Highbrow Magazine

Michael Cancella, a Highbrow Magazine contributor, graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University with a B.A in History in 2010.  After graduating he worked in the finance industry at a hedge fund startup and is currently going through the CFA Program in an effort to broaden his knowledge of finance and the economy. A desire to place current events in historical context has inspired him to pursue efforts in financial journalism, which in turn has evolved into a freelance writing career with a broad scope of topic interests including politics, domestic social issues, global events, sports, as well as finance and the economy. 

Liz Appleby, a contributing writer at Highbrow Magazine, is originally from the North East of England. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Music, she moved to London where she has lived since 2003. She works as a freelance writer, researcher and consultant in the creative and digital media industries. Liz has written extensively about the arts, including articles on the late John Cage, Public Enemy, and David Hockney.

Highbrow Magazine assistant managing editor Zach Napolitano is regarded as one of the last true custodians of the English language. That is mainly because he financed his degrees from Fordham University and Brooklyn College through janitorial work. In addition to fixing, and occasionally making, pages for Highbrow Magazine, he’s contributed to Long Island Pulse Magazine and has been awarded for his writing in media research by the New York State Communication Association. Zach currently resides in Babylon, New York. 

Loren DiBlasi is a freelance writer/blogger based in New York City. She graduated from Marymount Manhattan College as a double major in English and Art History. Loren loves music, film, art, fashion, and all aspects of pop culture, which she writes about frequently. Her articles for Highbrow Magazine have included coverage of Golden Globe-nominated films; a look at the Oscars; and a political essay about how the 2012 presidential candidates utilize social media in their campaigns. 

Mark Bizzell is a recovering Texan who for the past 20 years has called California home and paradise.  After working in PR for many years, he is now doing penance by exposing truth to power and having a bit of fun writing about culture also.  Living in the City of Angeles, he is enrolled in the writer’s program at UCLA and volunteers at the Taproot Foundation. He has written entertainment and news features for Highbrow Magazine, including articles about the Supreme Court's healthcare ruling; remembering the glory days of American television; and an an interview with author Rosencrans Baldwin among others. 

Elizabeth Pyjov  was a Romance Languages and Literatures major and Classics minor at Harvard University, where she was an Arts editor for the Harvard Crimson and had a foreign film column. Her senior thesis was about meta-cinema in the auteur film. In the past she has worked for Italian television at RAI International in Rome, the United Nations in Geneva, and for Porto dei Poeti, an international poetry festival in Cesenatico, Italy. Elizabeth is fluent in five languages and has worked or studied in six different countries. She is currently working as a translator of Italian poetry and  writes about the Arts for Highbrow Magazine.

Benjamin Wright is a contributing writer for Highbrow Magazine. He is also a researcher, author, and educator. He has published book chapters, reports, and articles on a wide range of topics, including television, culture, ideology, immigration policy activism, program evaluations, and music. Some of his articles for the magazine have included an essay on the comeback of vinyl records, the Woody Guthrie Centennial, and an interview with Paris Review Editor, Lorin Stein.

Eugene Durante is a contributing writer at Highbrow Magazine. He is a Police Officer and former Welfare Fraud Investigator. Born in Brooklyn, Durante is a fourth-generation resident of Coney Island. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice. He is an avid poker player and frequently writes about topics related to New York.