William Shawn

“I publish what I want to read. That's the only rule I have.”

“Funny is a good thing.”

“Every story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end, but not necessarily in that order.”

“He who is bored is not boring.”

“I think fiction is the most important thing in the world.”

“A good writer is a person who has something to say and knows how to say it.”

“I don't think there is any such thing as a 'New Yorker' story. It's just a story that we happen to publish.”

“We don't publish anything that is just for the sake of shocking people.”

“Clarity is the first duty of the writer.”

“We're not in the business of making people feel good.”

“We love our writers. They are the magazine.”

“The New Yorker has been my life. It still is. I’m not sure I have a life apart from it.”

“I've never been able to understand the passion people have for facts. I'm not very interested in them.”