On January (2025) 🗓
The January digest, as well as what to expect in February.
I’m deep in edits on my second book right now, and so that’s where my head is: It is quite decidedly nowhere else. I have no inclination to make dinner or even eat lunch. All I care about is this draft, and frankly, I’m having fun with it. Writers aren’t supposed to cop to having fun with their work, but I’ll be honest: I’m often having a lot of fun. That doesn’t mean the book is not serious (it is, mostly) but it’s also a space where I’m able to play at a grander scale than essays allow, and after the experience of writing my first book being a crash course in how to sustain a thought over tens of thousands of words, this time around I’m more interested in structure and what kind of experience I want to construct for the reader.
This year has brought a few changes to how this newsletter operates, but the big one of course is that I’m paywalling pretty much everything now. March will mark five years of From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy—a great, wildly life-changing five years—and going full paywall was a decision I didn’t make lightly. There won’t be sales, because the annual subscription is at the lowest rate possible of $30.
I made this decision during the fall, when views and readership were extremely high. If people were reading me in greater numbers than ever, I reasoned that I should be able to make a better, more stable living from it: I’ve had to acknowledge that most of my energy is focused on this newsletter and on books, with teaching and assignments as secondary. Paywalling reflects this acknowledgement.
January Writing
“The Politics of Attention in 2025” / “On the Recipe as Object” / “On Biodiversity: A Conversation with Journalist Dan Saladino” / “On Work & the Internet: A Bibliography” / “From the Desk Recommends… More Beans, Duh” / “The Monthly Menu: The Time of the Big Sandwich”
January Events
The Desk Salon Series Invites Anna Sulan Masing to Discuss Chinese and Any Other Asian / “The Desk Book Club: Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto” + a Sunday Zoom Conversation / “What Is Food Media? Workshop” (available for download) / Sessions of My Newsletter & Research & Organization Workshops
January News
Forthcoming in February
“On Tradwives” (Monday, February 3) / The Desk Salon Series Invites Mayukh Sen to Discuss Love, Queenie: Merle Oberon, Hollywood’s First South Asian Star (Sunday, February 9) / Transcript, Audio, and Video of the Anna Sulan Masing Salon / “The Desk Book Club: The Hunger of Women by Marosia Castaldi” + a Sunday Zoom Conversation / “What Is Food Writing? Workshop” / & More!
The Weekly Salon
Every Monday, paid subscribers have a chat in what I call the weekly Salon at 3 p.m. EST—a casual space to discuss what we’re reading, watching, and working on. It’s a space for building camaraderie and getting to know folks who are interested in food and culture—my attempt at creating a little social media oasis.
January Snapshots
Happy almost 5 yr anniversary! Can’t wait to read the new book. And $30/yr is a STEAL for access to FTDOAK.
High five to paywalling. I think it says that you respect your own writing and see its value. And knowing that a lot of writers look up to you, I also think that it expresses to them to do the same. Cannot wait for the book!