Essay Desk

Longer pieces, one at a time

Features

Boston essay craft options from university writing programs to nonfiction imprints

Boston essay craft programs and journals span university MFA tracks, local magazines, small presses, workshops, and Boston.gov arts funding for writers.

  1. Which city magazines and alt-weeklies in Chicago, Seattle, and Austin buy essays?

    Features

  2. How to explain a technical mechanism without distorting it

    Guides

  3. Iowa City essay community, the Writers' Workshop and its affiliated festivals

    Features

  4. Public-domain and archival research at the Library of Congress for essay evidence

    Guides

  5. New York City submission paths: literary magazines, essay prizes, and publishers

    Features

  6. Cross-border submissions, US and Canadian literary magazine norms compared

    Rules

  7. US copyright registration and fair use for essayists quoting books, songs, and images

    Rules

  8. How reading fees and prize money work at US literary magazines

    Costs

  9. How US state libel and privacy rules shape personal essays about real people

    Rules

  10. How US university writing programs and AWP structure essay craft training

    Guides

  11. Explanatory essay guide for science and technology topics

    Guides

  12. Turning a popular-film reaction into a cultural argument: a case

    Features

  13. Revising a family story while protecting a private person: a case

    Features

  14. Revising an absolute claim into a defensible argument: a case

    Features

  15. Verifying a disputed historical anecdote for an essay: a worked case

    Features

  16. Rebuilding a shapeless first draft into a focused essay: a worked case

    Features

  17. Cultural criticism problems: plot summary, presentism and context collapse

    Rules

  18. Personal essay problems: manufactured epiphany, thin reflection and exposure

    Rules

  19. Logical fallacy problems: straw men, false choices and weak causation

    Rules

  20. Source laundering, quote dumping, patchwriting, and confirmation bias

    Rules

  21. Weak thesis, list structure, repetition, and unsupported claim problems

    Rules

  22. Argument map and claim-strength checklist

    Maintenance

  23. Argumentative essay guide: claims, reasons, warrants, and limits

    Guides

  24. How to build a personal essay from one consequential moment

    Guides

  25. How to build a claim-evidence-source note system

    Guides

  26. How to close-read an image, scene, song, or designed object

    Guides

  27. Cultural criticism evidence and context checklist

    Maintenance

  28. Cultural criticism guide: object, context, interpretation, and stakes

    Guides

  29. Essay planning, drafting, and structural review checklist

    Maintenance

  30. Essay research guide: questions, search paths, notes, and source judgment

    Guides

  31. Expository, analytical, argumentative, and reflective essays compared

    Reviews

  32. Essay writing fundamentals: question, thesis, structure, and evidence

    Guides

  33. Memoir, personal essay, diary, and autofiction compared

    Reviews

  34. Personal essay guide: scene, reflection, memory, and ethical limits

    Guides

  35. Personal narrative truth, privacy, and consent checklist

    Maintenance

  36. Deduction, induction, analogy, and causal reasoning compared

    Reviews

  37. Source use checklist: research trail, quotation, paraphrase and citation

    Maintenance

  38. Types of criticism compared: review, close reading, cultural essay and reportage

    Reviews

  39. Primary, secondary, reference, and commentary sources compared

    Reviews

  40. How to turn a broad topic into a workable essay question

    Guides

  41. How to write a fair counterargument and useful response

    Guides

Start here

Features

Boston essay craft options from university writing programs to nonfiction imprints

Boston essay craft programs and journals span university MFA tracks, local magazines, small presses, workshops, and Boston.gov arts funding for writers.

Practice Desk · · 7 min read

Features

Which city magazines and alt-weeklies in Chicago, Seattle, and Austin buy essays?

City magazines and alt-weeklies that buy essays in Chicago, Seattle, and Austin: their essay sections, flat fees, word counts, and pitch guidelines.

Costs Desk · · 11 min read

Features

Iowa City essay community, the Writers' Workshop and its affiliated festivals

Iowa City essay community: how the Writers' Workshop, its nonfiction track, festivals, readings and residencies shape a national essay scene.

Practice Desk · · 9 min read

Guides

Public-domain and archival research at the Library of Congress for essay evidence

Library of Congress research for essay evidence means using the catalog, Chronicling America, datasets and rights checks to build a citable archive trail.

Practice Desk · · 9 min read

Features

New York City submission paths: literary magazines, essay prizes, and publishers

New York City essay submission paths: literary magazines, essay prizes, and publishers, with reading periods, fees, and rights clauses explained.

Practice Desk · · 10 min read

Rules

Cross-border submissions, US and Canadian literary magazine norms compared

US and Canadian literary magazine norms compared: rights clauses, W-8BEN and W-9 tax forms, payment practices, and named journals on both sides.

Standards Desk · · 10 min read

Latest from Essay Desk

Features

Boston essay craft options from university writing programs to nonfiction imprints

Boston essay craft programs and journals span university MFA tracks, local magazines, small presses, workshops, and Boston.gov arts funding for writers.

Practice Desk · · 7 min read

Features

Which city magazines and alt-weeklies in Chicago, Seattle, and Austin buy essays?

City magazines and alt-weeklies that buy essays in Chicago, Seattle, and Austin: their essay sections, flat fees, word counts, and pitch guidelines.

Costs Desk · · 11 min read

Features

Iowa City essay community, the Writers' Workshop and its affiliated festivals

Iowa City essay community: how the Writers' Workshop, its nonfiction track, festivals, readings and residencies shape a national essay scene.

Practice Desk · · 9 min read