Jake Silverstein

Jake Silverstein is the editor in chief of Texas Monthly. He attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and also received degrees from Hollins University, in Roanoke, Virginia, and the Michener Center for Writers, at the University of Texas at Austin. In the late nineties, he worked as a reporter for the Big Bend Sentinel, a weekly newspaper in Marfa. In 2005 he became a contributing editor to Harper’s Magazine. His first book, Nothing Happened and Then It Did: A Chronicle in Fact and Fiction, was published in 2010 by W.W. Norton. His work has also appeared in the anthologies Best American Travel Writing 2003 and Submersion Journalism (2008). He joined the staff of Texas Monthly as a senior editor in 2006. In 2008 he was named the fourth editor of the magazine. During his editorship, the magazine has been nominated for eleven National Magazine Awards (the industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize) and won two, for General Excellence and Feature Writing. He lives in Austin.

Stories

You Can’t Stop Renu Khator

The only female university chancellor in Texas (and president of the University of Houston) on her quest for Tier One status.

The Cold Eye of Larry McMurtry

Catching up with our leading unsentimentalist.

Ted Cruz’s Excellent Adventure

Will a tea party darling be the state’s first Hispanic senator?

Greg Abbott’s War

The state attorney general on Obamacare, secession, and challenges to Texas sovereignty.

Generation Next

Welcome to the new Texas Monthly.

Greg Abbott on Voter ID

A federal court struck down Texas' voter ID law today, but on July 13, Texas Monthly editor Jake Silverstein spoke to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who had this to say about the case. 

How to Raise a Texan

Our forthcoming issue, on newsstands next week, tackles this subject, but we couldn’t wait any longer to share the cover of this special issue. Caution: Cute babies ahead. 

The Truth About Texas: Water = Life

As last year’s historic drought reminded us, Texas has always lived life by the drop, just a few dry years away from a serious crisis. With our population expected to nearly double over the next fifty years, this situation is about to become more, not less, challenging. This month we look at the past, present, and future of water and drought in Texas and explore the solutions that give us hope.

Trials and Errors

Over the past two decades Texas has exonerated more than eighty wrongfully convicted prisoners. How does this happen? Can anything be done to stop it? We assembled a group of experts (a police chief, a state senator, a judge, a prosecutor, a district attorney, and an exoneree) to find out.

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