 and 2013 respectively, traffic from outside of the UK now represents around two-thirds of the Guardian's total digital audience.
In the UK, GNM publishes the Guardian newspaper six days a week, first published in 1821, and the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer.
The Guardian is most recently renowned for its Pulitzer Prize-winning revelations based on the disclosures made by whistleblower Edward Snowden. In 2014, the Guardian was named newspaper and website of the year at the Society of Editors UK Press Awards.