Maer Roshan's new mag, Radar, is set to hit newstands on April 22nd, and the press blizzard is just starting. The NYT's David Carr has an extensive review and Page Six offers a few excerpts from an article titled "Monsters, Inc.":
· On Dave Eggers: "Thin-skinned exhibitionist is so paranoid about his image, will communicate with press only via e-mail. Claims to loathe big imprints, yet is published by Penguin in the U.K."
· Wall Street dilettante Jim Cramer "gave surviving employees of his beleaguered financial Web site thestreet.com autographed copies of his blustery post-bust tell-all, 'You Got Screwed!,' in lieu of bonuses."
(We snagged a copy, too, so you'll get more excerpts later.)
New magazine has the sound, not the budget, of the late Talk [NYT]
Radar tracks boldface boors [Page Six]

YankTheChain's Eric Rosenfield reviews Heidi Julavits' literary criticism mag, The Believer, and makes a case for Why Dave Eggers Isn't So Bad and Why The Believer Isn't All Crap. [My description; not his.] His argument sounds familiar: Eggers/Julavits/McSweeney's have their faults, but at least they're trying to stir things up. The less polite version usually goes something like this: "Dave Eggers sucks. McSweeney's sucks. But, hey, indie publishing is cool. (Very small, nearly insignificant) kudos to Eggers on that one!" A friend of Rosenfield's disagrees: "Our own JF Quackenbush has trouble discussing Eggers without using phrases like 'subliterate postmodern flippancy.' I told him I was going down the McSweeney's Store in Brooklyn for research and asked him if he wanted me to ask anything; he said, 'please ask them to knock it off.'"
Regarding Dave Eggers [YankTheChain]

An exchange between writer James "the new Dave Eggers" Frey and a "non-fan":

Writer James Frey (a.k.a., "the next Dave Eggers;" author of A Million Little Pieces) in an interview with Zulkey.com on jail and rehab: "Jail is really fucking boring, and occasionally, really fucking scary. It is about doing time and getting it over with and staying out of trouble. Rehab is about fixing and changing your life. It, however, can also be boring and scary."
The James Frey interview [Zulkey.com]

As previously reported, Dave Eggers of McSweeney's is distributing a new magazine called The Believer (the brainchild of Heidi Julavits). The "indie" publication features pieces by up-and-coming "indie" writers like Salman Rushdie, Robert Olmstead, and Anne Carson. (Oh wait, it's "Be Nice to Celebrities Day." Sorry. This is very painful for me.) Actually a friend of mine subscribed and says it's very good and it even "smells nice"always the mark of high-quality literature. I haven't seen it yet, so it's probably quite lovely. I'd probably even like itand hate myself for liking it. (See? That was nice...ish.)
New magazine has an abiding faith in the good book review [LA Times]
The Believer
UPDATE: Felix Salmon reviews The Believer, a magazine about reviews.
The Believer [FelixSalmon.com]

Literary "it" boy James Frey explains his comments about Dave Eggers' book ("[It] pissed me off...because a book that I thought was mediocre was being hailed as the best book written by the best writer of my generation...Fuck that. And fuck him...") in a recent Observer piece: "It was neither a misquote, nor am I particularly proud of it...The reporter was at my apartment, and he was standing in front of these stacks of books I have, and he was asking me about books. I didn't set out to bash Eggers. My honest view is I could give a shit about Eggers or any other writers."
The 13th step [Orlando Weekly Arts & Culture]

An insider tells us that The Balloonist will be published by "Heidi Julavits" and "some other guy whose name I couldn't remember." But "Dave [Eggers] is distributing the magazine, not publishing it. It will in no way bear his stamp."

The Observer's passing mention last week of The Balloonistthe new magazine Dave Eggers (McSweeney's, Heartbreaking Work of a Staggering Genius) is startinghas generated a bit of curiosity. Eggers hasn't really talked about it and Google searches are futile. The Black Table speculates. [Ed. noteI'm just waiting for Russ Smith to write a WSJ editorial where he screams "hubris" and says he never liked Dave Eggers anyway.]
Is Dave Eggers trying to break our hearts? Searching for answers about The Balloonist [TheBlackTable]

Post-punk superstar Jack White (of the White Stripes) on his upcoming interview with Dave Eggers' soon-to-be-published magazine, The Balloonist:
"Dave Eggers ?"
"The guy who wrote A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius," his publicist told him.
"Oh, O.K.," he said. He still didn t know.
[Ed. noteSomewhere someplace, in a dark room, Dave Eggers sits fuming...]
Elephant in the room: White Stripes hit New York [Observer]

Dave Eggers is like, sooooo over. James Frey is the new literary it-boy. He sports a tattoo that says "F.T.B.S.I.T.T.T.D," which translates roughly to "Fuck the Bullshit It's Time to Throw Down." We love him already. Frey's already an expert in the soundbite department. On Eggers' book: "[It] pissed me off...because a book that I thought was mediocre was being hailed as the best book written by the best writer of my generation...Fuck that. And fuck him and fuck anybody that says that. I don't give a fuck what they think of me. I'm going to try to write the best book of my generation and I'm going to try to be the best writer." Frey's book, A Million Little Pieces, will be published by Nan Talese/Doubleday in April.
Meet the new staggering genius [Observer]