Brigid Hughes is tipped to be the new editor of influential New York literary quarterly The Paris Review.

Hughes is the current Managing Editor of the magazine, and the New York Observer is predicting that Hughes' appointment will be announced next week.

The charismatic George Plimpton, who was a co-founder of the magazine in 1953 and edited it thereafter, died in his sleep three months ago at the age of 76. And although the Review is reputed to have only 4,000 subscribers, it has extraordinary pull over the US literary community: the latest issue features articles from Paul Auster and Jim Crace.