June 29/July 6, 2001

AGE 31 WHY HIM? Written under the cloying moniker Lemony Snicket, Handler’s gleefully morbid multivolume collection A Series of Unfortunate Events--about a seemingly cursed trio of orphans—is a gothic hit with kids and adults: On the bestseller lists, it’s second only to a certain bespectacled wizard, and has been optioned by Nickelodeon Films. CAREER HIGH “A week before I appeared on the New York Times best-seller list, someone explained to me why I never would be [on it]. Then I got to see them shortly thereafter.” CAREERS HE’D MOST LIKE TO HAVE Vladimir Nobaokov’s, Sun Ra’s, and and Errol Flynn’s—though, in the case of the last, he’d “rather not be involved with that whole rape thing.” (Note: Flynn was acquitted.) ULTIMATE AMBITION Transforming the world’s cultural tastes—starting with the “purging of loud aggressive ska music from radio stations.” BEST ADVICE “Get a job with free access to a Xerox machine and a laser printer.” NEXT The ninth Series installment, titled The Carnivorous Carnival; a collection of short stories for adults; and a movie musical cowritten with the Magnetic Fields’ maestro, Stephen Merritt.