Columbus Monthly / November 2010 / Familiar bylines

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Familiar bylines

A few months ago, I received a letter from freelance writer Kendra Hovey with a few story pitches. She opened by speculating she may have set a record for the amount of time—about a decade—between queries to the magazine. I’m not sure that’s true, but I’m willing to believe it.

In any case, it was a pleasant surprise since we welcome Kendra’s work. And it turned out to be a harbinger of sorts. Shortly afterward, a few other writers we hadn’t worked with for a while for various reasons also became available again, and this issue is loaded with their bylines. Aside from Kendra, who produced a highly informative service piece on indoor sports for adults, you’ll find stories by two former Columbus Monthly staffers: Christopher Maag (on the controversy surrounding a Columbus company that supplies translators to the U.S. military in Afghanistan) and Jeff Long (a Finale on life after his heart attack and a feature with a unique take on the Franklin County landfill).

And look for the return of T.C. Brown, the former Plain Dealer Statehouse reporter who contributed frequently to these pages before taking a hiatus a few years ago, in an upcoming issue.

Here’s your chance to get more e-mail. OK, maybe that wasn’t the most convincing way to make my pitch. Perhaps I should have led with a promise to make you richer and sexier.

Anyway, the point is we’d like for you to join our e-newsletter list. As a member, you’ll receive a sneak preview of the upcoming issue as well as notices on events or deals. To sign up, go to columbusmonthly.com and click on “E-newsletter” (you’ll find it on the silver bar near the top of the home page). Your life will never be the same again—or not.

Some folks are just as proud of their home renovation projects as they are the accomplishments of their kids. If that resonates, then check out the Columbus Monthly Homes Renovation Competition.

Although the deadline isn’t until next spring, April 15, to be exact, it doesn’t hurt to get the word out early. Send us three before and after photos for any one of the following rooms (with a brief description of the renovation that occurred): kitchen, bathroom, master bedroom, living room or family room.

Winning entries will be professionally photographed and featured in the August 2011 issue of Columbus Monthly Guide to Remodeling. Photographs must be submitted by homeowners. Please include homeowner address and contact information. Renovations done by professional contractors will be accepted. Home visits will be done once finalists are selected. Go to columbusmonthly.com to send your entry, or ship it to Columbus Monthly, Attn: Home Renovation Competition. P.O. Box 29913, Columbus, OH 43229.

Writing a column for a daily paper is one of journalism’s great gigs. It also is a great burden, trying to produce three or four showcase stories in a limited number of words every week, week after week. In an e-mail exchange with Mike Harden this summer, he noted that he had written about 6,300 columns since 1981: two years for the now defunct Columbus Citizen-Journal and the rest for the Dispatch. His last column, Oct. 10, ran three days before his death.

Harden, who freelanced for Columbus Monthly in the mid and late 1970s, wrote ceaselessly and his best work was certainly memorable. After reading one of his columns in June, I sent him that e-mail I mentioned above, remarking on his still strong voice and ability to snap off a poignant yet witty line. I was referring to him describing his battle with throat cancer: “Smoking, I calculated, allows a man a head start of three decades or so on the grim reaper before he finally appears in the rearview mirror. When he did, I realized that objects truly may be closer than they appear.”