New York Times Book Review editor Jennifer Ildiko Szalai will move over to serve as nonfiction book critic starting in January, taking over as Jennifer Senior moves back to long-form journalism for the paper. As books editor Pamela Paul writes, “Sometimes, you search for the ideal candidate for a position far and wide, and find that the best one is sitting right across from you.” She adds, “Jennifer is one of the most stylish, incisive, original writers on books, politics and culture today. A Canadian native who grew up between cultures – her father was Hungarian and her mother is from the Philippines – Jennifer is accustomed to negotiating between different viewpoints; she is an independent thinker with a supple, open mind attuned to books on many subjects – politics, foreign policy, government, social sciences, economics, science, technology, business and the arts.” For the past four years Szalai had edited reviews, Bookends, and various columnists.