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The online landscape is littered with the corpses of failed writing ventures and you'd have to be out of your mind to assemble a staff with the goal to put out interesting magazine-quality material everyday. Eric Gillin, Editor-In-Chief of the Black Table, set out to do just that. Now he's raking in free drinks and handing out cigarettes to children. Ah, a man after our own heart.

Age: 27
Location: Manhattan
Occupation: Writer

1. You're the Editor-in-Chief of an online magazine. Does that title actually mean something?

I gave myself that title, so of course it means something! I'm absolutely sure of it. Granted, I'm still trying to figure out apparently what that is, since I'm about as powerful as an anemic leper in a game of jai-alai. But being the top dog at a website that is read by dozens and dozens of people has its perks. For instance, I
get loads of emails from Reginald Q. Tubesteak and Xavier Chesticles with helpful pointers on everything from insurance to pleasing my woman. And if I ever go to Nigeria, Miriam Abache said she'd put me up. I can also invite six people to GMail, so there's that.

2. Will you be rolling out the red carpetbaggers for some extra GOP convention coverage?

Funny you should ask. We had a little meeting last night to discuss our RNC coverage. It was so inspiring for me to see all these writers pull together with absolutely zero promise of payment. As I began handing out the Nike hightops, black-and-purple tracksuits and pamphlets about UFOs, I realized that next week will probably be a lot of fun for us. Especially when the bunk beds, torches and pitchforks come in. Then we'll be ready to write and greet the messianic space
overlord who will show us what to do after the RNC leaves town.

3. Don't you think it's time to give something back to the community? Dave Eggers has opened youth writing centers on both coasts. What's on the Black Table's philanthropy agenda?

Our "cigarettes for kids" and "booze to the already intoxicated" programs have been tremendous successes, so we're sticking with those for the time being. In a way, we're a feeder system for Mr. Eggers, teaching would-be writers the skills they need for a long and successful career in the biz. We also accept submissions from readers.
But technically, that's not philanthropy unless you're us.

4.Do you run background checks on these people who submit reviews for the "Black List"? Because I have a real issue with the guy who gave amateur porn a D.

I know you probably come from the "all porn is good porn" catch-all philosophy, but there's something to be said for a discriminating eye. Direct flash doesn't do anything good for anyone, especially when you're in a room full of people, everyone's drawing all over each other in eyeliner and someone wants to post a photo of your back on the Internet. I'm not hating, I'm just saying. As for background
checks, our legal monkey, Bobo, usually screeches when there's a problem or when we're running low on unsalted nuts.

5. Let's take this to its most base level: have you ever written something and had a reader reply, "Damn, that's so good we should have sex?"

Sigh. A while back, nearly a year ago, I did a long "how to" piece showing readers how to make pruno, a rather vile fermented wine that convicts brew in prison. The response from America's jailed population was both terrifying and overwhelming. College kids were sending in pictures of them posing with their pruno and all kinds of random people got mental over it. Like this charming older woman from Connecticut who kept asking me if I thought adding juniper berries would give it more of a kick and whether it belonged in a red balloon glass or a champagne flute.

Eric Gillin s Top Five Free Drinks at Parties

1.) Red Stripe. For a good three month period this summer, I was convinced this beer was actually called "Free Red Stripe" and was owned by Pete Rock, because wherever I went, the two of them were there, together, cold kickin' it live. Well, until they'd run out of Red Stripe, which is pretty early at the party. They never run out of Pete Rock, though. That dude's 24/7.

2.) Jose Cuervo Margarita. You'd think that this would taste like crap, especially when the bartender's making them by the thousands, like Keith Moon on a triple sec and tequila drum kit. Sure, the lime is always mashed into the edge of a plastic cup, but that merely saves you the trouble of having to squeeze it. The free marg always puts a hop in my step.

3.) Sparks. For those who haven't slurped this crap, this is essentially the malt liquor version of Red Bull and vodka. It tastes like orange Dimetapp, packs a tremendous whallop and appears to be a descendant of bathroom crank. After three, you'll have trouble unclenching your teeth and sleeping becomes a wholly theoretical
option for people who don't know where the after-after party is.

4.) Vodka. When it comes to the free booze at parties scene, vodka is a constant. It's like one of those guys in the Diesel jeans, cowboy shirt, stylish cap, skull belt buckle, chain wallet and Adidas Samba shoes. The faces and names change, but it's always there, lurking in a corner, holding the new issue of some fashion mag, adrift in the sea of partiers.

5.) Pabst Blue Ribbon. I'm always slightly disappointed when I see them giving away P.B.R. for free at a party, when it's practically free anyway and I drink it all the time. It's like when someone gives you those starlight mints during Halloween. You want a Snickers Fun Size, but no, Cheapie McThifty's gotta go all penny candy on the neighborhood.

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