Daniel Penny – Editor

I evaluate unsolicited stories for the fiction department at the New Yorker. If I find something noteworthy, I recommend the story to the other editors in the department to consider for publication in the magazine. Basically, I act as a gatekeeper, and most of my job consists of rejecting manuscripts. To get past me, the work has got to be exceptional in terms of prose style, story mechanics, and thematic content.

I'm a guest lecturer in the Creative Writing Department at the University of Cambridge, leading workshops, delivering craft-based lecturers, and supporting other faculty in professional development.

I worked one-on-one with students from across the university to develop their written assignments: from revising job applications and dissertations to brainstorming introductory critical papers and close readings.

At Parsons, I teach a section of our core writing and composition class for first year students in collaboration with a studio instructor. Course goals include an introduction to university-level academic reading and writing, critical thinking skills, and the ability to reflect upon students’ artistic practices. Courses I've taught include Integrative Seminar (“Fake” and “Visual Culture”) and an arts criticism elective of my own design, called “Everybody’s a Critic.”

I devised and taught an introduction to creative nonfiction workshop through the Creative Writing department at Columbia University, focused on drafting, group work, and familiarizing students with the conventions of creative nonfiction. Students finished the course by creating a final portfolio of revised work.