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Nicole Cliffe

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nicole Cliffe
Born (1982-09-02) September 2, 1982 (age 44)
EducationHarvard College
Occupations
  • Writer
  • editor
  • executive producer
Known forThe Toast

Nicole Cliffe (born September 2, 1982) is a Canadian writer living in Utah, who co-founded and co-edited the website The Toast with Daniel Lavery.

Early life

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Nicole Cliffe was born September 2, 1982,[1][2] and grew up in Kingston, Ontario.[3] A first-generation college student,[4] she attended Harvard College on a full scholarship, studying English.[3][5] She graduated in 2005.[6] At Harvard, her friends included Amelia Lester, Matthew Yglesias, and Josh Barro.[7]

Career

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Early career

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Cliffe worked at a New York hedge fund before becoming a writer.[3] She drew attention for a Tumblr entitled Lazy Self-Indulgent Book Reviews[8] as well as a recurring book review column on The Awl called "Classic Trash".[9] In June 2011, Cliffe joined the women's general interest site The Hairpin,[10] where she became books editor.[5][11][12] Through this work, Cliffe met future collaborator Daniel Lavery, first over the internet, then later in person.[13]

The Toast

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Cliffe and Lavery left The Hairpin in 2013 to found separate feminist general interest website The Toast,[11] which Cliffe and Lavery co-edited,[14][15] later adding Nicole Chung as managing editor[16] and Jaya Saxena as a staff writer.[17] Lawyer Nick Pavich was originally the publisher and one-third owner of the site, but departed in the winter of 2013–2014.[18][11][19] Cliffe and her husband funded the site's launch.[18] The Toast published from July 1, 2013,[10] until July 1, 2016.[20] From October 15, 2014, to September 2015,[21] the project also included a sister site called The Butter; led by Roxane Gay, The Butter focused on personal essays and cultural criticism.[22] The Toast made a one-day return with new material on July 26, 2017.[23]

Writing and other projects

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In addition to her editing and book reviews, Cliffe has drawn notice for her writing on a wide range of topics, including humor, collegiate financial aid, and Protestantism.[24][25][20] She has written advice columns for Elle and Catapult's magazine,[26][27] and in January 2018, became an advice columnist, with Carvell Wallace, at Slate. Their column, offering parenting advice, is called "Care and Feeding".[28] She left Slate in 2020.

In December 2017, Cliffe joined the board of directors of Electric Literature.[29]

In October 2019, Cliffe was credited as an executive producer for the documentary The Acid King, based on the non-fiction book of the same name about the life of Ricky Kasso.[30]

Personal life

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Cliffe lives in Utah with her husband and three children.[3][5] An atheist since college, she converted to Christianity in 2015.[31] She is autistic, as is one of her children.[32]

References

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  1. ↑ Cliffe, Nicole [@Nicole_Cliffe] (September 2, 2018). "it's my birthday [...]" (Tweet) – via Twitter.[permanent dead link]
  2. ↑ Cliffe, Nicole [@Nicole_Cliffe] (September 2, 2018). "I'm 36 now [...]" (Tweet) – via Twitter.[permanent dead link]
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hogan, Brianne (November 24, 2015). "Nicole Cliffe: Editor, Tweeter, Proud Canadian". Ravishly. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  4. ↑ Chung, Nicole; Cliffe, Nicole (May 13, 2015). "Let's Get Personal: On Full Financial Aid at Fancy Schools". The Toast. Archived from the original on January 28, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 Zulkey, Claire (November 22, 2013). "The Nicole Cliffe and Mallory Ortberg Interview". Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  6. ↑ Lester, Amelia (January–February 2005). "Homecomings". Harvard Magazine. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  7. ↑ Yglesias, Matthew (February 4, 2014). "I've Been Underestimating Facebook for 10 Years". Slate. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  8. ↑ Cliffe, Nicole (November 13, 2010). "Lazy, self-indulgent reviews of science fiction books". io9. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  9. ↑ Bellocchio, Violetta (July 27, 2012). "Nicole Cliffe: il vostro critico di 'libri da ombrellone'". Grazia (in Italian). Archived from the original on January 19, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  10. 1 2 Bloomgarden-Smoke, Kara (May 3, 2013). "Nicole Cliffe is Leaving The Hairpin to Start New Site". Observer. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  11. 1 2 3 Bloomgarden-Smoke, Kara (July 2013). "Nicole Cliffe and Mallory Ortberg's The Toast Pops Up". Observer. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Who Pays Writers? We Asked the Editors". Scratch Magazine. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
  13. ↑ Ortberg, Mallory (September 26, 2016). "The Companions of My Heart". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Nicole Cliffe". The Guardian. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
  15. ↑ Newitz, Annalee (April 14, 2021). "Why I'm no longer writing a newsletter for Substack". New Scientist.
  16. ↑ Ruskin, Zack (August 30, 2018). "Former Toast Editor Nicole Chung Unearths Her Family Roots". SFWeekly. Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
  17. ↑ Ortberg, Mallory (December 1, 2015). "A Chat With Jaya Saxena". The Toast. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
  18. 1 2 Greenfield, Rebecca (October 1, 2014). "The Toast's Recipe For Bootstrapping A Profitable Media Business". Fast Company. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  19. ↑ Vargas-Cooper, Natasha (June 3, 2015). "Publisher of The Toast Nick Pavich Is Out for Murky Reasons". Jezebel. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  20. 1 2 "A Toast to The Toast". Slate. May 13, 2016. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  21. ↑ Gay, Roxane (August 28, 2015). "A Buttery Farewell". The Toast. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  22. ↑ Todd, Carolyn (October 1, 2014). "On the Books: 'Bad Feminist' author launches The Toast sister site". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 20, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  23. ↑ Colburn, Randall (July 27, 2016). "Beloved website The Toast reappeared for a single day". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  24. ↑ Coates, Ta-Nehisi (August 30, 2013). "Hey Everybody, an Old Man Is Talking". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  25. ↑ Read, Max (January 17, 2018). "The Awl and the Hairpin's Best Stories, Remembered by Their Writers". Select All. New York Magazine. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  26. ↑ "Nicole Cliffe". ELLE. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  27. ↑ "Nicole Knows". Catapult. Archived from the original on January 20, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  28. ↑ Wallace, Carvell; Cliffe, Nicole. "What Do I Say to a 13-Year-Old Friend of the Family Who's Madly in Love … With Me?". Slate Magazine. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  29. ↑ "We're Wildly Excited to Welcome Nicole Cliffe to the Electric Literature Board of Directors". Electric Literature. December 8, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  30. ↑ Cliffe, Nicole [@Nicole_Cliffe] (October 24, 2019). "I am JUST NOW finding out that I am a literal Executive Producer on this documentary!!!!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 24, 2019 – via Twitter.
  31. ↑ Cliffe, Nicole (May 20, 2016). "How God Messed Up My Happy Atheist Life". Christianity Today. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  32. ↑ Cliffe, Nicole (March 23, 2020). "The Coronavirus Lockdown Has Ruined My Son's Senior Year". Slate. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
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