Calendar of Publications, Workshops, & Events
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Calendar of Publications, Workshops, & Events *
The Desk Digest
A roundup of everything published in January at From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy, plus any news.
The Desk Book Club ‘Kitchen’ Zoom
Paid subscribers gather on Zoom to discuss the January Desk Book Club selection, Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto.
The Desk Book Club Notes
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto is the first Desk Book Club selection of 2025. I send my reading notes out, and then we discuss on Zoom the following Sunday.
Research & Organization for Independent Writers
Methods, tools, and guidance for how to effectively do and use research as an essayist. I'll share how I approach my workflow for research when it comes to both essays and narrative nonfiction, the simple tools I use to organize said research, how I work myself out of writer's block or research holes, and the ways in which I've learned to adapt any disorganized tendencies into useful structures. I'll also discuss methods for editorial planning and organization as an independent writer working on a newsletter, freelance assignments, and book projects. 45 minutes to one hour of lecture will be followed by a break, with another hour for Q&A and discussion.
WHEN
Monday, January 20
Session No. 1: 10 AM to 12 PM EST
Session No. 2: 6 PM to 8 PM EST
WHERE
Zoom
From the Desk Essay
Audio and transcript from the November 2024 conversation with Eating to Extinction author Dan Saladino. For paid subscribers.
The Monthly Menu
My monthly food blog that tracks where I’ve been eating, what I’ve been cooking, and always provides a wine recommendation. Filled with recipe links, variations, and cookbook recommendations. See the archive here.
The Newsletter Workshop
This workshop is about figuring out the key aspects of how a newsletter can fit into your work as a writer, culture worker, or small business owner. We can’t control algorithms, institutions, or the responses of editors and other gatekeepers, but newsletters provide a space where culture workers, media creators, and others can have ownership of their audience and output.
I’ll provide insight from over four years of publishing my own newsletter and years of editorial experience. We discuss consistency, workflow, audience development and engagement, the different major hosts, and different kinds of newsletters. The presentation also includes questions and prompts to get you to conceive of your own newsletter launch or growth.
There is a 45-minute presentation, a 10-minute intermission, and then 65 minutes of discussion. I try to create a dynamic, convivial atmosphere so that attendees leave with new relationships.
WHEN
Monday, January 13
Session No. 1: 10 AM to 12 PM EST
Session No. 2: 6 PM to 8 PM EST
WHERE
Zoom
The Desk Salon Series
For January, we will talk to writer Anna Sulan Masing about her forthcoming book Chinese and Any Other Asian. Paid subscribers to From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy attend free. There are 25 slots for purchase here.
From the Desk Recommends…
The monthly Recommends… roundup of reading, watching, and listening recommendations. Always with a playlist.
Creating Indie Food Media Workshop #1
Creating Indie Food Media Class #1 — two sessions.
