8 Favorite Newsletters
I am not writing right now. This is highly unusual for me, because I have, for years, written every day. I have no doubt that I will fall back into that comfortable routine soon, but at this very moment, for the last five weeks or so, other life things have taken priority, and that’s okay. I can’t make weather.
As a way of living adjacent to writing during this bit of turbulence, I have been reading. I just finished Natalia Ginzburg’s Happiness, as Such and loved it so much I didn’t want it to end. I’ve also been doing that thing where I let my favorite newsletters pile up in my inbox until I can sit down and read them all straight through for a little burst of inspiration.
Maybe you are looking for a burst like that, too? Here are some of my favorites.
I would read Kaitlyn Greenidge’s writing about pretty much anything, and here she writes mostly cultural criticism. We had babies around the same time, so I especially appreciate her thoughts on writing/living with a little one.
Arianna Rebolini gives us *the perfect* book recommendations and lets us in on her life. I have the honor of calling Arianna a friend and she is gutsy with a ton of heart, just like her writing.
Kathy Fish is a true celebrity in the flash world and also one of the nicest people ever. This is a craft newsletter complete with prompts and reading recs.
Brandon Taylor describes his newsletter as “essays about culture and writing from a cranky and sometimes salty fiction editor” and that is exactly what it is. It’s also unabashedly academic and, at the same time, fun.
Isaac Fitzgerald takes us on walks, usually around NYC, sometimes around other places, frequently with guest interviews. Often poignant, always charming.
A collection of the week’s top essays as chosen by the editors of Catapult, Granta, Guernica, Narratively, The Rumpus, and Literary Hub. A grab bag of memoir!
The home of 1000 Words of Summer, plus Jami Attenberg’s weekly thoughts on writing and life. (Paid subscriptions help fund donations, which have amount to over $20k in the last year!!! This week’s donation is going to Funds for People of the Bayou.)
New moon, full moon, and monthly astrology readings from Jeanna Kadlec, with a special focus on how it applies to one’s writing/creative practice. (Side note: I am pumped to read Jeanna’s upcoming memoir, HERETIC, which is about getting divorced, coming out, leaving the evangelical church, and finding community. I first came across her writing via an essay in Catapult about her love for Jennifer Knapp, and as a fellow Midwestern ex-evangelical who spent the late 90s and early 2000s listening to Christian rock and the ladies of Lilith Fair, I felt SEEN.)
Speaking of full moons, there is one tomorrow, and I am planning a harvest. All that has gone into one of my other projects, this uncategorizable nonfiction thing, for the last 2+ years feels ready to come together. Barring any more life surprises, I will be writing again — not necessarily working on the next novel, but the time for that feels imminent, too.