On finding joy in the writing process, embracing friction, and developing your voice.
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This Isn’t the California I Married
“The honeymoon’s over for its residents now that wildfires are almost constant. Has living in this natural wonderland lost its magic?”
Curiosity FTW
Stay open to the obvious, and you may just learn more than you expect.
The Secret Door
“When we read, we make believe. We aren’t duped or ensorcelled. Deep down we decide. We make ourselves believe.”
Trusting Your Gut and This Week’s Top 5
“I study the pinch pot in my hands. It seems suddenly urgent not to see them seeing me. Heat crawls from my cheeks to my hairline. I hear the furious thrum of blood in my ears. With my fingers I smooth down the walls of my pot. To my utter relief, no more questions follow.” […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
An unjust police killing. Nature reclamation in the fossil fuel era. Surviving a bear attack. The underbelly of the antiquities trade. And for a well-earned dessert, the legacy of the world’s first breakout video game. 1. Police Killed His Son. Prosecutors Charged the Teen’s Friends With His Murder Meg O’Connor | The Appeal & Phoenix […]
Aymann Ismail Speaks and an Atavist Excerpt
Aymann Ismail answers our questionnaire and an excerpt of The Atavist‘s latest story.
Walking on Faith and the Week’s Top 5
“Most people here were trying to find a way to live with events that could have broken their lives: absence, illness, loss, death. How could I fault them for something I also wanted, which was to wring meaning from things that have none?” “Why was I stumbling alongside this mass of the devout?” This is […]


