Jana M. Perkins
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Jana M. Perkins
@janajm.com
5.1K followers 170 following 490 posts
founder, @womenofletters.org. data scientist with a PhD writing a book (DEEP LITERACY, DIGITAL TIME) for Routledge
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For @womenofletters.org, I had the great pleasure of talking with Anna Malaika Tubbs.

We discuss her latest NYT-bestselling book, preparing for her viral TED Talk, her relationship to social media, what she’s working on now, & so much more. 📚💙

womenofletters.substack.com/p/anna-malaika-tubbs
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Ripple effects and waves: In conversation with Anna Malaika Tubbs "I was invited to give a TED Talk, and I was pregnant at the time. I knew that I would have to deliver the TED Talk when my baby was only three months old." WOMENOFLETTERS.SUBSTACK.COM A screenshot of text that reads:

 “Tell us about some of the projects, ideas, or questions you’re currently working on. Anna Malaika Tubbs: I am really excited because I wrote a script based off of my first book — The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of MLK Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation — and we now have a producer attached. Our next step is to look for a director, and then from there we’ll look for the actresses who will play these beautiful roles and honour these women with us. I am so, so, so excited, because I have wanted to turn The Three Mothers into a film for a long time. It came out in 2021, and I think I was really looking for a different writer to help me do it — I didn’t know that I could do it — and then a couple of months ago, maybe half a year ago now, I realized that maybe I could be the one who wrote the script. And I did. My team feels really good about it, and I’m just excited for this next stage of my career.” A screenshot of text that reads:
 “Anna Malaika’s latest book, Erased, showcases her characteristic ability to make complex ideas accessible at every level. Building on both her acclaimed first book and viral TED Talk, it examines the far-reaching impacts of patriarchal systems and how our world continues to be structured around them. The book has earned her a second New York Times bestseller designation — along with a host of other accolades — further solidifying her status as one of today’s most influential writers. I’m grateful, with this interview, to have learned more about the experiences that have shaped her career. Jana M. Perkins, PhD
 Founder, Women of Letters"
December 2, 2025 at 4:55 PM
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New email autoresponder just dropped
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November 26, 2025 at 6:25 PM
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Still so moved every time I see a shoutout to our podcast out in the wild. This one from Erin, who worked on @corinnelow.com’s amazing book, meant a lot
A screenshot of text that reads: “I’ve been talking about this book to anyone who will listen, ever since I had the chance to proofread it. So often, I work on fiction or memoir. It was a treat to step into this world of data and ideas. As an economist and professor at Wharton, Corinne Low insists that no one-size-fits-all goal exists to describe happiness. Any self-help book that assumes people of all genders are aiming to maximize the same result, such as money or fame, will be inherently flawed, according to the author. Instead, Low advocates for calculating your own “personal utility function,” which accounts for both indirect means to fulfillment and direct fulfillment. If you love your job, for example, you might get indirect utility (wages) and direct utility (enjoyment) from it. Although no one is likely to pay you for spending time with your kids, the direct utility of doing so has value, nonetheless. We all get to make our own individual valuations in these matters, and Low provides the tools to do so. I don’t have a background in economics, but this idea seems to me like a refreshing take.” A screenshot of text that reads: “into this world of data and ideas. As an economist and professor at Wharton, Corinne Low insists that no one-size-fits-all goal exists to describe happiness. Any self-help book that assumes people of all genders are aiming to maximize the same result, such as money or fame, will be inherently flawed, according to the author. Instead, Low advocates for calculating your own “personal utility function,” which accounts for both indirect means to fulfillment and direct fulfillment. If you love your job, for example, you might get indirect utility (wages) and direct utility (enjoyment) from it. Although no one is likely to pay you for spending time with your kids, the direct utility of doing so has value, nonetheless. We all get to make our own individual valuations in these matters, and Low provides the tools to do so. I don’t have a background in economics, but this idea seems to me like a refreshing take. The author talks overtly about pushing back on business books like Lean In that advocate for women to take a certain approach to workplace leadership. She states this eloquently in the book, and also on an interview on the Women of Letters podcast, which I enjoyed. There isn’t any data, she says, that illustrates the efficacy of certain gendered traits over others. In her words: “Research indeed underscores that women show differences in multiple traits compared to men, in a variety of settings […]. But *none* of the literature has demonstrated that the traits women exhibit more than men are actually *bad* from a profit or productivity perspective.” (90) Perhaps it’s not women who need to change, Low suggests. Society, on the other hand, could benefit from looking at the data and adjusting how it values different styles of work and leadership. I love this message and the deep breath it lets me take as I navigate life’s twists and turns.”
November 25, 2025 at 3:10 PM
janajm.com
New interview with 2x NYT-bestselling author Anna Malaika Tubbs on @womenofletters.org tomorrow ✨

