Issue 50: Worth Mentioning, Volume 2
What's next for the newsletter?
When I began Worth Mentioning in 2020, it was the height of the pandemic. I had a one-year-old, and would soon find out I was pregnant with my second baby. I was stuck at home with a toddler and with the small amount of photography work I was doing at the time having dried up, I was left with idle creativity gnawing at my insides. Newsletters were just starting to really be a thing, and I felt I could contribute in some tiny way through writing, especially through the lens of early motherhood that so many of my close friends were experiencing themselves. I longed to write about the loneliness, the awe, the frustration, the joy, and the banality of it all.
Over four years, I’ve published 50 issues. I’ve written pieces I’m really proud of, and I’ve recieved some of the most kind, supportive and encouraging feedback from readers about my work. I’ve also had lulls in my writing here, for many reasons: I chased a very active toddler and navigated another pregnancy and postpartum period; I enjoyed a busy year of photography work and another that was exceptionally slow, defeating, and emotionally draining; we wrapped up our time at our beloved at-home daycare and enrolled them both in preschool; I saw my oldest off to elementary to start kindergarten and my baby off to what is now her last year of preschool.
I watched my dad battle health issues and put our too-young cat to rest. I spent a year in community with a dedicated mother’s circle, a gift I didn’t know I needed so desperately. I spent my 40th year feeling a little lost but also reading more and seeing friends and untangling what it really was I wanted from this decade.
Which brings me to the second iteration of Worth Mentioning. Last year, I started to think about how I wanted to engage in this space and when I let myself daydream, I had so many ideas that inspired me creatively. A lot of them were smaller asides that would delight me to create and would, hopefully, delight readers to consume. I began my career in magazine editorial—their glossy pages one of my first loves, hoarding issues of YM and Teen like my life depended on it—and when I finally made the connection between those beginnings and what I was doing with this newsletter, things started to click.
The next phase of Worth Mentioning will look a little different, but its core focus will remain steadfast: motherhood, creativity, discovery. The parenting vertical on Substack is small and typically very niche or vertical-focused; I want to add to the space more comprehensively with smart, thoughtful, engaging and fun content (even for my non-mom readers, who I love so dearly!). So, here’s what you can expect in your inbox:
Personal Essays
The essays that are the heart of Worth Mentioning (and the reason I started this newsletter) aren’t going anywhere; they will be published two Sundays each month. These issues will also include my top mentions.
Features
The other two Sunday issues will lead with what I’m calling a “feature”— core pieces that have a central theme but aren’t personal essays. Things like seasonal book previews and more service-y articles will live here.
I’m adding Friday issues to the publishing calendar, which will be comprised of a mix of the below. They’ll have some regular components, but are also intended to leave space for new additions and concepts. I was feeling a little stifled by the format of WM, and wanted a home for fresh ideas which is what Friday issues are all about.
Interviews + Guest Recs
There is nothing I love more than hearing about motherhood from another mom—what she’s doing to stay sane, how she spends her childless time, her identity both inside and outside of parenthood. Playground Gossip is a quick-fire Q&A, while Mom Friend is a slightly longer interview—someone doing interesting things in their community, politically, at work, on a passion project, or elsewhere.
Sidebars + Columns
Think of these as those little boxes you might see at the edge of a magazine spread: short, quirky, lighthearted. I’ve got several to start and more percolating in my brain! Watch for them in the Friday editions.
Mostly, I want this to be a newsletter you look forward to recieving - one that sparks joy, inspires you creatively, makes you think, and reminds you of who you were before you became “mom.” Thank you for being here, for supporting my work in all the ways, and for walking beside me. I appreciate you so, so much.
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