Times books editor Radhika Jones to be next Vanity Fair editor?

A file photo Radhika Jones, then the executive editor of Time magazine, speaking at the Time 100 Gala in New York, on April 23, 2013. PHOTO: NYTIMES

NEW YORK (NYTimes) - In a dramatic changing of the guard, Ms Radhika Jones, editorial director of the books department at The New York Times and a former top editor at Time magazine, is expected to be named the next editor of Vanity Fair, according to two people with knowledge of the decision.

Conde Nast, which publishes Vanity Fair, plans to make the announcement as soon as Monday. Ms Jones, 44, will succeed 68-year-old Graydon Carter, who said in September that he was stepping down after a 25-year run at its helm.

In anointing Ms Jones, who holds degrees from Harvard College and Columbia University, Vanity Fair has placed its future in the hands of a woman - the first since Ms Tina Brown served as the magazine's editor from 1984 until 1992.

Mr Carter's announcement two months ago set off a race to inherit his throne and ignited speculation across the media industry. In a magazine business that has lost much of its shine in recent years, Vanity Fair has largely retained its glow, and its editorship remains one of the most coveted in the business.

Mr Robert Sauerberg, chief executive of Conde Nast, and Ms Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue and Conde Nast's artistic director, oversaw the search.

Mr Carter was not involved in the decision-making process.

With the selection of Ms Jones, Conde Nast has made clear that it still respects print, even as it looks to a digital future less tied to its magazines.

Before joining the books desk at The Times last year, Ms Jones was deputy managing editor at Time magazine, where she oversaw the Time 100 issue.

At The Paris Review, the literary magazine known for its Writers At Work interviews, she was a managing editor.

She has also worked at Grand Street, Artforum and The Moscow Times.

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