Come say hi: womenofletters.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:09 PM
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Today, as we’ve yet to even wrap up Season 2, it’s a real moment of pride to already be holding recording sessions for Season 3 of @womenofletters.org that will be published well into 2026.

This new season’s set of questions are, I think, our best yet. I can’t wait for you to see these interviews 💙
A photo of me at my desk, with a microphone in one hand and my laptop in front of me
November 20, 2025 at 2:57 PM
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All of which is to say that to get this kind note from Emily meant so much. I’ll link the interview itself below
A screenshot of a Substack email notification that reads:

 Emily J. Smith mentioned your publication in their note. Absolutely LOVED this conversation with @Jana M. Perkins who is one of the kindest interviewers out there. About my path to writing, inspirations that kept me going, my next book, and much more. Thank you so much for having me, Jana!
October 31, 2025 at 3:10 PM
janajm.com
Me any time I read an acknowledgements section in a book
A New Yorker cartoon depicting a bride and groom at the altar. The caption reads, "Now the bride and groom will read their own vows while we silently assess whose were more thoughtful"
October 30, 2025 at 2:35 PM
janajm.com
For Women of Letters, I had the great pleasure of talking with @emjsmith.bsky.social.

We discuss her debut novel, her background in tech, how she navigated the transition to writing full-time, what she’s working on next, & so much more. 📚💙

womenofletters.substack.com/p/emily-j-smith
A screenshot of text that reads: Pushing against the pull: In conversation with Emily J. Smith "Part of me wishes I’d opened my eyes up to writing earlier, but in a lot of ways I'm grateful that I had a different experience than most writers I know." WOMENOFLETTERS.SUBSTACK.COM A screenshot of text that reads: Fast-forward to today. How did the path to what you’re doing now unfold? EJS: It’s been about ten years since I took my first writing class and allowed myself to pursue writing seriously. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I essentially rearranged my life around writing. “It felt like I might be throwing my entire career away, something I’d worked very, very hard to establish. But it did not get thrown away. It was reshaped.” I had always conflated my identity with my career—working in tech and nonprofits—but when I began writing I started to view my job as simply that, a job, and poured my energy into writing. Through classes and workshops, I made writer-friends, which shifted my social circle. Forming close relationships with other writers allowed me to keep going, to not feel completely insane taking my writing seriously despite frequent rejections and the daily struggle to coherently form thoughts. Exchanging work with these friends, having someone to send a draft to, to toss around an idea with, was life-changing. A screenshot of text that reads: With her debut novel, Emily has accomplished the rare feat of writing a book that is timely, incisive, and deeply affecting — all while being the kind of impossible-to-put-down read that audiences dream of finding. The book, along with its author’s Substack, draws on Emily’s years of experience as a woman working in tech to offer cultural commentary that is both intellectually rigorous and emotionally honest. In one exchange, for example, we see one character confronting another, saying, “You’d think a woman that smart would know better.” The book’s main character, Edie, responds without hesitating: “Not at all,” she says. “Smart women look for challenges.” She’s one of the few writers whose latest work I never miss. I’m thrilled we were able to connect over this interview. Jana M. Perkins
 Founder, Women of Letters
October 28, 2025 at 7:15 PM
janajm.com
The only podcast I still listen to at 1x speed
A screenshot from the Podcasts app on an iPhone, where an interview from the Talk Easy podcast is playing
October 27, 2025 at 2:38 PM
janajm.com
For Women of Letters, I had the great pleasure of talking with @corinnelow.com.

