Over at The Frenemy, a very angry young woman writes: "I’ve been out of college with a writing degree for almost a year now. I moved to NYC to pursue writing... but something’s been bothering me. Carrie Bradshaw, you gotta be tripping balls to have us believe that you can sustain yourself that extravagantly on that one stupid-ass column. You lying bitch! It’s a cruel joke! It hurts my feelings! You dream crushing, bone-crushing bitch." Stop trying to pretend that you can live in New York and have this overly successful life based on writing alone." (How can a pretend person pretend? The mind reels!) more ›

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been almost eight years since the release of Jonathan Safran Foer’s best-selling first novel, “Everything is Illuminated,”. Since then, among other things, he’s released another novel, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," wrote a libretto for an opera, and been called everything from a "luminous talent" to "a fraud and a hack." His newest book, “Eating Animals,” is a personal account of his own struggles with and journey toward vegetarianism, and was inspired in part by the birth of his son. We talked to Foer about the process of researching, the factory farming system, and how his critics view him. more ›

The last two decades have found comic writer Jonathan Ames, known for his slanted wit and brutal honesty, become a veritable chameleon of pop-culture mediums. By turns novelist, essayist, journalist, theatrical performer, and amateur boxer, the Ames style has remained unmistakable—as the Times put it, Ames "has rarely strayed far from himself." more ›

Recently Brian Greene won a daytime Emmy for his writing work on Cash Cab. The show follows unsuspecting folks hopping into a cab, only to find themselves taking a pop quiz and standing a chance to win some cash. Greene recently told us about the show, his various other writing gigs, and his encounter with Michael Richards. And in case you were wondering, the cash cab will be roaming the streets again starting this fall. more ›

It's a common observation, but are New Yorkers really more rude than residents of other cities? In Smithsonian magazine, New Yorker dance critic Joan Acocella thinks we’re just misunderstood. After years of life in the city, she’s made a thorough argument that what outsiders perceive as rudeness is just a side-effect of life in New York, where the boundaries between public and private life are less pronounced. more ›

They’ll deny it, but most college students who write plays harbor some secret fantastic hope that their new opus will be hailed as the arrival of a fresh new voice and open on Broadway to triumphant acclaim. It obviously never happens, except when it does: 28-year-old Lin-Manuel Miranda, originally from Washington Heights, conceived the musical In the Heights as a sophomore at Wesleyan. After graduating, the show, a hip hop and salsa-inflected homage to his old ‘hood, caught the eye of the producers behind RENT and Avenue Q. It opened Off Broadway last year to rave reviews, packed houses and far too many awards to schlep home on the A train. Now the Broadway incarnation is bounding through previews, having kept most of the original Off Broadway cast, which includes Miranda himself in one of the starring roles. The official opening night is March 9th; ticket prices vary. more ›

The construction worker who killed Adrienne Shelly in her West Village office pleaded guilty to manslaughter - and gave new details about why he killed the actress-director. Diego Pillco will receive 25 years in prison; as an illegal immigrant from Ecuador, the Post says his sentence will be "almost certainly followed by deportation." more ›