In the January/February issue of the Columbia Journalism Review, Texas Monthly‘s editor, Gregory Curtis, was selected as one of the ten best editors in the magazine business, placing him in the illustrious company of such industry standard-bearers as Jann Wenner (Rolling Stone) and Graydon Carter (Vanity Fair). Around these parts, the response was great pride, of course, but also a polite ho-hum. Greg at the top of his game? We knew it all along. Ever since the day he parked his green Volkswagen Beetle in front of the first Texas Monthly office — a second-floor walk-up at Fifteenth and Guadalupe, near downtown Austin &3151; the Corpus Christi native has been a star. For eight years, as a senior editor and then the executive editor, he was one of the magazine’s most prolific writers, turning out literate, engaging stories on everything from pool hustlers to Farrah Fawcett. Since 1981 he’s run the show, continuing to write a monthly column but focusing most of his energies on inspiring the troops to do their best work, along the way winning five National Magazine Awards and the respect of his peers. In praising Greg, CJR called Texas Monthly “consistently excellent” and “superlative.” The same could be said about the man himself.
