The New York Review of Books Announces its 50th Anniversary:

New York, NY; January 2, 2013—The New York Review of Books announces plans for its 50th Anniversary with a year marked by special events, launching with a large public event at Town Hall on Tuesday, February 5, 2013 that will include contributors Michael Chabon, Joan Didion, John Banville, Mary Beard, Daniel Mendelsohn, Darryl Pinckney, and Mark Danner. In February of 1963, the Review published its first lone issue amid one of the most vexing strikes in American history, a printer’s strike that shut down seven New York City newspapers.

In November of that same year, encouraged by more than a thousand letters from readers, the Review began regular biweekly publication. The year-long 50th Anniversary celebration will be bookended by these two anniversary dates, marking the publication of that very first issue in February and the issue dated November 7, 1963 when the Review became what it remains today.

In addition to the February 5th Town Hall event, The New York Review of Books announces several other events in celebration of its 50th anniversary:

• In April, there will be a gathering in the Review’s honor at The New York Public Library’s Cullman Center.

• In October, there will be a symposium at The Metropolitan Museum with some of the journal’s most distinguished contributors.

• A special 50th Anniversary issue dated November 7th, 2013 will be published in the autumn.

• The New York Review Abroad: Fifty Years of International Reportage (A New York Review Book) will be published on April 2nd.

• A facsimile of the Review’s first issue – dated February 1, 1963 – will also be inserted into the August issue for all newsstand sales.

Additionally, The New York Review of Books website—www.nybooks.com—will include a special section devoted to the 50th Anniversary featuring talks with longtime contributors, notable articles from past issues, special multimedia content including photographs and video, and documents from the Review archives including manuscripts and correspondence. This special section of the website will also feature an interactive timeline of the Review’s first 50 years, with key pieces displayed alongside important dates in the magazine’s history and in the world at large.