Introducing the Newest Members of Texas Monthly’s Editorial Staff

Texas Monthly welcomed its most recent editorial hire this week, as Rose Cahalan joined as the associate digital editor for culture and lifestyle coverage. Cahalan most recently worked at the Texas Observer, where she served as managing editor. Before that, she worked at Alcalde, the University of Texas alumni magazine. She grew up in Pennsylvania but got to Texas as soon as she could, earning a B.A. in English at Rice University.

Cahalan is the latest in a talented group of editorial staffers who have joined the magazine since late last year, and are enabling it to expand the news coverage and storytelling on its website (which set a new record for traffic in March) as well as via videos and podcasts.

Taylor Prewitt started work last week as our social media editor. She came to Texas Monthly from Creative Action, a nonprofit focused on youth development, where she managed the organization’s social media strategy. She is a native Texan from Navasota and a UT alum.

Alainna Beddie became Texas Monthly’s newsletter editor in early April and has already helped launch a new email newsletter, “Staying In With TM.” Beddie had been working at Schumacher, a design company based in New York City, where she served as director of digital marketing. She previously worked as the digital editor of  T: The New York Times Style Magazine and as an associate editor at WSJ. Magazine, published by the Wall Street Journal.

While Christopher Hooks may be a familiar name for TM readers—he has written dozens of articles over the years for Texas Monthly—he joined the staff as a full-time writer this month. He has written for many other publications as a freelancer, including the American Prospect, Mother Jones, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. He has also worked as a full-time politics writer for the Texas Observer and a fellow for the Texas Tribune.

Michelle Williams came aboard in early March as editorial director of TexasMonthly.com, and quickly dived into the fray of covering the coronavirus crisis. She moved to Austin from Atlanta, where she had served as an assignment editor/producer for the digital content of CNN’s affiliate service. Before that, she had worked at the Washington Post, first as a web producer and digital editor and then as an assignment editor.

Lauren Larson joined Texas Monthly as a features editor. She had been freelancing in New York City for a year as an editor and writer. During that time she wrote for GQ, Men’s Health, and the New Yorker, among other publications. Before that, she was an editor at GQ, where she worked as an editorial assistant, assistant editor, and then associate editor.

Ben Rowen moved from Santa Barbara, California, to Austin to become our associate digital editor for news and politics. He had worked at the Atlantic as an editorial fellow, then moved to Pacific Standard, where he was promoted from associate editor to national editor.

Just before the start of 2020, Peter Holley joined Texas Monthly as a senior editor. Holley, an Austin native and seventh-generation Texan, had previously worked for Houstonia magazine, the Houston Chronicle, and the San Antonio Express-News. He joined Texas Monthly from the Washington Post (where he worked with Williams), focusing most recently on technology and innovation. He is now based in Houston, where he writes about the city, as well as business and entrepreneurship statewide.

Another name that’s likely already familiar to Texas Monthly readers, Daniel Vaughn has long delighted readers with his work as the magazine world’s only dedicated barbecue editor. He had been a contractor with Texas Monthly since 2013, and we’re pleased that, in October, he became a full-time staffer.