Tom Curwen named writer-editor in California

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Managing Editor Davan Maharaj and California Editor David Lauter make the announcement in this memo to Times staff:

Over the last few years, Tom Curwen has become one of The Times’ most admired writers -– quite a feat considering that he was a full-time editor in Features all the while. Tom reported and wrote memorable narratives such his “Grizzly Bear” series, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, largely on his own time.

We’re pleased to announce that Tom will now be writing for the paper much more frequently, and on company time. Tom is taking on a new assignment as a writer-editor in Metro. He will find and tell compelling narratives of his own. In addition, he will work with a group of Metro’s writers, helping conceive and shape long-form narratives, coordinating their work and editing some of it. To borrow a sports term, he will be a player-coach.

Hybrid assignments like this one can be tough to pull off, but we’re confident Tom will be able to strike the right balance. Having Tom more fully engaged in our most ambitious stories, as a writer on some and an editor on others, can only benefit the paper and its readers.

Tom’s first newsroom assignment was as deputy editor of the Book Review, starting in 1997. He was the editor of the Outdoors section from 2004 to 2005. His writing has been honored by Los Angeles Press Club, the American Assn. of Sunday and Features Editors and the California Newspaper Publishers Assn. In 2002 he was a recipient of a Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism. He attended the UC Berkeley, and has a master’s degree in creative writing from the USC, where he was honored by the Academy of American Poets.

Please join us in congratulating Tom on his new assignment.