TED Talks

Mary Norris: The Nit-picking Glory Of The New Yorker's Comma Queen (2016x76)

Air date: Apr 15, 2016

'Copy editing for The New Yorker is like playing shortstop for a Major League Baseball team - every little movement gets picked over by the critics,' says Mary Norris, who has played the position for more than thirty years. In that time, she's gotten a reputation for sternness and for being a 'comma maniac,' but this is unfounded, she says. Above all, her work is aimed at one thing: making authors look good. Explore The New Yorker's distinctive style with the person who knows it best in this charming talk.