(NEW YORK) Town & Country‘s latest tony name on the masthead is Jay McInerney, who will pen a monthly column for the Hearst glossy. The writer will mostly turn out wine-focused features, but will also be able to touch upon topics including food, travel, and culture. He will be departing from his current post at The Wall Street Journal, where he has written a wine column since 2010, but he will continue to contribute to various publications on all topics, aside from vino. He has also penned 11 tomes and is in the process of putting the finishing touches on another novel, which will go to print in fall 2015. “”I’m really looking forward to collaborating with [T&C editor-in-chief] Jay Fielden, with whom I first worked with during his tenure at Men’s Vogue,” McInerney said in a statement. “I love the direction in which he’s taken Town & Country and am eager to continue to add my voice to the magazine on a monthly basis.”
Looks like the admiration factor is mutual: “I am a longtime fan of Jay’s writing – both his journalism and his fiction – since he first put pen to paper,” said Fielden in a statement. “His wit, his style, his encyclopedic knowledge of wine and his distinctive swagger will transport readers who will take great delight in his many adventures.”
Following a recent uptick in newsstand sales and circulation numbers for 2013, Fielden has built up the T&C team lately. Recent hires over the past year have included iconic stylist Nicoletta Santoro, who was named creative director at large in December, following the appointment of Alex Gonzalez as executive artistic director in September (a role he took on in addition to his artistic director gig at Marie Claire). Also in the T&C orbit as of late: photog Bruce Weber and journalist Michael Wolff have been tapped as contributors. Plus, there’s a family tie to the mag for the latest contributor: McInerney’s stepdaughter, Amanda Hearst, is special projects editor at T&C. McInerney’s first piece for the publication will debut in the June/July issue, which will be available on newsstands by May 20th.
