CONTRIBUTORS

Mark Bowden

Even as a father of five and a grandfather of one, contributing editor Mark Bowden, the author of Black Hawk Down, became increasingly suspicious of what he calls the “national hysteria” over Internet-prowling child-molesters.

“It struck me that this subject is overhyped and so politically untouchable that no one can stop it,” he says.

“There’s no question that the rounding up of these miscreants is way out of proportion to the actual problem.” In “A Crime of Shadows,” page 244, Bowden

reveals the story of “J,” a Pennsylvania man who was arrested for soliciting sex with children after a series of provocative online chats—which are partially reproduced in the article—with a police officer. “Many people who are just troubled get classified as criminal. Not only are they going to jail, but there is no one pointing out how unjust their treatment really is.” FRANK E. SCHRAMM III

William D. Cohan

William D. Cohan says he was pleasantly surprised when he met National Economic Council director Larry Summers, whom he profiles this month in his first article for Vanity Fair (page 224). “People have so many preconceived notions about Summers, so much has been written about him, and he’s been a lightning rod; I was prepared to not like him,” Cohan admits. “But I found him engaging, charming, and captivating.” Cohan, a Wall Street veteran—he spent 17 years in finance at G.E. Capital, Lazard, Merrill Lynch, and J. P. Morgan Chase before returning to journalism—is the author of two best-sellers, including this year’s House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street. He is now at work on a book about Goldman Sachs, to be published by Doubleday.

David Michaelis

The first time David Michaelis encountered the late fashion and portrait photographer Richard Avedon, about whom he writes in “The Now of Avedon” (page 184), they just happened to be seated next to each other in a Broadway theater. “It was Guys and Dolls, and my friend William Ivey Long was the costume designer,” Michaelis recalls. “Avedon started moving in his seat in this writhing, intense, vivid way to the color, the design, the lighting, the sets. If I hadn’t known who he was, I would’ve thought he was the director.” Avedon is the third great visual artist Michaelis has written about for Vanity Fair; the magazine excerpted his biographies of the illustrator N. C. Wyeth (August 1998) and the cartoonist Charles Schulz (October 2007).

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Bruce Weber

In his 16 years as a contributing photographer for Vanity Fair, Bruce Weber has shot a gamut of subjects, from Martha Stewart to Javier Bardem and, most recently, the Next Generation portfolio (June 2009). Of actor, minor deity, and V.F. cover subject Robert Pattinson, Weber says, “If I had a kid brother, I would want him to be just like Robert. He’s a stand-up gentleman with a firm handshake, and he writes good music too. I hope I bump into him again so we can go to a pub, have a few beers, and take some pictures.” Weber’s talents extend to the cinema as well: his acclaimed Chet Baker documentary. Let’s Get Lost, recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. And he has a new book out, from teNeues, called Roberto Bolle: An Athlete in Tights.

Evgenia Peretz

Evgenia Peretz has interviewed numerous heartthrobs in her 10 years as a Vanity Fair contributing editor, including Tom Cruise, Ben Affleck, and Leonardo DiCaprio. None has induced the mania that Robert Pattinson, this month’s cover subject, has (page 210). “I got to witness the frenzy firsthand at a special screening of Twilight during Comic-Con,” Peretz says. “The girls were so out of control, shrieking and lunging towards him. It was frankly scary.” She has also never met an actor so ill-suited to such fandom. “He is one of the most self-effacing people I’ve met, which made me instantly like him. I had delayed a trip to Cape Cod for one day to have our interview, and I never heard the end of his apologies. Many young stars are barely aware that the reporter interviewing them has a name, much less a life.”

