The New Statesman is to launch a North American website, New Statesman America, in the coming months.
New Statesman America will be edited by Nicky Woolf, who has covered the US for the New Statesman and the Guardian. Based in New York, Woolf will be joined by correspondent and Amnesty Media Award winner Sophie McBain, a former New Statesman staff writer who has also been a Middle East editor for the Associated Press, while Mehdi Hasan will continue as political columnist based in Washington, DC.
Readers from the US and Canada, who already form more than a quarter of the vibrant global audience of the New Statesman, will find a dedicated homepage featuring bespoke American-focused content and coverage of US politics and culture, as well as the provocative and elegant essays, analysis, literary criticism and deep reportage that have revitalised the New Statesman and made it the UK’s leading progressive political and cultural magazine and website.
Founded in London in 1913 as a weekly review of politics and literature, the New Statesman has evolved to become a print-digital hybrid with a rapidly growing global readership of millions. The New Statesman has notably recognised and published new writers and critics, as well as encouraged major careers. Its contributors have included John Maynard Keynes, Bertrand Russell, Virginia Woolf, Christopher Hitchens, and Paul Johnson. More recently, it has discovered and nurtured the likes of Mehdi Hasan, Laurie Penny, Rafael Behr, Helen Lewis, Stephen Bush, Leo Robson and George Eaton.
Jason Cowley, editor-in-chief of the New Statesman, said: “We have ambitions to internationalise the New Statesman and this is the first stage of a major online expansion. Already our essays – by John Gray, John Bew, Shiraz Maher, Helen Lewis and others – are widely read and shared in North America, where we have a growing readership. I’m delighted that Nicky has joined us and Sophie has rejoined. They are both first-rate journalists and will lead our American expansion.”
Nicky Woolf, editor of New Statesman America, said: “There may never have been a time when great journalism has been more necessary than it is right now. I can’t wait to explore this opportunity to expand our vibrant American audience and continue the New Statesman’s work contextualising and illuminating the world in these dark times. In an era when at times even truth itself seems to be under siege, it is vital to challenge orthodoxy, give voice to the marginalised and hold the powerful to account. The New Statesman has more than a century of experience doing just that, and I could not be more proud, honoured or excited to be a part of this project.”
In addition, Patrick Maguire has joined the New Statesman’s award-winning politics team as political correspondent. He will write across print and online on British and international politics. Maguire was previously a reporter at the Times and the 2016 winner of the Anthony Howard Award for young journalists.