Happy paperback day to 1000 Words. Let this book sit on your desk and remind and inspire you to write and create and make your art and explore the best versions of yourselves any time you need it.
Thank you to the contributors who made it so special because it would not exist without you and thank you to the journalists who covered it and gave it such nice press and thank you to the publishers who published it (and gave this version of it fancy French flaps and decked edges) and thank you to anyone who bought it and cheered it on and turned it into a national bestseller. Here’s to another great year of writing.
Not gonna lie, I always wanted a By the Book. Only took ten books to get there. Thank you to the @nytbooks for being so generous with me and my new novel. And shoutout to @rebeccaclarke for perfecting that pink lip.
But this is actually a publicity team appreciation post. Thank you to Cordelia Calvert and Nina Leopold (and, early days, Sonya Cheuse too!) for their tireless work in getting the word out about this book. It was a crowded fall, as they say, in a burning hellfire of a year, but they did their damndest to make sure people heard about A Reason to See You Again. They were smart and talented and they cared and I am grateful.
I know I sound like a broken record but being a writer is about the writing itself and how it makes you feel and what you learn from it but it’s *also* about the people you meet along the way and if you get to work with some good ones you’re really lucky. Count me one of the lucky ones. @dilly822@nina.leopold@misscheuse@eccobooks
Just for fun, here are all ten books.
Most of the writers-for-life I know don’t think: Oh I want to write ten or five or anything like that. We all just want to make it to the next book and the next after that. So this is as far as I’ve gotten for now, and hopefully I will get to write another and another after that.
Still, ten is a lot, I think. A good pile of words, anyway. ❤️
Hello from Asheville. It’s pretty here, and calm, and quiet. A friend asked me if I had a view where I was living because I’m up rather high here but it’s just trees from this house, green in every window, much taller, older trees than the ones in my neighborhood at home, and different wildlife, the honeysuckle, the thistles, nascent blackberries. The house where I’m staying is quite simple and has everything I need. I think of it more of as a conveyance to the surroundings. A wild turkey walked by the door the other day and the dog was on the deck and he barked once sharply but that was it. Birds do not bother him. I see all kinds of little birds here. Bunnies, beavers. I sit on the deck and read. I drink coffee. I listen to the wind. Quiet, peaceful, calm, as I said.
In 16 days #1000wordsofsummer starts. I’ve got so much work to do. I’m glad I have the same wonderful team as last year to help me. Asking for help is hard until actually it becomes quite easy once you learn how to be open and receive it, especially from such talented and big-hearted people as @melissa_kimble & @abpickett . ❤️
So today it’s just gratitude for the idea of support. A place to live and make my art up high, two people in different cities ready to help me and everyone participating in this project, and all the people ready to cheer each other on for this year’s 1000 Words. Gonna be the best one yet, I can just feel it. You ready?
This Tuesday, Malaprop's and the Wilma Dykeman Writer-In-Residence presents Jami Attenberg, in conversation with Niina Pollari. Jami will be speaking about her current writing residency, her popular literary movement #1000WordsofSummer and the corresponding book 1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round. Check out our bio link for more info!
So so honored and delighted to be the Spring 2026 Wilma Dykeman Writer-in-Residence at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Much thanks to @wilmadykemanlegacy@unc_asheville for their sponsorship and to Ellen Pearson and @wileycashauthor for shepherding me through the process. I’m really looking forward to all my events in Asheville launching 1000 Words this year and also connecting with the creative community there. I’ve never been to Asheville before! Thrilled for a new adventure.
I should say hi to the internet, I thought on my walk this morning. Let ‘em know I’m still alive. I’ve been in Florida and Philadelphia and I’ve been working and thinking the whole time while still managing to have some quality moments with the people I love. I wish I could see more of you. Like I really miss you! I like my alone time but also I hunger for my friends. So just know that I’m thinking about you. This is a love letter to 10 people, 20, more. You are always on my mind. Bye. ❤️
Teaching at other people’s workshops and conferences over the past two decades has introduced me to so many lovely people and created new and intriguing opportunities. But as someone who has operated as their own institution for so long I began to wonder why wasn’t I throwing my own little workshop every so often?
So on May 9 I’ll be teaching this zoom workshop to get people pumped up for 1000 Words of Summer—or really any old time you feel like writing! If it seems like people are interested in it I’ll teach a different class in the fall.
The event will be moderated by the dear and wonderful @kaylakumari which I think will add some extra sparkle to the morning. See you there I hope. 💕
I have not felt enough like an artist so much as a producer of things lately so I will get back to the artistry this spring and summer. Although 1000 Words is coming up in 2 months, May 30. My grandest production of all. Ninth year of it.
It’ll all work out though, I suspect. The art part. Reading first thing in the morning always helps.
Also, I don’t know how to take pictures of myself anymore but I like it when I wear yellow, so whenever you see a picture of me just know I am taking a picture of the color yellow.
Updates:
My dog and I have the same haircut now.
I finished all the edits on the novel that is coming out next year.
I’m working on a proposal for a gorgeous new nonfiction book.
I’m teaching a 1-hour zoom workshop that will motivate and inspire you for the upcoming 1000 Words of Summer.
I’m doing an event in Atlanta on April 30.
I’m going to Asheville for two months in May.
I love you and I miss you and I hope to see you soon. But that, of course, is my perennial state of being.
