NYT Book Critic Janet Maslin 'Downshifting' to Contributor

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Janet Maslin

New York Times literary critic Janet Maslin is "downshifting to a contributing role," Capital reported, adding that the Times will hire a third full-time book critic, joining Michiko Kakutani and Dwight Garner, to replace her. The change is scheduled for July 1, after which Maslin "will continue to write regularly for the New York Times but at a somewhat less grueling pace," according to a memo released by executive editor Dean Baquet and culture editor Danielle Mattoon. Maslin spent 15 years reviewing books at the newspaper, after 23 years reviewing film.

"We are hugely relieved that Janet wishes to continue writing, so this is by no means goodbye," Baquet and Mattoon noted. "But we don't want to let the moment pass without remarking on Janet's enormous contributions to our pages.... At heart she's a readers' critic--equally committed to puncturing the pious and heralding the unsung. There's no one like her."

Explaining her decision, Maslin told Capital: "I've been a full-time critic since 1977, which is why the announcement uses 'grueling,' 'grind' and 'frantic' in its first few lines. It's a hard job and I've been doing it a very long time. I've had the Monday slot, which makes for a particularly tough schedule. It had to stop.

"I told the Times I wanted to leave only last Monday. My original plan was to step away from the job and hope to freelance now and then, but they came up with the compromise of having me write a couple of times a month, which was wonderful of them. We're all very happy about this new arrangement."