We discuss her new book, the economics of women’s lives, why she left a job at the top consulting firm in the world, becoming a tenured professor at Wharton, & so much more. 📚💙

womenofletters.substack.com/p/corinne-low
A screenshot of text that reads: Having It All: In Conversation with Corinne Low "I really did not want my book to gaslight women about the real challenges that we face in making it all add up. I wanted to be really honest about my own struggles to make that all work." WOMENOFLETTERS.SUBSTACK.COM A screenshot of text that reads: Fast-forward to today. How did the path to what you’re doing now unfold? CL: I majored in economics while I minored in kind of my true passion of writing. I loved economics, and I thought it was a really elegant and beautiful way to understand the world. I didn’t necessarily know what a career in economics looked like, but a lot of my friends were interviewing for consulting positions. So, at the same time as I was deciding, like, maybe writing isn’t what’s going to pay off my student loans, my friends were interviewing for these consulting positions. They were like, “Oh, you get a signing bonus— it’s great!” And I was like, “I’ll just give it a try. I’ll interview.” “You’re not going to be able to plan it out from the beginning. But how are you setting yourself up for that next step?” A screenshot of text that reads: In her meticulously researched, newly published book, Corinne brings her years of expertise as a Wharton professor and an economist studying gender to answer the age-old question: is it possible for women to have it all? From parenting to partnership to career planning to self-care, she offers a wealth of accessibly articulated and data-rich insight into so many subjects central to women’s lives—including a detailed account of the many reasons why, historically, ‘having it all’ has been such an elusive goal. If there was one book published on this topic in the last year I would recommend as essential reading, it would be this one. Jana M. Perkins 
Founder, Women of Letters
October 2, 2025 at 1:41 PM
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Her debut memoir, the importance of having mentors, the decision to open a bookstore and write full-time, & so much more—

A wide-ranging interview with LAMBDA Literary Nonfiction Fellow Nikkya Hargrove. 📚💙

womenofletters.substack.com/p/nikkya-hargrove
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In conversation with Nikkya Hargrove "I am a hopeful person, and determined too, and my hopeful determination has never led me astray." WOMENOFLETTERS.SUBSTACK.COM" A screenshot of text that reads: “Fast-forward to today. How did the path to what you’re doing now unfold? NH: I loved asking questions as a kid, and always found myself wondering what the ‘true’ answer was… curious about the nuts and bolts of the big questions in life. I, naturally, loved my honors English class and my teacher Mr. Troller, who had a way with words that I admired. My writing skills improved because of him. Then one day, I sat talking with my grandfather while in high school, and he said, “I think you’ll be a journalist one day,” which felt like a statement out of the blue. Today, I am a published author, write for my local paper, and own a bookstore in my town. I am exactly where I am meant to be, even if I never thought of myself as a journalist or reporter.” A screenshot of text that reads: “Editor’s note Nikkya’s writing in Mama, her first book, is visceral and punctuated in its vulnerability. She recounts each of the emotionally saturated events that frame her memoir with open-hearted precision, including her mother’s incarceration, the adoption of her half-brother, and the experience of falling in love with her now-wife. “We keep the conversation light,” she recalls of visiting her mother in jail as a teenager. “We do not go deep. We do not ask about fears, wants, or needs.” Her book, however, does exactly that, venturing into all of the above and more. It was a privilege to get to speak with her about some of the stories behind those stories. Jana M. Perkins
 Founder, Women of Letters”
September 9, 2025 at 6:45 PM
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Can we also just take a moment to appreciate this little guy
The tiniest bunny you have ever seen in your life crossing the sidewalk of a city street
September 1, 2025 at 6:20 PM
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Hi from your friendly neighbourhood flower paparazzi
Large pink flowers in a small landscaped flowerbed Bright orange flowers, with some smaller purple flowers, in a curbside flowerbed Pink, purple, and white flowers in a medium-sized flowerbed
September 1, 2025 at 3:16 PM
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Alright, Bsky — I think I just discovered our new favourite website.

