NEWSLETTER
Age of Empathy News: July Edition
A round up of some of the best of creative nonfiction
Happy July to all our readers and writers!
Today marks the point at which we cross over into the second half of the year, highlighting for me the ever-increasing speed with which we are hurtling through 2023. Scary stuff!
But that’s the effect of being busy. And we have been busy here at Age of Empathy, with many wonderful essays being submitted daily, and lots of vulnerable moments being shared of the personal lives of our writers.
Since our family of publications, which includes The Memoirist and Black Bear Recovery, joined the Boost Nomination Programme with Christopher Robin and KiKi Walter at the helm, I have seen the number of views and overall minutes of read time increase from (generally) less than 1,000 minutes per day in April to some days surpassing 5,000 minutes during May and June.
Of course, having the possibility to nominate helps us to get those incredible essays seen when they may have otherwise slipped past the attention of Medium’s curators. But the point is that we have some high quality writing here by amazing writers. Period.
Of course, you may not have yet been boosted but know that if your writing is excellent, your narrative captures the attention and curiosity of your audience, and your message is clear, powerful, and relevant, then it will be noticed. I promise you. When we see really compelling pieces come in, we share them among the editors. And some of those then go on to be nominated for a boost.
So be patient, believe in yourself, and allow yourself to sink into the natural power of your own writing.
Talking of writing, let’s move on and see what’s coming this month, and what went last month.
July Theme
In the spirit of summer, this month’s prompt is “Waves”. This can be used as the topic of your essay in a literal way or a figurative way.
Check out the prompt piece for more details:
Last Month’s Theme: Fatherhood
With Father’s Day during June, our month’s theme was all about fathers and fatherhood. Not surprisingly, we had many heartfelt essays come our way, sharing intimate moments with respective fathers, as well as reflections on being a father and fatherhood itself.
Here are the Fatherhood essays that we published in June:
My Father’s Death and The Craziness That Surrounded It by Barbara Carter
My Very Superstitious Italian Father by Vera-Marie Landi
From Father to Leapfather by Rodrigo S-C
Why I Planted a Garden for Dad After He Died by Debbie LaChusa
Steady like a lighthouse. by Jaclyn Weber
I Am No More a Monster Daughter Than He is a Perfect Father by Sally Prag
My Father Is Much More Likeable Now That He Has Dementia by All My Little Words
A Peek Into My Dad’s Unique Way Of Being The Biggest Impactor On My Life by Supritha Kamalanathan
Then Something Popped by Ruby Noir 😈
How I Lost My Father…and Found Him Again by J.C. Anne Brown
Father’s Day Was Tough by Paula Shablo
Hiking Down the River With My Son by Florin Popa
Editor’s Picks
A selection of essays that really stood out during the last month:
How Am I to Accept Death? by Stephanie Wilson
I Screw Up When I Try to Erase the Pain From the People I Love by Martha Manning, Ph.D.
I’m Done Stressing About Finding My Niche by Carly Newberg
Lost Geese — or Parents? by Jenna Zark
Can We Be Happy and Positive Now That We’ve Ditched Alcohol or Is Sadness a Part of Life? by Diana Leotta
The Auschwitz Dad Primer for Child Rearing by Carlos Garbiras
My Eyes See Dead People, Semicolons, and Coach Tony; I’m Teetering on The Brink by Lisa S. Gerard
My Downstairs Neighbor Was Worthy of a Hitchcock Film by Alex Praytor
My Son Taught Me That Growing Up Is Not About Timelines by Jeannette Sanderson
Modern Public Shaming is Worse than Public Shaming in the Days of Yore by Becca CO 🌵
A Grandmother’s Love by Laura DeMaisBerg
From Creative Corner Interview Series
Aimée Brown Gramblin continues the powerful professional interview series with this compelling interview with Ashley Broadwater.
How A Newly Minted Writing Graduate Survived to Thrive During A Global Pandemic — With Ashley…
Essays From Our Editors
With all the hard work that the editors are doing behind the scenes, I often wonder how everyone has time to also produce phenomenal pieces of writing, but there you go… That’s why they’re so good at the editing side too!
Who Gets to Decide What Is “Too Much Information?” Jesus? by Christopher Robin
When My Ex Stopped Having Sex With Me I Blamed Myself by kasey sparks
How Woody the Blind, Incontinent, Fractious, Diabetic Dog Found Love and Had a Incredible Final… by All My Little Words
The Dreams That Haunt Me by KiKi Walter
I Still Keep My Glitchy Gmail of Many Years for Sentimental Reasons by Yana Bostongirl
Finding Contentment in the Now, While Holding Onto Hope for Something More by Maria Hayes
Behind Every (Peri)Menopausal Woman is a Human Craving Connection by yours truly.
That’s it for this month. I look forward to a July of sunshine-filled essays and plenty of bobbing in the waves.
Love from you editorial team, Sally Prag | KiKi Walter | Christopher Robin | Suzanne Pisano | kasey sparks | Yana Bostongirl | All My Little Words | Arpad Nagy | Ilona Goanos | Bernice P. | Preeti Ramachandran | Michele Maize | Michelle A. Cmarik | Marketa Zvelebil | Kendra Sparkles | Lindsay Rae Brown | Bob Merckel | Maria Hayes