Photograph by Martha Williams
This is a bittersweet moment. Atlanta magazine turns 65 years old in May, and I’ve been involved with this publication for about 15 of those, starting as a freelance writer and ending as editor in chief.
There have been adventures along the way. Getting a master class from newly elected Hall of Famer Andruw Jones on playing center field. Getting mooned in the Braves clubhouse by another Hall of Famer from that team, Greg Maddux. Traveling to North Carolina to write about the manhunt for Olympic bomber Eric Robert Rudolph and inadvertently stumbling upon one of his abandoned campsites.
I also gained 20 pounds in a single month when we did a barbecue issue. I’ve been angrily cussed out and tearfully hugged. I wrote a story about being single in Atlanta that a colleague described as a “3,000-word personal ad.” If it was, it worked—I had a long-term relationship with a woman who confessed she’d read it and then sought me out.
I interviewed actor William H. Macy (a Decatur native) next to a roller coaster at Six Flags. I once called a member of The Rolling Stones during a rehearsal; he stopped the song to answer and to tell me he’d call me back. I ghost-wrote the autobiography of Zoo Atlanta’s legendary gorilla Willie B., wrote about singing at the open mic night at Eddie’s Attic, and witnessed the ducks make their daily march through the lobby at the Peabody hotel in Memphis.
This work was always fascinating and gave me a wealth of incredible experiences. It was seldom boring.
But all things must pass. I am retiring and passing the baton to Allison Entrekin, who will become the new editor in chief of Atlanta magazine.
Allison is also a longtime member of the magazine family, most recently as features editor of our Southbound travel publication. Her work has been published in USA Today, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, and Garden & Gun. She’s even written a children’s book: The Goose Who Talked to the Wind.
From founding editor in chief Jim Townsend to Lee Walburn to Rebecca Burns and Betsy Riley, the editor’s chair at Atlanta magazine has carried weight and gravitas. This is where literary journalism lives and thrives. This is where the best stories about Atlanta get told. I’m proud to be a part of that legacy.
But it is time to move into my life’s Act III. I’m grateful for the people I worked with here, the team of editors who are dedicated to publishing a high-quality magazine each month. And I’m also grateful for the writers who grace us with their words.
With this issue, I step out of that coveted chair and hand the seat over to Allison.
Fond adieus, and bon voyage.
This article appears in our March 2026 issue.
