I was still relatively new to Dallas when we produced our first People Issue, in 2012. Still, when we asked our writers to suggest potential subjects, I expected to know most of the names and faces they proposed. As the issue came together, I did know many — the Mavs' Shawn Marion, author Ben Fountain and other local powerhouses — but there were surprises, too, from the rising rapper Snow Tha Product, who graced one of our three covers, to Nicole Stewart, whom we dubbed "The Memoir Wrangler" for her work curating oral storytelling.
By this year, and by our third People Issue, surely I, the editor of one of Dallas' finest free weekly tabloid-sized newspapers, would recognize all the names pitched by our writers. And yet, more surprises. In fact, maybe more than ever.
As we've ticked off some of the best-known Dallasites over the years, our writers have dived deeper into their Google docs to retrieve names worthy of inclusion — people doing what they do to make DFW a more vibrant, more eclectic place to live. Their stories, as usual, are paired with intimate portraits, this year from Can Turkyilmaz, about whom you can learn more on page 51. Together, his photos and those stories are a great reminder of how little we know about a town, no matter how long we've lived there, and no matter how many free weekly tabloid-sized newspapers we edit.
Read the full issue: Dallas People 2014
