A Note on Sourcing - Books/Literature II

Hello readers and welcome back to a new series for the website, which as I stated previously began as an outgrowth of a file that’s been sitting in my Google Drive for months now so I thought I’d just break out some of the more important elements. That initial post was called “What’s a Reader For?” and was an attempt to look at all the sources we bring into account each day as we try to understand the world. In the age of the internet and social media I realize that could be an infinite amount so I’m going to break it down into the topics and sources I try to follow each week.

Last time I rounded up some of the most important sources I use to figure out what is going on in the world of books and literature. So what are some more important sites and newsletters to use?

I’d be remiss if I didn’t kick off this “part two” list with a magazine I have come to enjoy over the last year(s) that has really been a great resource: Writer’s Digest. I have signed up for their email newsletters and get something interesting to my inbox every week. The magazine is chock full of handy tips for craft and also for those a little farther along in their publishing journey. They always interview an author for every issue and include agent spotlights as well. It’s just overall a great resource for writers at any stage in their career. (They also offer critique services as well as a shop for classes.)

[ I should also note that my wife purchased me a subscription to another magazine years ago called Poets & Writers that was helpful though I did not get as much out of it; however I still follow them on Twitter. ]

Up next I’ll mention a few more literary newsletters I try to get to each week. The Millions is a site that has been around for twenty years and publishes book previews, reviews, essays, question and answer sessions and all other kinds of writing that I have found to be very helpful over the years. (One of their writers, Ed Simon, helped me flesh out a post I wrote a few years back during the pandemic, and he’s one I would highly recommend.) Another newsletter I try to peruse each week is Arts & Letters Daily as they collect some of the best essays and articles published around the web and in journals. Another phenomenal creator (and the author of Steal Like an Artist among many other books) I follow is Austin Kleon, who each week posts ten things worth sharing to his email newsletter (he also posts regularly on the Tweet Machine). Another great newsletter is New Left Review’s Sidecar as they post essays and reviews that are highly worth your while. And a final newsletter/journal worth checking out is one I have stumbled across in the last few years, The New Atlantis, which tends to publish science-related essays but covers a lot more than that.

Finally there are a few independent publishers out there that I try to follow as they have very interesting newsletters: OR Books, Haymarket Books, and of course our very own local and highly regarded Graywolf Press.

Well once again this “part two” list is just scratching the surface of the many amazing websites, journals, magazines, and newsletters available that will help you understand the literary world and its various aspects while also honing your craft as a writer. And of course once again as with the previous entries in this series, feel free to add your own source lists in the comments. There may be one more part in the books/literature series (those places I follow via feedly) before I move onto another topic: environmental news. Stay tuned and stay informed!​