Benjamin Dreyer | |
---|---|
Born | May 11, 1958 |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Northwestern University |
Occupation(s) | Writer, copy editor |
Employer | Random House |
Known for | Dreyer's English |
Title | Vice-president, executive managing editor and copy chief |
Parents |
|
Website |
twitter |
Benjamin Dreyer (born May 11, 1958) is an American writer and copy editor. He was copy chief at Random House until he retired in 2023 [1] and the author of Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style (2019).
Dreyer was born May 11, 1958 [2] in a Jewish family. [3] He grew up in Queens, New York and Albertson, Long Island. [4] He attended Northwestern University. [5]
Early in his career, Dreyer pursued writing [6] and acting. [4] He worked in bars and restaurants before turning to freelance proofreading, then copy editing. [4] In 1993, he joined Random House full time as a production editor. [5] He was promoted from group manager to senior managing editor and copy chief in 2008 [7] and served as vice-president, executive managing editor and copy chief, at the Random House division of Penguin Random House. [5] until 2023. Supervising the publication of hundreds of titles a year— The New York Times describes Dreyer's role as "style-arbiter-of-last-resort"—he works only with novelist Elizabeth Strout as the sole author he continues to copy-edit himself. [4]
Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style was published in the US on January 29, 2019, followed by the UK edition on May 30, 2019. [8] Dreyer's book began as a revision of an internal memo to advise copy editors and proofreaders at Random House. [9] The memo expanded to about 20 pages and eventually Dreyer became interested in developing it as a book, published with Random House. Dreyer's English debuted at number nine on The New York Times bestseller list for "Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous" [10] and received enthusiastic reviews. [11] [12] In The New Yorker, Katy Waldman writes that "Dreyer beckons readers by showing that his rules make prose pleasurable...The author’s delight in his tool kit is palpable." [13] In Paste, Frannie Jackson recommends the book as "invaluable to everyone who wants to shore up their writing skills and an utter treat for anyone who simply revels in language." [14] In The Wall Street Journal, Ben Yagoda finds "wisdom and good sense on nearly every page of 'Dreyer’s English.'" [15] (Yagoda also notes a trend of "copy editors’ memoirs-cum-style guides", comparing Dreyer's English to "the splendid Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen" from New Yorker copy editor Mary Norris.) [15]
The Washington Post calls Dreyer "the unofficial language guru on Twitter". [16]
Dreyer lives in New York City. [5]
Benjamin Dreyer | |
---|---|
Born | May 11, 1958 |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Northwestern University |
Occupation(s) | Writer, copy editor |
Employer | Random House |
Known for | Dreyer's English |
Title | Vice-president, executive managing editor and copy chief |
Parents |
|
Website |
twitter |
Benjamin Dreyer (born May 11, 1958) is an American writer and copy editor. He was copy chief at Random House until he retired in 2023 [1] and the author of Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style (2019).
Dreyer was born May 11, 1958 [2] in a Jewish family. [3] He grew up in Queens, New York and Albertson, Long Island. [4] He attended Northwestern University. [5]
Early in his career, Dreyer pursued writing [6] and acting. [4] He worked in bars and restaurants before turning to freelance proofreading, then copy editing. [4] In 1993, he joined Random House full time as a production editor. [5] He was promoted from group manager to senior managing editor and copy chief in 2008 [7] and served as vice-president, executive managing editor and copy chief, at the Random House division of Penguin Random House. [5] until 2023. Supervising the publication of hundreds of titles a year— The New York Times describes Dreyer's role as "style-arbiter-of-last-resort"—he works only with novelist Elizabeth Strout as the sole author he continues to copy-edit himself. [4]
Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style was published in the US on January 29, 2019, followed by the UK edition on May 30, 2019. [8] Dreyer's book began as a revision of an internal memo to advise copy editors and proofreaders at Random House. [9] The memo expanded to about 20 pages and eventually Dreyer became interested in developing it as a book, published with Random House. Dreyer's English debuted at number nine on The New York Times bestseller list for "Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous" [10] and received enthusiastic reviews. [11] [12] In The New Yorker, Katy Waldman writes that "Dreyer beckons readers by showing that his rules make prose pleasurable...The author’s delight in his tool kit is palpable." [13] In Paste, Frannie Jackson recommends the book as "invaluable to everyone who wants to shore up their writing skills and an utter treat for anyone who simply revels in language." [14] In The Wall Street Journal, Ben Yagoda finds "wisdom and good sense on nearly every page of 'Dreyer’s English.'" [15] (Yagoda also notes a trend of "copy editors’ memoirs-cum-style guides", comparing Dreyer's English to "the splendid Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen" from New Yorker copy editor Mary Norris.) [15]
The Washington Post calls Dreyer "the unofficial language guru on Twitter". [16]
Dreyer lives in New York City. [5]