@dlazaro.ca built the coolest thing: if you go to sky.dlazaro.ca, you can get a snapshot of what the sky currently looks like at your approximate location as a gorgeous CSS gradient.

Here’s mine from this morning ☀️
A light blue gradient, fading into white
August 15, 2025 at 2:46 PM
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For @womenofletters.org, I had the great pleasure of talking with Carrie Sun.

We discuss her widely acclaimed memoir, working at one of the most prestigious hedge funds in the world, why “process over outcome” is bad advice, & so much more. 📚💙

womenofletters.substack.com/p/carrie-sun
A screenshot of text that reads: “There are two kinds of writers: those who write what they know and those who write what they don’t know. I’m in the second camp. I wake up excited to ask questions that confound me and to find answers that surprise me.” Jana M. Perkins A measure of worth: In conversation with Carrie Sun WOMENOFLETTERS.SUBSTACK.COM A screenshot of text that reads: “Where do you feel the most scarcity in your life? Where do you feel the most abundance? CS: I have a newborn at home, so the obvious answer might be that I feel a scarcity of time. It’s interesting. While objectively I have no time (I’m writing these answers in the middle of the night as I nurse), I feel, oddly, an abundance of time. I think it has to do with control and agency. When I was working on Wall Street, I felt an intense chronophobia—the fear of the passing of time—afraid that I wouldn’t be able to do everything I wanted to do in this life. Even though then I could take long showers and go out with friends, neither of which I have time to do now, I felt that my days did not belong to me. I felt time-poor. Today, somehow, I feel time-rich. I own my days. I also feel an abundance of gratitude to be in this position and, unexpectedly, a scarcity of anxiety: it no longer matters so much what happens in the future because I’m doing everything I want to do in the present.” A screenshot of text that reads: “Editor’s note Among the most compelling memoirs are those that offer a window into experiences so singular they would otherwise remain known to only a fraction of humanity. Literary treasures of this kind are scarce not because extraordinary experiences evade us, but because we so rarely encounter the writer who can transmute those experiences into essential reading. Carrie is one of those writers, and Private Equity is one of those memoirs. Named one of TIME Magazine’s must-read books of the year, one of Vogue’s best books of the year, and the work memoir of the year by Harper’s Bazaar, it chronicles, as its central focus, her time spent working at one of the most prestigious hedge funds in the world. Yet to say that Private Equity is a memoir about Wall Street, the financial industry, or even a professional coming-of-age is to fail to capture the breadth of insight it offers across so many intensely interesting subjects. As Carrie explains below, “A decision is only risky if what’s at stake is valuable.” I learned a lot about decision-making, risk, and value from her propulsively readable memoir, and it was a privilege to get to learn more about her in this interview. Jana M. Perkins Founder, Women of Letters”
July 31, 2025 at 12:27 AM
janajm.com
For @womenofletters.org, I had the great pleasure of talking with Kapka Kassabova.

We discuss her experience of growing up in Bulgaria, her award-winning Balkan quartet of books, creating her own literary genre, & so much more. 📚💙

