The Rejection Collection by Robert Mankoff

QUESTION FROM DOUGLAS : What has changed most in terms of the kind of submissions you get since you’ve taken over as editor? ROBERT MANKOFF: Persist in what? Anyway to paraphrase I think Faulkner I believe The New Yorker will not only persist but prevail. QUESTION FROM MORGAN : Times have changed, in terms of technology, habits, etc. They are not a comic supplement but are right there among all the intelligent serious article. The other factor is understanding how cartoons function in The New Yorker. I don’t think most submitters realize that. Primitive, naive drawing can also be good drawing but it’s hard to pull off. You don’t have to be a Leonardo, but you do have to have a coherent style and outlook. ROBERT MANKOFF: I think the drawing part is tricky. QUESTION FROM MARK RATLEDGE : Hi Bob, What do you see as the most common strengths and weaknesses each Tuesday, AKA “Judgment Day”? The technical quality of the drawings (the cartoonist simply being a good artist)? Or the the sophistication of concepts and captions? Or, are most cartoons just (ouch) not all that funny? cheers, Mark Ratledge This is very hard for me, but I’m working on it. That’s what they pay you for, but the way you don’t let them overrule ever other consideration is to be aware of them and be a little humble.

ROBERT MANKOFF: Of course I want my preferences to be taken into account. I think for all artists they do get better as they go through this process, but it doesn’t go on forever and then their productivity falls off. Do you think the same is true of all art? What does that mean for artists, like musicians, who get better as they get older but who are in an industry that values youth above all else? QUESTION FROM GUEST : In your newsletter, you’ve talked a lot about the need to make a million cartoons before you can get one good one. It’s always harder satirize what you like rather than what you dislike. ROBERT MANKOFF: I think more difficult because most of the cartoonists are of a liberal persuasion and like him. : Has Obama’s been an easy or difficult presidency to cover in the cartoons? Between fifteen and seventeen make it into the magazine. ROBERT MANKOFF: About a thousand come in every week with four hundred to five hundred from our regular contributors. QUESTION FROM MARGE : How many submissions do you see a week versus that get into the magazine?

As an editor I have a broader approach realizing that humor is inherently subjective and I don’t want my preferences to rule out what others might like. ROBERT MANKOFF: As a cartoonist I do what I find funny. QUESTION FROM MITCH : What are the differences in how your approach humor as a cartoonist versus as an editor?

The Rejection Collection by Robert Mankoff