Mad Woman looks at books, culture, and craft through a feminist lens. Essays explore labor, care, gender, pathology, parenthood, sex, marriage, power, creativity, and lots more— from the personal to the public.
I send little treats to paid subscribers because I’m so grateful for them/you. Having a paywalled side of this newsletter also protects all of us. If you read this newsletter and value what you find here, and if you believe in paying writers for their work, please consider a paid subscription. It’s the best way to support this thing.
Free subscribers get:
Updates on classes, events, and writing beyond the newsletter
Public essays on books and culture
Paid subscribers get:
Weekend roundups
Writing prompts
Personal essays
Craft essays and syllabi
Commenting and community privileges
Discounts on writing classes and on
PodcastSalons with other writers, recorded in case you can’t attend live
AMAs and other little treats
Access to the archive
If you’d like a regular paid subscription but aren’t able to pay, email me. I will comp you one, no questions asked.
Writing Group
We also have a writers’ group for those who want more feminist community and connection around making art during dark times. To sign up, be sure you select the founding tier subscription when you upgrade.
Writing Group subscribers get all regular paid subscriber benefits plus:
Virtual events like essay swaps and seasonal virtual check-ins
Office hours
Weekly chats with other writers (“gentle accountability” as one subscriber called it), and the option to start new chat threads to connect further and share/ask for resources
Discounts on writing classes and workshops
Two virtual residencies per year, one in the spring and one in the fall—these include co-writing sessions, creative prompts, and community threads
Writing group is composed of writers in all genres at all stages—we have memoirists, essayists, fiction writers, and poets
Free subscription to my limited-run podcast
Writing Group is separate from a regular paid subscription— again, be sure you select the subscription you want when you upgrade.
About me
I am an author, critic, and writing teacher. My latest book is Touched Out. You can read essays from or inspired by the book at The New York Times, The Guardian, Elle, and TIME. Interviews and other coverage of the book are also at The Cut, LA Review of Books, Guernica, Write or Die, The Boston Globe, and a bunch of Substack newsletters, including Culture Study.
You can read my latest work at The New York Times Magazine, along with other writing at Slate, Vox, Huffington Post, Believer Mag, Rumpus, Mutha, Ms., and at my website.
I teach writing at several organizations and at Stanford— and have previously lectured, taught, and talked at places like at Columbia, NYU, UC Berkeley, St. Mary’s, University of Chicago, MOCA LA, University of Virginia, and others. I have a PhD in literature and an MFA in writing.
You can find me on Instagram @amontei.