womenofletters.substack.com/p/kapka-kassabova
An image of Henri-Edmond Cross’s “Landscape” painting, which features a lush and brightly coloured impressionistic landscape. A screenshot of text that reads: “Fast-forward to today. How did the path to what you’re doing now unfold? KK: It’s been quite surprising, really. And I think ‘path’ is a good word. It turns out that paths have been much more important to me as a creator and as a soul, as an evolving soul in this lifetime, than roads. Paths rather than roads. When I started researching and writing about people and places, which happened with Border, I found my voice. And I found my voice thanks to the transformative encounters with people in those places that I had. And that was thanks to paths. Paths are away from roads. Paths are on the periphery of the center of power. The center of power is very fond of roads and other large infrastructure. And after all the roads that I had traveled as an adult — you know, as someone who emigrated more than once, changed countries more than once, changed languages, sort of acquired various cultural identities along the way — in the end, the most important journey has been a journey of paths. In a way, researching Border, which was the book where I really felt that I found myself and I found my genre — I created my own literary genre and continued from there — it coincided with a life event, which was that I moved from the city to the countryside. And in doing that, I started to shed some of the baggage that we’ve just been talking about.” A screenshot of text that reads: “Editor’s note The only word that can be used to adequately describe Kapka’s work is ‘mesmerizing.’ The effect either of reading her writing or of listening to her speak is one of being swept into what feels like an alternate dimension, where everything is tinged with a kind of numinosity and wonder. To experience the vividness of her perspective once is to seek its repeated encounter — and, fortunately for us, it can be found throughout what are currently more than a dozen of her published books and countless interviews. I’m delighted, with our conversation, to have added to this rich collection of transporting exchanges. Jana M. Perkins
 Founder, Women of Letters”
June 30, 2025 at 3:02 PM
janajm.com
Calling it now: @melissafebos.bsky.social’s THE DRY SEASON is the book of the summer
A screenshot of text that reads:

 “The manner in which I had loved people was a symptom of how I moved through the world and understood my place in it. I had understood one of my life's tasks to be the management of others' perceptions of me. It was my job to attract them and then meet or placate their desires. I had performed this unconscious labor in every realm of social life. I had earned my living that way, my self-esteem, and my physical safety. It defined the silent economy of all my romantic relationships, which insisted that the rest of my life's passions must fit into the space cleared by a lover's satisfaction. My freedom was earned by their contentment. No one in possession of that ruthless part, whose first love was art, could sustain such a dynamic. Eventually, it exhausted me, the relationship collapsed, and I was on to the next. I had not invented it, but I could choose to set it down.” A screenshot of text that reads: “This all sounds very rational, and the factor that most drove my endeavor was not rational. I felt it in my body like physical hunger, tugging on every cell. It felt biological. A pressure like that of sickness or fatigue. It was a desire that had finally grown stronger than its opposite, but was yet unknown. What did I want when I wanted the absence of something? It wasn't really time or a hob-by. I had no reference for the object of my hunger, and that was a strange condition. In my quietest moments, on the drive home from work, my body humming as I belted out a song about love, and just before I fell asleep or after I woke, I was just an animal with a past. I sensed how much I didn't know yet. I understood that an animal could be very hungry and not know for what, only in what direction it lay.”
June 24, 2025 at 4:06 PM
janajm.com
For @womenofletters.org, I had the great pleasure of talking with Jennifer Baker.

We discuss the mentors who supported her work, how to establish boundaries, the importance of reframing the definition of ‘failure,’ & so much more. 📚💙

