Joanna Rakoff

I channeled my inner Emily Gilmore to speak to the super-smart ladies of Hartford!! I think I got there, right?

Like you, I’ve spent the past two weeks in a state of shock and anger and confusion and fear, which may have been compounded by isolation: I had complicated sinus surgery the day after the election and have basically been in bed, trying not to spend all day reading news. And so it was extra-wonderful to break free of my house and head to Hartford, where I spoke to the super-engaged women of the Mandell JCC about my essay for Zibby Owens' anthology On Being Jewish Now, in conversation with Jodie Sadowsky, who may be the nicest person I’ve ever met, and Jennifer Lang. I left the event feeling more hopeful, and much less alone, than when I entered.

Zibby Owens

I talked with the wonderful Estelle Estelle Sobel Erasmus about my highly specific--not always popular!--approach to writing memoir. And also lots of other things. If you'd like to watch, and get a glimpse of my new office, here it is! (And if you'd like to listen, while driving, I'll post a link to the podcast episode in comments. xoxo

Writing Memoir That Reads Like A Novel And Captivates On Every Page Featuring Joanna Rakoff Writing That Gets Noticed is now in Poets & Writers "Best Books for Writers" FREE PITCHING GUIDE: Find out more about this episode #87 at https://estelleser...

So, next month, My Salinger Year turns TEN! And in celebration, a gorgeous collectors edition is being released by the UK publisher Slightly Foxed, which solely publishes special editions of classic (!!) literary memoir, from writers like Roald Dahl and Hilary Mantel. Last month, I sat down and talked with iconic BBC presenter Rosie Goldsmith (I was a little nervous) for Slightly Foxed's podcast, which will be out next week. But if you're interested, you can watch the interview now!

It's a slightly different conversation than I've had in the past, with a discussion of why the book hit a nerve with readers, and other similar matters!

‘There was no voicemail. I was the voicemail.’ | Joanna Rakoff & Rosie Goldsmith in Conversation In this out-of-series special episode of the Slightly Foxed Podcast Joanna Rakoff, author of the 2008 literary smash hit My Salinger Year (released as a Slig...