Graydon Carter will tell the story of his career as a magazine journalist in a new memoir, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Penguin Press will publish Carter’s When the Going Was Good: An Editor’s Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines next spring. The press says the book “revives the glamorous heyday of print magazines when they were at the vanguard of American culture.”
Carter, a native of Canada, worked at Time and Life magazines before founding Spy magazine with Kurt Andersen in 1986. The satirical publication was known for its arch takedowns of celebrities and high-society figures, including Donald Trump, who it memorably dubbed a “short-fingered vulgarian.”
After a stint at the New York Observer, Carter took over Vanity Fair, where he served as editor from 1992 to 2017. He currently co-edits the weekly newsletter Air Mail.
Penguin Press says that Carter’s book is his “lively recounting of how he made his mark as one of the most talented editors in the business.”
“Charming, candid, and brimming with stories, When the Going Was Good perfectly captures the last golden age of print magazines from the inside out,” the press says.
When the Going Was Good is slated for publication on March 25, 2025.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