womenofletters.substack.com/p/jennifer-baker
An image of Paul Cézanne’s “Still Life with Apples and a Pot of Primroses” painting, which features flowers and apples placed over a tablecloth on a small table A screenshot of text that reads: “What’s a commonly shared piece of advice that you disagree with, and why? JB: I think there’s more I’d push back on in terms of perception than advice. Especially in the sense of creation. I often, or at least too frequently for my taste, hear, “I failed to…”. And I’m always curious where this idea of “failure” comes from. Various people online, pick your social media mode, have said, “I failed to get a book deal.” And I’m sitting here thinking, “Did you? Or did you just not get a book deal? Because that’s not a singular occurrence.” Failure exists. There’s a lot we’re failing to do now as a nation, let alone a world. But in terms of trying and not getting, in terms of rejection? That’s not failure.” A screenshot of text that reads: “Editor’s note I first discovered Jennifer through her Minorities in Publishing podcast, which shines a light on underrepresented professionals in the book publishing world. Its episodes generously offer everything from real-world context on issues like representation to a behind-the-scenes look at the publishing industry to a deep dive into the personal histories of guests. The podcast recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and is already charging ahead through its 11th year — a feat of longevity that, under her leadership, simultaneously comes as no surprise to long-time listeners and marks a significant accomplishment in today’s increasingly ephemeral media landscape. I’ll continue to be among the many who are celebrating this major milestone as we eagerly look ahead to its future from here. Jana M. Perkins
 Founder, Women of Letters"
May 30, 2025 at 12:51 AM
janajm.com
Joan Didion fans, this is essential reading: a remarkable memoir by Cory Leadbeater, who was her assistant for a decade and *lived with her* (!) for four of those years
The book cover for Cory Leadbeater’s THE UPTOWN LOCAL A screenshot of text that reads: “HOW DO I explain Joan. Once, as we sat together listening to music—“There’s a Small Hotel,” it was, the Ella Fitzgerald version, not the Josephine Baker, not the Peggy Lee, and we spent that afternoon talking about Joan’s favorite hotels, the Bristol, the Royal Hawaiian, the Beverly Wilshire, none of which had I ever been to, and she smiled and said someday she would take me—I was wearing a blue hat, and without saying a word, she reached up and took the hat off of my head and put it down on hers. She wore it for the rest of the afternoon. Many years later, when I introduced Joan to Liz, Liz made a nervous joke about Joan getting rid of me one day. Joan looked stonily at Liz. “No,” Joan said sternly, and flatly. Joan waited, then followed it up: “No,” she said again, and the subject was closed. After Joan died, but before her clothes could leave the apartment, I was enlisted to check the pockets of her coats and sweaters, to make sure nothing valuable was missed. A long-forgotten missive or an idea for a book might be waiting, or else a scrap of paper that would, maybe, tell us all how to survive death. But what I found instead were only used, crumpled tissues. Tissues. She had always had tissues. She had them in her hand when we walked in the Park, at breakfast too each morning; she had had them in her hand even when she first opened the door for me on that August morning nine years before. In fact, I was always having to order her tissues—Fridays, 2 p.m., I was calling Zitomer Pharmacy, week after week, year after year, to order toilet paper, to order mouthwash, to order face cream or Band-Aids and, of course, to order twelve boxes of tissues, Kleenex, the rectangular boxes, large, yes twelve, please. Sometimes they would put me on hold for ten minutes at a time while they checked their stock, and I’d curse as I sat there waiting. What I wouldn’t give now—to be on hold with Zitomer. To be ordering twelve boxes of Kleenex...” A screenshot of text that reads: “Joan loved Hemingway, and I loathed him; I worshipped Woolf, and Joan loathed her. We loved the same poets—Auden again, always Auden—and found common ground with Ford, García Márquez, Henry James. During the second hospitalization, sensing (stupidly—for Joan was tougher than all of us imagined, tougher than all of us combined, I was in the process then of learning) that time might be short and determined that she should share my opinion, I procured a copy of Mrs. Dalloway and began to read it to her. By day three, she was asking for more. I am writing this here simply to get it on the record: Joan changed her mind about Virginia Woolf at the age of eighty, in a hospital bed, thinking herself quite near death. Though I never learned to write from Joan, much as I wish I had, I did learn some things about persisting in reassessment, about having the courage to keep the void of uncertainty at the center of one’s gaze. Joan didn’t die either of those times, but she was close—and still, it was as good a time as any to reconsider Virginia Woolf.”
May 27, 2025 at 2:45 PM
janajm.com
POV: it’s Sunday afternoon and everyone in the house has to listen to my podcasting voice
An image looking down over a wooden desk that features a laptop, keyboard, mouse, cup of tea, glass of water, and microphone
May 25, 2025 at 9:02 PM
janajm.com
Raced through this luminous @sarahmanguso.bsky.social novel in less than a day and will be thinking about it for the rest of this week
The cover of LIARS, a novel by Sarah Manguso A screenshot of text that reads: “A few months later, John started another company. He'd somehow done it from within the bank, which had agreed to provide the initial funding. This company had ten times the venture capital of the first company, so it was ten times safer, he said. He'd come up with the idea of an inter-net-connected mirror. You could learn a new language while brushing your teeth. If you wanted to, you could practice the language while the mirror took video of you. Speech coaches would then evaluate your progress and send back custom-made lessons to help you learn faster. He called the company Polyglot. We'd have to move back to Los Angeles. Office space and assistants were cheaper there than in New York. John waltzed out the door to a three-hour drawing class while I cleaned the house, went to the laundromat, browsed used furniture online, and made chili. He came back—he'd wanted to draw a woman, and the model had been a man, so he sulked and played video games until his three hours were up. I felt the usual fury, blanketed by the usual somnolence. I sat alone on the roof-deck, in the dark, cooling off after a hot bath. The big tree swayed. The Big Dipper blinked. The hundred-and-fifty-year-old building creaked. I was a small animal passing through on my way back into the earth.”
May 14, 2025 at 7:31 PM
janajm.com
Springtime in Champaign, Illinois
An image of a garden full of tulips An image of a red brick building with several large flowering trees in front An image looking up at the sky through a group of flowering trees
May 6, 2025 at 8:56 PM
janajm.com
This month, I wrote about:

