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His blend of cutthroat competitiveness and generous philanthropy had led New York magazine to call him, in a profile published in 1999, “ Barnes & Noble’s Jekyll and Hyde.” I searched for Jackson, too. Leonard Riggio, I learned, had amassed hundreds of millions of dollars as the man who turned Barnes & Noble-which had one location when he bought the company-into a nationwide chain. I had no idea why Jackson and this foundation had singled me out. I was a journalist, not a novelist or a poet, and, in New York, writers seemed to sprout from every sidewalk. My apartment had a bedroom too small to fit a desk or even a dresser, and its single window faced an air shaft the color of dryer lint. I was working a full-time job that I regretted taking, and writing on the side. I had recently moved to New York after five years of reporting, mostly as a freelancer, in Boston and Berlin.
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The program’s benefactor, Jackson told me, was the family foundation of Leonard Riggio, the executive chairman of Barnes & Noble. If I showed up for twice-weekly sessions for two semesters, I would receive ten thousand dollars. He said he was travelling and sounded out of breath, but I heard something about a “congress of writers” that would teach skills and speak truth to power. “You have been secretly nominated for a spot in the inaugural group-and I was wondering if I might have a moment of your time to speak by phone? The fellowship begins in April but won’t be publicly announced until June.” Before I had a chance to respond, my cell phone rang: it was Jackson. “I am heading up a new literary fellowship here in New York,” he wrote. It was sent from a personal Gmail account. One afternoon a little over a year ago, I got a brief and mysterious e-mail from a man named Jackson Taylor. This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.