An Interview with Benjamin Dreyer

Click on the player to hear the whole interview.

Benjamin Dreyer's book, "Dreyer's English," became a surprise bestseller and is already on its fifth printing just two weeks after the publication date. Dreyer, vice president, executive managing editor and copy chief of Random House, worked on the book for years, and it shows. The kernel of the book started with a New Year's resolution to write every day, and developed into a modern blend of "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" and "Words into Type" (Dreyer's favorite style guide) that allows Dreyer's entertaining voice and many years of copy editing expertise shine through.

In this interview, we talked about 

• How Benjamin found his voice.
• Benjamin's reaction to some out-of-context coverage of the book.
• What he does as a copy chief.
• House styles.
• Why his book largely ignores AP style.
• Some of our favorite tidbits from the fabulous section on fiction writing.
• His unusual pet peeves.
• How book design has evolved to accomodate digital marketing.
• Why the paper used for his book jacket is called "gritty Capote."
• The story behind the title of the book.
• Why "glamour" still has a U in American English even though most similar words have lost their U.

Click the player above to hear the whole interview or click through to read the entire (rough) transcript.

 

 

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