The Stranger (newspaper) - Notable Contributing Writers

Notable Contributing Writers

From April 4, 2001 to September 2007, the paper's editor-in-chief was Dan Savage, an associate editor since its founding who made his name writing the paper's sarcastic and sometimes inflammatory sex advice column, Savage Love, which has appeared in every issue of The Stranger. In September 2007, Savage became the paper's editorial director and was replaced as editor-in-chief by then-27-year-old Christopher Frizzelle, formerly the Books Editor (in 2003) and Arts Editor (from 2004 to 2007). The newspaper's managing editor is Bethany Jean Clement, formerly the managing editor of Seattle Weekly. Clement's essays in the restaurant section of the newspaper have been anthologized in Best Food Writing 2008 and Best Food Writing 2009.

Associate Editor Charles Mudede is the author of the weekly column Police Beat, which has been adapted to an indie film of the same title. Mudede also co-wrote the controversial movie Zoo, a documentary about the life and death of Kenneth Pinyan who died in a bestiality incident in Enumclaw, Washington in July 2005. The paper's masthead also includes actor/monologist David Schmader, who writes a witty and appalled "news of the week" column called Last Days. When he runs low on space, the later days of the week are often filled with simply: "Nothing happened today." When a significant event occurs, Schmader might describe the event with "Nothing happened today, unless you count..."

Other writers closely associated with the newspaper include Sean Nelson, lead singer of Seattle band Harvey Danger, formerly the Stranger's Film Editor and a staff writer, profiling the Portland, Oregon band the Decemberists and the pre-teen Seattle band Smoosh when they landed a record deal. The Stranger's most prominent contributors include Sherman Alexie, Charles D'Ambrosio, Sarah Vowell, Dave Eggers, Jonathan Raban, Heather McHugh, Rebecca Brown, Edmund White, Gary Shteynhart, Miranda July, Tao Lin, Travis Jeppesen, Andrew Sullivan, Stacey Levine, and JT LeRoy. Previous staffers have included Emily White, who was editor-in-chief and has also authored the books Fast Girls: Teenage Tribes and the Myth of the Slut, (2002), and You Will Make Money in Your Sleep. The Story of Dana Giacchetto, Financial Adviser to the Stars (2007); Eric Fredericksen, who went on to run the art space Western Bridge; the novelist Matthew Stadler; Traci Vogel; the art critic Emily Hall; SP Miskowski; Everett True; Peri Pakroo; Matt Cook; Jonathan Hart Eddy; Christine Wenc, who edited the paper from 1992–1993, during which time the paper was included on Rolling Stone's Top 10 list for new alternative journalism; and Phillip Campbell. Writers for the paper in the early 1990s include Inga Muscio and Clark Humphrey.

The paper's News Editor is Dominic Holden. Previously, the position was held by Erica C. Barnett, who in 2007 was named reporter of the year by Seattle's venerable Municipal League. Barnett left the paper in 2009 to work for news web site Publicola.net, founded by former Stranger news editor Josh Feit. The paper's Visual Arts Editor is Jen Graves. The paper's Film Editor is David Schmader.

Stranger ombudsman A. Birch Steen wrote acerbic criticism of the paper within every issue, usually assailing the contents for their extreme liberal bias. He was billed as a former member of the OSHA Board of Governors, but was likely a fictional character. The name is an anagram of Steinbacher, last name of Bradley Steinbacher (an employee of The Stranger since the beginning), the paper's Managing Editor from 2003 until 2008. Steen's harsh critiques, originally appeared on the inside of the back page, and later above the table of contents ("The Stranger: A Critical Overview") and as the apparent author of the paper's Twitter feed. Steen "passed away" on Monday, April 16, 2012, after suffering a stroke.