- The value of keeping the line open
- How learning to gift my best time to myself has changed the way I prioritize long-term goals
- My favourite reads from the past month

You can find it all at jcontd.com/keep-line-open-best-time-first 🧪
A screenshot of text that reads: “One thing I’ve learned, over the course of my career, is that you never know when someone from your professional past will later come to play a role in your professional present. And while you have no control over the circumstances that lead to a potential reconnection down the line, you do have control over how you treat people during those periods when you’re actively a part of each other’s lives.” A screenshot of text that reads:

 “These days, I’ve rearranged my schedule so that at least some portion of the things that are most important to the realization of my long-term goals happens first in the day, when I feel sharpest and most energized. What this has meant is that, among other things, I now read for about 2 hours every day, I’m no longer starting my messages to loved ones with “sorry for the delayed response!”, and my personal projects are coming along at a pace that feels meaningful to me.”
May 1, 2025 at 8:07 PM
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I had the great pleasure of talking with Marianne Brooker for @womenofletters.org.

We discuss her book Intervals, for which she won the 2022 Fitzcarraldo Essay Prize @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social; her current writing projects; & so much more. 📚💙

womenofletters.substack.com/p/marianne-brooker
An image of Francis Danby’s painting “The Avon Gorge at Sunset,” which features a pastel-coloured landscape at sunset. A screenshot of text that reads: “Tell us about some of the projects, ideas, or questions you’re currently working on. MB: I guess I want to do things that are a little bit different, in some sense. I’m trying to write a novel — I kind of want to experiment, and maybe be a bit less constrained by writing from life. But also, by myself, coalescing around similar kinds of questions as I was exploring in Intervals. So I’m researching — I’m saying this very tentatively, because I’m not really saying it out loud very much at the moment yet, but — a kind of novel about the life of…   […]” A screenshot of text that reads:

 “Editor’s note In all my reading, I’ve encountered few works like Marianne’s Intervals. Her book offers a capacious look at life, death, and dying through a chronicling of her mother’s decision to withdraw from life-sustaining treatments. As she describes it, “Intervals are temporary places of rupture and of rest; they are liminal, partial and in-between. … I invite you to bear loose witness — to sit with me, as close to the pain as I can get — on the condition that the story doesn’t end here, that there is yet a world to win.” The result is an expansive, important, and generous work. I gained a lot from having had the benefit of her perspective. Jana M. Perkins
 Founder, Women of Letters”
April 30, 2025 at 9:08 PM
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Whenever I manage to make it down to the Siebel Center for Design I always end up wondering why I don’t spend more time there
An image of a large atrium within an aesthetically-designed building An image looking across a large table. The table features several pieces of paper with instructions on them, a box of writing utensils, and the notes and miscellaneous belongings of those who are seated around the table
April 21, 2025 at 9:33 PM