Sometimes I choose a restaurant, sometimes a restaurant chooses me, and sometimes one of my guests asks to record at one of their favorite hangouts. That’s what happened this episode when I met with editor Sheila Williams for dinner in Manhattan. She highly recommended the Italian restaurant Cibo e Vino on Broadway and 89th Street, and based on our shared appetizer of flash-fried cauliflower with truffle Béchamel and brown butter … I’m inclined to agree.

Sheila has worked for Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine since 1982, became its editor in 2004, and went on to win the Hugo Award for Best Short Form Editor in 2011 and 2012. She also co-edited A Woman’s Liberation: A Choice of Futures by and About Women with Connie Willis, as well as numerous other anthologies.

We chatted about her first day on the job more than a third of a century ago, meeting Isaac Asimov at an early Star Trek convention when she was only 16, which writer intimidated her the most when she first got into the business, what she learned from working with previous Asimov’s editors Shawna McCarthy and Gardner Dozois, the most common problems she sees in the more than 7,000 stories that cross her desk each year, the identities of the only writers she’s never rejected, what goes through her mind in that moment she reads a manuscript and arrives at “yes,” and much more.

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And here’s what we ate on that Friday night in New York—

Bread and Olive Oil

Flash-fried Cauliflower
with truffle Béchamel and brown butter

Tagliatelle alla Bolognese
traditional Italian ragù

Pan-seared salmon
with orange-fennel purée, capers, and salad

Orange Chocolate Mousse
hazelnut-chocolate flakes, orange puree, white chocolate snow

Crème Fraîche Panna Cotta
brown butter cookie crumbs, cherry sauce

Still hungry? Then download a few past episodes—and remember to return in two weeks when you can join agent Barry Goldblatt for dinner in Brooklyn. He’s the first agent to appear on the show, and I think you find his insights into the publishing world fascinating.

But if that two-week wait leaves you ravenous, remember—you can join with others to work toward shortening that gap by making a small recurring monthly donation over at Patreon. This will help subsidize some of the travel, bandwidth, equipment, and meal costs associated with the show, and perhaps even increase our frequency. There are perks for all patrons. (If that level of commitment’s not for you, or if Patreon’s just not your thing, consider making a one-time donation of any size via Paypal.me.)

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Thanks for listening!