[Updated (4/4/2012, 11:18 a.m.) with comment from Mr. Genoways.]
Nearly two years after the managing editor of the Virginia Quarterly Review killed himself following complaints he made about his boss, Ted Genoways, Mr. Genoways has announced that he is stepping down as editor of the award-winning literary journal.
Mr. Genoways has been at the helm at VQR for nine years. The University of Virginia, which operates the magazine, said in a news release that Mr. Genoways was resigning effective May 31 to work on his own writing.
“I’m currently writing a very long piece for OnEarth Magazine about the Enbridge oil spill into the Kalamazoo River, and I have a number of other stories in the hopper there, as well,” Mr. Genoways said in an e-mail message to The Chronicle. “I’m also working on a long piece for Harper’s. I continue to be a contributing writer at Mother Jones, so I hope to be able to work for them more regularly now.”
“Ted has been an outstanding editor,” said Thomas C. Skalak, vice president for research at UVa. “Under his direction, VQR built a devoted following and an unparalleled record of recognition.”
After the journal’s managing editor, Kevin Morrissey, shot himself in the head just off the UVa campus in July 2010, several staff members at VQR as well as Mr. Morrissey’s sister said he had suffered workplace bullying at the hands of Mr. Genoways. The university, they claimed, did little to address the situation, despite Mr. Morrissey’s frequent complaints to administrators.
The university completed an audit report in October 2010 that said Mr. Genoways had “questionable” managerial skills but stopped short of saying he was guilty of workplace bullying. The report said the university did take “appropriate actions” in dealing with complaints from members of the journal’s staff about Mr. Genoways, who has blamed Mr. Morrissey’s troubles on depression. (The university reappointed Mr. Genoways for five years in January 2010.)
The staff members who complained about Mr. Genoways’s treatment of Mr. Morrissey left the magazine, and last December VQR announced it had hired a new publisher and deputy editor.
In the wake of Mr. Morrissey’s suicide, the respected publication has continued to win awards and on Tuesday was named a finalist for a National Magazine Award in three categories: general excellence, fiction, and photography.
In the statement released by the university, Mr. Genoways said: “I feel comfortable leaving, knowing that VQR is in good hands with the new staff.” Mr. Genoways put the Charlottesville home he shares with his wife and son on the market earlier this year and the sale of it is expected to close next week.
Jon Parrish Peede, VQR’s new publisher, said Tuesday that paid print subscriptions in 2011 totaled 1,771, but he estimated total readership at 325,000 through the print journal, the Web site, and institutional electronic-access editions. Paid print subscriptions under Mr. Genoways’s leadership reached a high of 4,799 in February 2008.
Mr. Peede estimated the journal’s operating budget in the 2011-12 fiscal year at around $950,000. The university said it would launch a national search in July to fill Mr. Genoways’s position.
Correction (4/4/2012, 2:52 p.m.): This article has been modified to fix the spelling of Jon Parrish Peede’s middle name. It is “Parrish,” not “Parish.”
