I am writing this newsletter on a Saturday morning, and my bed is still warm from dreaming. Monday, I’m headed to NYC for Deesha Philyaw’s book launch, but I didn’t want to send out a delayed newsletter two weeks in a row, so I’m writing it early.

Speaking of dear Deesha (who’ll make a third appearance in this newsletter a bit further down), she’s sponsoring five people to attend my bibliomancy-themed generative writing class on October 27th. The first five folks who respond to this newsletter will get a free ticket — Thanks, Deesha!

(Paid members your discount code for a free ticket is coming later this week!)

This week I can’t stop talking about:

Minda

I heard Tressie on Pop Syllabus chatting with Christiana about reading physical magazines again. Like most teen girls, I was gaga for magazines. I read them with relish and then, with even more zeal, took scissors to them and covered my bedroom walls in large collages.

At some point, like most everybody else — magazine sales have been dismal for a long time — I fell out of the habit of reading them. But Tressie and Christiana made it sound very luxe to curl up with a glass of wine and lit candle and languidly flip through the pages.

I’d just picked up the latest Poets & Writers. They profiled Deesha in the lead up to the launch of her debut novel, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman. I’d read (and enjoyed!) the profile to support Deesha, but decided to commit to reading the entire magazine cover to cover.

I’m in writing mode, which means I’ve been Bricking* a lot more lately to curb time wasted on my phone. And while this has certainly also increased my time spent reading actual books, I find it difficult to eat and read a book at the same time. It’s klutzy feeling. But you know what? Magazines lay flat. They are perfect for flicking through while you chomp away at your lunch. Also, if you get a spot of grease on a page or two, it doesn’t feel like some great tragedy as it might with a book.

I’ve read about some interesting poetry programs that take place in National Parks, a writer’s life as told through his literary journal publishing history and I learned about a distant friend’s new book in the pages of P&W the day before her mass email arrived in my inbox. Now, I did skip over an essay that didn’t captivate me and I’m still reading my way through as I’ve been treating the magazine like a meal-time treat. But I’m even considering subscribing, I’ve enjoyed the experience so much! It’s nice to be surprised some — Curated, but not algorithmic. No AI slop in sight.

Let me know if there are any magazines you’ve been loving lately. I’d love to get more indie rags on my radar.

*This is an affiliate link!

I am ashamed to report I have 243 tabs open on Safari on my iPhone — because why am I living like this!? And this is the state of things after a couple of weeks of sporadic, dedicated time spent sorting and closing tabs. With closing in on 400 tabs open at one point, it may not surprise you that I’ve had some of these tabs open for literal YEARS.

Yesterday, I came across the Good Food awards list from 2024. The year I originally learned about the list and began perusing it and then got distracted by 200+ other things to look at on the Internet. No bother, at least now I had a reason to check out the 2026 list.

Y’all.

Orders were made.

As someone who is a charcuterie board enthusiast and a small bites queen, this list really appeals to me. The judges combed the nation for bespoke, select, small batch provisions with good production practices to round up the best of the best. It’s mostly coffees, shrubs, chocolates, cured meats and fishes, jams, honeys, cheeses — basically anything (aside from the coffee) that you’d toss on a party spread. Back in my hosting era, I loved to construct a charcuterie board with one or two surprising elements and as a way to introduce my friends to tasty things they wouldn’t come across at their local Trader Joe’s and (World Market’s inventory can only get you so far in this life…).

So apologies to the books that will continue to languish on my To-Buy list because I spent my allowance on edible delights this week instead. I’m real excited for this Blackberry Cacao Nib Orange Peel shrub to arrive in the mail from Cool Hand Co.

I always tell myself I’m going to make my own shrubs, but I’m also the same liar who has told myself nearly 400xs, “I’m going to read this later” instead of just closing out a tab and moving on with my life. This is a wordy way to tell you, I’ve never made a shrub. Not once.

I got into drinking shrubs in grad school when a local coffee shop had a seasonal one on their menu. I don’t drink coffee and I like vinegar pretty well (that’s that Filipino in me!) so I gave it a go.

Buy a pre-made shrub and mix with a glass of bubbly water and you’ve got yourself something tantalizing to drink.

For a long time, I’ve told writers that their strategy to land an agent should be two-fold. Querying is hell, but when you publish your work in magazines, literary journals, and elsewhere, you’re giving an agent a chance to find you.

That’s how mine found me.

When I think about how many pieces I published from 2016-2019 it boggles my mind. I often think of myself as a slow writer, but that can’t be true can it? I was publishing lengthy essays in Longreads, a monthly relationship advice column, a monthly column for the San Diego CityBeat, dozens of articles for my city’s society rag, content for startups, random freelance pieces and my work appeared in multiple anthologies. One of those essays, my agent read, then she sought out everything else I’d written — and I’d written A LOT.

This past week, agent to the (literary) stars, Alia Hanna Habib, published in her newsletter a roundtable with a few editors at top literary journals about what they look for in pieces to publish. In the intro, Habib writes, “I know how exceedingly rare it is for a writer’s first publication to be a book and that many agents trawl lit mags looking for new talent.”

Yes, getting published anywhere is HARD, but getting an agent — as a nonfiction writer — is even harder without any publications. Publishing is also how you build an audience of readers. Dancing on TikTok might amass you a bunch of followers, but those people are there for your moves, not your words and that following might not necessarily translate into book sales. Habib agrees.

Anyways, the roundtable itself is worth a read to get inside the heads of editors at some of the top lit mags. And it will actually leave you feeling optimistic, instead of like your odds are hopeless.