John Vaillant on what it takes to land a story in The New Yorker

Before he was an international award-winning author, Vaillant made his name in a short and impactful magazine career. We talked about that period, and how to overcome the "Canadian disadvantage"

John Vaillant remembers asking the same question I just asked him: “How did you get into The New Yorker?”

Unfortunately for a young Vaillant — and fortunately for me — the answer he got, from a recent contributor, was trash.