CONTRIBUTORS

SARAH ELLISON

Contributing Editor and University of Virginia alumna Sarah Ellison confronts the many tumults—including the murder of a student and Rolling Stone's now disavowed article about campus rape—that befell U.Va. over the last year ("Shadows on the Lawn," on page 240). "As an alum, I have a lot of affection for U.Va.," says Ellison. "These stories are obviously extreme outliers, but they are events that have, at thenbase, something I found recognizable from my time there."

DAVE EGGERS

In this month's V.F. Portrait (page 238), writer Dave Eggers honors Knopf editor in chief Sonny Mehta, who has published works by Toni Morrison, Robert Caro, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Julian Barnes, and Martin Amis. The author of many well-regarded works of fiction, Eggers also runs the nonprofit writing program 826 Valencia, in San Francisco, champions new authors in his quarterly McSweeney's, and edits The Best American Nonrequired Reading series.

NICK BILTON

In "Unicorns and Rain Clouds" (page 168), New York Times technology columnist Nick Bilton presents the dispute among venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and economists over whether a tech bubble is looming. "I would call a very smart investor, and they would say, 'Oh, there is no bubble,' and another would say, 'There is a bubble,' and both would cite the same numbers, same ratios, same statistics in thendefense or offense of the topic," he says.

SAM KASHNER & CHARLES MASLOW-FREEN

Contributing Editor Sam Kashner has written about Mike Nichols in these pages twice before ("Here's to You, Mr. Nichols" and "Who's Afraid of Nichols and May?"). With "It Was Magic, Mike" (page 274), Kashner and onetime Nichols production assistant Charles Maslow-Freen complete the triptych with an oral history of the director's life. "Oscar Wilde wrote, 'It's always Judas who writes the biography,' " says Kashner. "But in Mike's case, most who got to know him adored him and were happy to say so."

"MICHAEL RIEDEL

In an adaptation from Michael Riedel's forthcoming book, Razzle Dazzle: The Battle for Broadway ("Ballots over Broadway," on page 258 ), the New York Post's theater columnist recounts the 1982 Tony Awards showdown between Dreamgirls and Nine, the latter of which started a trend by opening only hours before the Tony eligibility deadline. "Today the spring is packed with Broadway openings, with everybody hoping to cause a surprise splash," says Riedel. "The critics hate it. But it's hard to gin up much sympathy for a critic."

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MAX CHAFKIN, BETSY KENNY LACK & JON KELLY

If then 26-year-old Mark Zuckerberg's first time atop the rankings of Vanity Fair's annual New Establishment list, five years ago, signaled the arrival of Silicon Valley, his No. 1 ranking this year reflects Silicon Valley's consolidation of power. "Technology stories are no longer technology stories. Technology stories are business stories," says Contributing Editor Betsy Kenny Lack, who, along with Contributing Editor Jon Kelly and journalist Max Chaikin, was responsible for this year's list (page 183 ). "When Mark was No. 1 in 2010, it was because he had co-founded a company with enormous impact. This time, it's for being an outstanding operator who has managed to keep his fast-growing company nimble" as evidenced by its acquisition this year of the virtual-reality outfit Oculus VR for $2 billion, which Chafkin writes about in "It's All in the Eyes" (page 230). "Buying Oculus is a departure from purchases like WhatsApp or Instagram—those businesses make sense for a social-media company," says Chafkin. "Oculus signals how Zuckerberg is changing our ideas of what Facebook is and should be." For the first time, the New Establishment was presented on VF.com, as a digital-first package, before it hit newsstands, and includes a month of content leading up to Vanity Fair'sNew Establishment Summit. Organized by Editor Graydon Carter and Lack, this year's Summit—in San Francisco, October 5 through 7—will feature a special advance screening of Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies and conversations with Jonathan Ive, Lena Dunham, and, yes, Mark Zuckerberg. Each year, the list sees people added—and subtracted—as the issue is finalized for publication. Josh Ostrovsky, otherwise known as the Instagram star "the Fat Jew," was being considered for inclusion until he was widely accused of stealing jokes. "In the Year of the Unicom," says Kelly, who edited Nick Bilton's article on the tech-bubble debate ("Unicorns and Rain Clouds," on page 168), "it would have been great to get the word 'Jewnicom' in Vanity Fair."

FOR DETAILS, GO TO VF.COM/CREDITS

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FRANCIS WHEEN

In "Her Own Best Mystery" (page 178), Private Eye journalist Francis Wheen investigates the life of cult mystery author Josephine Tey. "It's surprising how many people think they're the only ones who've read her," says Wheen. "Her readers feel they belong to a secret club." The author of many works of nonfiction, Wheen is currently re-writing a historical novel set in 1850s London after his original manuscript was lost in a fire.

SAM JONES

In photographing 10 late-night hosts—from Stephen Colbert to Larry Wilmore ("Host-to-Host Sensation," on page 248)—Contributing Photographer Sam Jones overheard them discussing the solitude of their jobs. "All these guys are like kings alone in their castles," he says. "Everyone was talking about how little vacation time they have." Jones, who has an interview show, Off Camera, took note of the hosts' interview approaches. "Hopefully, it rubs off on me," he adds.

JAMES WOLCOTT

In "The #Me! Generation" (page 162), Contributing Editor and baby-boomer James Wolcott advocates for Millennials—a generation battling unemployment and the antipathy of their elders. "There's a natural resentment of youth: How dare they be so glossy and smooth," Wolcott says. "But the best way to teach anybody, regardless of age, is through shining individual example, as Her Highness Taylor Swift has shown us."

DAVID KAMP

Having profiled Jimmy Fallon and his ascension to the Tonight Show desk for Vanity Fair's February 2014 issue, Contributing Editor David Kamp surveys the changing of the guard in late-night comedy in "Host-to-Host Sensation" (page 248). "Every time a Carson or a Letterman or a Stewart departs, we feel like the world is ending," Kamp says, "but, as we've seen, usually something quite wonderful is also being born."

ANNALYN SWAN

In "Primary Coloratura" (page 237), Pulitzer Prizewinning writer and biographer Annalyn Swan spotlights American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, who will play Henry VIII's doomed second wife in Donizetti's Anna Bolena. Radvanovsky will sing in all three of Donizetti's Tudor-queen operas this season at the Met. "Not only is it difficult to negotiate Donizetti's musical lines," Swan says, "but throw in 30 pounds or more of costume and they become a feat of endurance."