The media world was shocked Wednesday to learn that Slate.com had laid off four high-profile writers: Tim Noah, Jack Shafer, Juliet Lapidos, and June Thomas.

Noah won the 2011 Hillman Award for Magazine Journalism for “The Great Divergence,” a series he wrote for Slate on inequality in America. Since April, Noah has been on leave, expanding his story into a book. Noah is the first web-based writer to win a Hillman Award for magazine journalism.

I emailed Noah to find out what’s next for him. He replied, “My main focus for the moment is on finishing the book, which Bloomsbury will publish in the spring. I will remain at Slate as a contributing writer. As for my other professional plans: Stay tuned!”

[Photo credit: Lindsay Beyerstein, all rights reserved.]