Talking Writing Is . . .
An ongoing digital project that celebrates writers, visual artists, musicians, and everyone who thinks of themselves as a creative lifer.
We keep creating against the odds, because we long for purpose and meaning in a chaotic world. In the Talking Writing podcast, we talk to artists of all mediums about their personal and creative lives – and the intersections between the two.
Talking Writing was cofounded by Martha Nichols and Elizabeth Langosy in 2010 as an online magazine about writers and writing. TW, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has since grown far beyond its Boston roots, with a podcast, digital literary site ,and Talking Writing Books.
Great writing makes us want to sing or shout or argue, and TW’s innovative format opens virtual doors to readers and writers everywhere. As the publishing industry continues to transform itself, Talking Writing exemplifies the impact luminous stories, first-person journalism, and other hybrid genres can have in the new media world.
A Decade-Plus of Digital Publishing
During its first decade, Talking Writing magazine was home to many kinds of nonfiction—from personal essays and features about writing and writers to hybrid genres like flash essays, memoir, and prose poetry. The TW magazine site is packed with literary hybrids, features about well-known writers, and poems.
From 2010 to 2020, TW published interviews with Jennifer Egan, Robert Olen Butler, Gene Luen Yang, William Least Heat-Moon, Caitlin Moran, Chana Bloch, and Terry Tempest Williams. During that time, Talking Writing had a thriving poetry section with work by Alicia Ostriker, Katharine Harer, Randall Horton, and other contemporary poets.
Talking Writing panels at AWP conferences took on topics such as "Literary Politics: White Guys and Everyone Else" (2014), "Digital Poets and Nature" (2015), "The Politics of Empathy" (2015), "The New Nonfiction" (2016), "What Journalists Can Teach Literary Writers" (2017), and "How to Talk About Yourself in Nonfiction" (2019).
In 2022, the TW team launched the Talking Writing podcast, which is now our main publication project and the main focus of Talking Writing on Substack. Subscribe here to receive updates about new episodes and other TW news.
Talking Writing Books
Because of our amazing magazine archive, we plan to publish more print anthologies and other work by TW authors. Our debut title: Into Sanity: Essays About Mental Health, Mental Illness, and Living in Between (2019).
Note: We’ll continue to maintain our legacy magazine site but will no longer be accepting submissions there.
Support TW
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As an independent, nonprofit organization, Talking Writing relies on donations and the work of many dedicated volunteers to keep publishing. We do encourage readers to donate whatever they can to help us grow.
To donate directly to Talking Writing through the Paypal charity-fundraising program, please click here:
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Currently all subscriptions to TW on Substack are free, although we may set up paid su8bscriptions for premium content in the future.
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The TW Credo
Discussing, dissecting, and interacting with works of literature moves us to a more humane understanding of the world.
That’s our credo in these unsettled times for writers. We believe literature, responsible journalism, and all creative endeavors by humans deserve far more space than they currently claim online.
TW: words that impact the world
Talking Writing is a nonprofit literary site that features personal nonfiction and visual art.
Our mission?
To show why writing matters in the digital age—and why true stories can change the world.
