What Writers and Editors Read: October 2023

Recommended by Jennie Young: “This piece shows how creative creative nonfiction can be. It addresses important issues related to who owns what stories, how other people’s access to them shifts that ownership, and how that tension serves to both elevate and complicate those stories in the public sphere.”

Read Jennie’s piece “Online Dating Was Hell. Then I Tried 1 Thing That Turned Out To Be A Total Game Changer,“ which was recommended in our August edition of what writers and editors are reading.

Recommended by Helen Lewis: “Gia Milinovich spent her teens and twenties shadowcasting The Rocky Horror Picture Show — acting along with Frank N. Furter so closely that she disappeared into the character. Even Richard O’Brien doesn’t understand why.”

Read Helen’s piece “The Humiliation of Ron DeSantis,“ which was recommended in our July edition of what writers and editors are reading.

Recommended by Billy Perrigo: “A story about one of the weirdest guys in tech, which ends up being a story about...the meaning of life?”

Read Billy’s piece “The New AI-Powered Bing Is Threatening Users. That’s No Laughing Matter,” which was recommended in our February edition of what writers and editors are reading.

Recommended by Jaime Stathis: “I thought this was a fascinating piece about green burials in Ambrook Research, a smaller periodical that many people might not be aware of. I love this writer’s storytelling, how she weaves in data in an unobtrusive way, and how she points out that green burials are not only sustainable and environmentally friendly, but also that the process builds and strengthens community.”

Read Jaime’s article “How to (Ethically) Get Rid of Your Unwanted Stuff,” featured in Pocket’s great advice collection last year.

Recommended by Chris Gayomali: “A gripping story from Erika Hayasaki about a stalker who serially harasses Asian American college professors in an attempt to get them fired—and more crucially, the institutions that are failing, over and over and over again, to protect them.”

Read Chris’ article “I Wish I Was a Little Bit Taller,” which was one of Pocket’s best science reads last year.

Recommended by Zach Baron: “I spend a lot of time writing profiles of people, and one question I think a lot about is: Do I actually know this person? The answer, almost invariably, is: No. Not really. But you do your best. The thing I love about this piece is that the writer, Daniel Riley, actually knows his subject, and so renders him in the deep, complex, novelistic way that can only come with real knowledge.”

Read Zach’s profiles of Martin Scorsese and Ryan Gosling, which featured in our September edition of what writers are reading, and in our top long reads of 2023 collection, respectively.

Recommended by Gail Cornwall: “Eli Hager does a tremendous job of covering a complex issue of both child development and law in a narratively gripping fashion: Biological parents Alicia and Fred ‘weren’t just demonstrating their fitness to care for Carter—they were competing for him. His foster parents, hoping to adopt him, had just weeks earlier embraced an increasingly popular legal strategy, known as foster-parent intervening, that significantly improved their odds of winning the child.’ I especially loved the perspective shift midway through and the way Hager calls into question individuals, systems, and the massive impact individuals can have on systems.”

Read Gail’s piece “When Teens Send Nudes,” which featured in our June edition of what writers are reading.

Recommended by Eliza Strickland: “It’s a REALLY great story. About Roombas, the robotic vacuum cleaners, and their hijinks at the South Pole research station during the long cold Antarctic winter. The story involves a ransom note and chocolate chip cookies.”

Read another great IEEE story, ‘AR Glasses Spawn a Whole New Social Dynamic’, which was recommended in our September edition of what writers are reading.

Check out our September round-up of articles recommended by our favorite writers and editors.