Culture
SOCIETY
Ballerina Farm’s Hannah Neeleman Is Officially a Conservative Cover Girl
The not-a-tradwife influencer and mother of eight has tried to downplay her own politics, but her cover of Evie, a magazine for conservative women, says it all.
By Erin Vanderhoof
Reading is fundamental
Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Book Definitely Won't Make the New York Times Bestseller List
The iconic singer's 256-page hardback book is sold only at Target, which means the NYT won't allow it on its influential list.
By Eve Batey
KINGDOM COME
Kansas City Chiefs’ CMO Talks Taylor Swift, That Hallmark Movie, and the Team’s Plan for World Domination
Lara Krug has been tasked with transforming the experience of being a Chiefs fan—and she has some ideas.
By Kase Wickman
books
6 Visual Books for Your Favorite Art Lover
The season’s best art books offer explorations of motherhood, queer identity, and the beauty of community.
6 slides
By Allison Schaller
BOOKS
21 Best Books of 2024 to Read Right Now
The novels and nonfiction we couldn’t stop thinking about this year—and in a year like this one, that’s saying something.
By Vanity Fair
VF GIFT GUIDE
24 Gifts Inspired by The Wiz, for Oz Lovers and Wicked Fans and Bears, Oh My!
From must-have Mary Janes to clever vessels, gift a bit of fantasy with these picks inspired by the Sidney Lumet–directed film.
24 slides
By Nicole Chapoteau, Samantha Gasmer, Kia D. Goosby, Jessica Neises, Miles Pope, and Daisy Shaw-Ellis
true colors
The $6.2 Million Banana, Explained
Comedian, Maurizio Cattelan’s instant classic, sold for more than quadruple some estimates at Sotheby’s this week. How one work, and its worth, both satirizes and explains the meme-y days ahead.
By Nate Freeman
BOOKS
Cher Reveals She Made a Difficult “Choice” During a Pregnancy, In Her New Memoir
Writing about miscarriages, abortions, and giving birth, the Goddess of Pop juxtaposes her own health history against the harrowing landscape of her mother’s experiences.
By Keziah Weir
FROM THE MAGAZINE
6 Can’t-Miss Novels to Read in November, From Daniel M. Lavery, Cherry Lou Sy, and More
From inspired detective stories to rich family dramas, here are the books to read this month.
By Keziah Weir
From the Magazine
Cormac McCarthy’s Secret Muse Breaks Her Silence After Half a Century: “I Loved Him. He Was My Safety.”
When he was 42, Cormac McCarthy fell in love with a 16-year-old girl he met by a motel pool. Augusta Britt would go on to become one of the most significant—and secret—inspirations in literary history, giving life to many of McCarthy’s most iconic characters across his celebrated novels and Hollywood films. For 47 years, Britt closely guarded her identity and her story. Until now.
By Vincenzo BarneyPhotography by Norman Jean Roy
excerpt
Rockhouse: The Book Captures 50 Years of Jamaican Hospitality
The book from the cliffside hotel looks back on a winding 50-year history of sustainable tourism, boutique hospitality, and Caribbean culture.
By Peter Jon Lindberg
In Conversation
Jaleel White Talks Steve Urkel, Child Stardom, and How to “Milk an Audience”
The Family Matters legend speaks to VF about the hard lessons, difficult relationships—with figures from Les Moonves to Bill Cosby—and silver linings of being a young icon.
By Erin Vanderhoof
The Presidency
Why JFK Staged His Own Murder in a James Bond–Inspired Spy Film—2 Months Before His Assassination
The untold tale—and never-before-seen photos—of a 1963 home movie directed by Jacqueline Kennedy at Hammersmith Farm.
By James Robenalt
VF GIFT GUIDE
The 23 Best Gifts for Star Wars Fans
Inspired by The Empire Strikes Back, these picks offer chic takes on the cosmic clash at the center of the classic film.
23 slides
By Nicole Chapoteau, Samantha Gasmer, Kia D. Goosby, Jessica Neises, Miles Pope, and Daisy Shaw-Ellis
ALL HER OWN
Before Joan Didion Had John Gregory Dunne, There Was Noel Parmentel Jr.—A First and Searing Love
Didion’s marriage was one of the most revered in American letters. But when the man who came first broke her heart, the devastation lasted a lifetime.
By Lili Anolik
true colors
Mica’s Magritte, a Train Full of Harings, and Cattelan’s Banana: It’s Auction Week in New York
With an estimated $1.6 billion worth of work under the gavel next week in New York, could the art market start to shake off its recent slump?
By Nate Freeman
VF GIFT GUIDE
24 Gifts Inspired by Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet
Kiss by the book, or by our gift guide, featuring a bevy of sweet and sentimental options for the star-crossed.
24 slides
By Nicole Chapoteau, Samantha Gasmer, Kia D. Goosby, Jessica Neises, Miles Pope, and Daisy Shaw-Ellis
musk we?
Remember Dogecoin? Elon Musk's Government Appointment Is a Joke (About a Joke, About a Joke)
The name of the government “working group,” for which Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will be paid to axe government programs, is based on a cryptocurrency created as a ruse.
By Kase Wickman
FROM THE MAGAZINE
Martha Stewart Swears By These 9 Essential Items
The documentary star, who just published her 100th book, shares her favorites with Vanity Fair.
By Kayla Holliday
ON THE SCENE
Emma Roberts, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Beverly D’Angelo, and More Celebrate Didion & Babitz
The exclusive event included a reading of Babitz’s unsent letters by those A-list actors and the book’s author herself, Lili Anolik.
By Kara Warner