William Zinsser

William Zinsser was an American writer, editor, literary critic, and teacher. He began his career as a journalist for the New York Herald Tribune, where he worked as a feature writer, drama editor, film critic, and editorial writer. He was a longtime contributor to leading magazines. Zinsser taught writing at Yale University, where he was the master of Branford College, and later at The New School and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. His most famous book, 'On Writing Well,' has sold over 1.5 million copies and is a widely used guide for writers. He emphasized clarity, simplicity, and humanity in writing, advocating for the removal of clutter and unnecessary words. Zinsser also wrote about jazz, baseball, and American places. He received a National Magazine Award for his online essays for The American Scholar.