Grove Press UK to publish legendary editor Graydon Carter’s memoir

Clare Drysdale, Group Associate Publisher of Atlantic Books, has bought UK & Commonwealth (ex-Canada) rights to Graydon Carter’s When the Going Was Good: An Editor’s Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines from Tom Dussel at Penguin Press for Grove Press UK. Grove Press UK will publish When the Going Was Good in hardback, export trade paperback, audio and ebook on March 27th 2025.

“Unsurprisingly Graydon Carter’s irresistible memoir reflects the strengths of his magazine publishing,” says Drysdale. “It’s elegant, dishy, propulsive, meticulously written, generous and merciless as required. Reading Carter’s Vanity Fair at the turn of the millennium was like having a front-row seat to the zeitgeist and I’m certain other readers will share my thrill at getting an all-access look inside its projection room.”

From the pages of Vanity Fair to the red carpets of Hollywood to the courtrooms of Fleet Street, editor Graydon Carter’s memoir revives the glamorous heyday of magazines when they were the vanguard of culture.

When the Going Was Good is Graydon Carter’s lively recounting of how he made his mark as one of society’s most talented editors and shapers of culture. Carter arrived in New York from Canada with little more than a suitcase, a failed literary magazine in his past and a keen sense of ambition. He landed a job at Time, went on to work at Life, co-founded Spy magazine and edited The New York Observer before catching the eye of Condé Nast chairman Si Newhouse, who tapped him to run Vanity Fair.

With his inimitable voice and raconteur’s quip, Carter brings readers inside the drawing rooms of the great and not-always-good of America, Britain and Europe. He assembled one of the best-ever stables of writers and photographers under one roof, and here he re-creates in real time the steps he took to ensure that Vanity Fair during his 25-year run cemented its place as the epicentre of art, culture, business and politics. Charming, candid and brimming with humour, When the Going Was Good perfectly captures the last golden age of print magazines from the inside out.

“I’m delighted that my memoir is in the capable hands of Clare and the Grove Press team in the UK,” says Carter. “You never realize you’re in a golden age until it’s over. I wanted to capture the enterprising spirit and sheer fun of those wonderful years for others.” 

Graydon Carter is the founder and co-editor of Air Mail. Before this, he was a staff writer for both Time and Life magazines. He co-created Spy, edited The New York Observer, and for twenty-five years was the editor of Vanity Fair. He is the Emmy and Peabody Award winning producer of more than a dozen documentaries and one hit Broadway play. He and his wife live in New York, not far from the Waverly Inn, and have five children.