Pseudonymous no more

It came as a surprise, but a welcome one when Our Girl in Chicago, Terry Teachout’s co-blogger over at About Last Night, outed herself over the weekend. But I’m pleased to report (along with the rest of the ‘sphere) that by doing so, she’s revealed herself as Laura Demanski, longtime book reviewer for esteemed publications like the Chicago Tribune and the Baltimore Sun. She explains her reasons here:

But why do it, and why now? Essentially,
I got tired of being two half-people who couldn’t share each other’s
work with their respective audiences. I’ve been reviewing books for
about ten years, but more regularly in the last year or so. From now on
I’ll ask my editors to include the URL for About Last Night in
the biographical note beneath my newspaper reviews, and hope that this
brings new visitors here. And, more important, I’ll link to my reviews
on this page and start blogging more openly about the reviewing racket,
which is something I’ve always wished I could do.

I definitely look forward to Laura’s new direction on the blog and being more forthright about the “book review racket.” So welcome to the ‘sphere — officially, that is!