Mark Seal

Contributing editor Mark Seal still fondly remembers his first visit to a restaurant owned by the Cipriani family. “I took the OrientExpress from London to Venice in 1981, and I went directly to Harry’s Bar,” he says. “It is the greatest, most evocative place—steeped in history, but so wonderfully simple.” Starting in the 80s, Arrigo Cipriani and his son, Giuseppe, embarked on an ambitious expansion of their restaurant empire—perhaps too ambitious, as Seal reports in “The Trouble with Harry’s” (page 234). “The story of the Ciprianis is a parable of the boom,” says Seal, who met Arrigo and Giuseppe in Europe. (They have not set foot in the U.S. since late 2008, a year after they pleaded guilty to tax evasion.) “There was no thought that the flush times could ever end.”

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Steve Pyke

Over his three-decade career, photographer Steve Pyke has captured countless famous faces in his trademark close-up style, from Jack Nicholson to Henry Kissinger.

For this month’s issue,

Pyke’s subject was Larry Summers, the infamously impatient director of President Obama’s National Economic Council. “Summers is ornery, and we were working under a very constricted time schedule, in a tight space, surrounded by a lot of security,” Pyke says. “But Summers was focused, and we got the shot very quickly—in just four frames.” A collection of Pyke’s portraits are currently on display at the BLT Gallery, in New York City.

Punch Hutton

As Vanity Fair’s Fanfair and Fairground editor, Punch Hutton oversees the front of the magazine. From emerging trends in design, food, and fashion to upcoming Film releases, talked-about parties, My Desk subjects, and Bright Young Things who are making a difference, she delivers a diverse pop-cultural collage of all that is happening around the world. For this month’s issue, among other things, Hutton (pictured here with her associate, Lindsey Keenan) writes about the new online magazine Lonny and the new Gagosian store in Manhattan and picks some of the holiday season’s coolest gifts. “People always ask how it is that I know what to include each month,” Hutton says. “I’m constantly listening. And fortunately I know a lot of well-traveled, talented people with culturally relevant taste.”

Tim Sheaffer

Few things at Vanity Fair have been as constant as the presence of Tim Sheaffer’s illustrations, which have animated the magazine’s pages for 24 years.

“The nature of my work really hasn’t changed one iota since 1985!” says Sheaffer. For this issue, he sketched Sidney Lumet for John Heilpern’s Out to Lunch column (page 208). “Drawing somebody’s likeness can be tricky, especially if I’m not very familiar with that person. But if I don’t get it quite right the first time,

I get great direction from the editor and

the art department at Vanity Fair. It can become quite a collaborative process—a ping-ponging back and forth of sketches until we’ve got it exactly right.”

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Gasper Tringale

“We needed the cooperation of both the local police, who allowed us into its specialinvestigations unit, and the subject, whose identity we needed to protect,” contributing photographer Gasper Tr ingale says when discussing his photo shoots with the characters central to Mark Bowdens article this month (page 244), which looks at how the fear of Web-surfing child-predators is

disproportionate to the actual problem. The convicted “offender” whose story Bowden traces, called “J,” wrestled with the idea of having his picture taken until the eleventh hour. “It was an interesting challenge to show him in a way that preserves his privacy but still captures something of who he is,” Tringale says.

Chris Mueller

As one of the designers entrusted with making Vanity Fair’s cover flawless, deputy art director Chris Mueller is often found reviewing cover designs with editor Graydon Carter and design director David Harris. “We had a tough decision this month,” the nine-year Vanity Fair veteran explains while reflecting on the Robert Pattinson cover.

“Sometimes a cover photo just jumps out and you know instantly when looking at the shoot, but more often than not there are several great options.” As for the end result, Mueller muses, “To see a cover evolve and finally hit the newsstand is really gratifying. I feel very fortunate to be involved in that process.”

Dina AmaritoDeShan

Nothing gets past Dina Amarito-DeShan. As a production director of Vanity Fair, DeShan has a hand in each stage of an article’s evolution, from early manuscript to the final, printed version. Setting unwavering

deadlines while maintaining the quality of the magazine often means ruling with an iron fist, but DeShan is still known throughout the office as one of the wittiest and most sociable members of the V.F. staff. “I love my job mostly because of the people I work with,” she says.