Women of Letters

“I didn’t figure it out till I was 40”: Candice Wuehle on her career as a novelist and cultural critic

Candice’s latest novel achieves what her widely celebrated Substack has consistently delivered: a sharp, nuanced critique of a key cultural moment, rendered with her characteristic verve. The book follows a pop star through her rise to fame in its examination of topics that have long been at the heart of Candice’s work, like how women in public are forced to become theorists of their own image or the intellectual labour that’s hidden inside pop culture. It’s a timely consideration that extends beyond the level of celebrity to also offer insight into the complexities of female friendship, what it means to wield power, models of mentorship, and the nature of success. It was a joy to talk with her about all of that and more when we spoke. P.S. I am so excited to be able to gift two copies of Candice’s latest amazing book, Ultranatural. Head over to our Substack [https://womenofletters.substack.com/p/candice-wuehle] to enter to receive your copy. 📚 — Candice Wuehle is a novelist, poet, and instructor teaching in the Honors Program at the University of Iowa. Her first novel, MONARCH, was selected as a Best Book of 2022 by NPR and her poetry collection, Death Industrial Complex, was a finalist for the Believer Magazine Book Award. Her latest novel, Ultranatural, follows a pop star reminiscent of Britney Spears as her highly surveilled and tightly controlled life contracts dangerously. Candice also runs the Substack newsletter Bimbo Summit: A Pop Culture Study, where she regularly writes about our relationship to modern day celebrity. She is from Iowa City, Iowa, where she currently resides. —— Song: “Walk Through the Park,” by TrackTribe

“Everything was building to this”: The Postscript

Each month, between interviews, I hop on the mic to share a new episode of The Postscript: a new section of Women of Letters I’ve been working on which features a life update from me + a behind-the-scenes look at my conversations with our recent guests. I talk about what my first month in Croatia has been like (both the good and the bad); how some of my other big moves over the years have gone and what I’ve learned from them that I’m applying to this one; why I always make it a priority to get things in writing; how I’ve recently gotten super into Instagram Reels, to the point that I now have 20 or 30 of them recorded on my phone; and  the way that seemingly small moments or interactions can radically reshape our lives. — Jana M. Perkins, PhD, is an award-winning scholar. Her research has garnered over a quarter of a million dollars in funding from leading institutions across North America and the UK, including the University of Cambridge and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). As a data scientist with a background in literary scholarship, her expertise extends across disciplines to yield the unique analytical frameworks which characterize her approach. Her forthcoming book [https://janajm.com/deep-literacy-digital-time/], co-authored with Miranda Dunham-Hickman, will be published by Routledge. Visit her online at janajm.com [http://janajm.com] or @janajm [https://www.instagram.com/janajm] on Instagram. —— Song: “Walk Through the Park,” by TrackTribe

“I never intended to publish it”: Claire Jia on her career as a novelist and screenwriter

If you’ve been a longtime reader, you’ll know that two of the subjects I most regularly gravitate towards in my personal reading are books about female friendship and books about the diaspora experience. So you can only imagine my delight at discovering Claire’s debut novel, Wanting, which contends with both. In addition to having been called “Ferrante-like” by the New York Times Book Review, her novel has also been declared a best book of the summer by outlets ranging from LitHub to Harper’s Bazaar. I was grateful to have a chance to sit down with her and learn more about how her experiences living between two different countries as a Chinese-American have shaped the way she approaches her career. P.S. I am so excited to be able to gift two copies of Claire’s amazing book, Wanting. Head over to our Substack [https://womenofletters.substack.com/p/claire-jia] to enter to receive your copy. 📚 — Claire Jia is a writer from the suburbs of Chicago. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Modern Love column, The Rumpus, Reductress, and more. She writes for television and video games, including the 2023 Peabody Award-winning We Are OFK. Her family is from Beijing, and there’s nothing she loves more than haggling for stationary in a chaotic Beijing marketplace. Today, she lives in Los Angeles with her friends. Wanting is her debut novel. —— Song: “Walk Through the Park,” by TrackTribe

“There is never a point at which people will stop doubting you”: The Postscript

Each month, between interviews, I hop on the mic to share a new episode of The Postscript: a new section of Women of Letters I’ve been working on which features a life update from me + a behind-the-scenes look at my conversations with our recent guests. In this episode, I talk about finally having my tickets to Croatia booked (!) and the search for an apartment, New York Magazine’s article on how much money people make, the importance of introducing structure into your routine when you’re making a major life change, why the myth of the straight career path is damaging, the wrong thing to say when someone shares some big news with you, the way to get closer to a ‘yes’ from the gatekeepers standing in the way of a goal, & my best advice for how to improve your writing. — Jana M. Perkins, PhD, is an award-winning scholar. Her research has garnered over a quarter of a million dollars in funding from leading institutions across North America and the UK, including the University of Cambridge and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). As a data scientist with a background in literary scholarship, her expertise extends across disciplines to yield the unique analytical frameworks which characterize her approach. Her forthcoming book [https://janajm.com/deep-literacy-digital-time/], co-authored with Miranda Dunham-Hickman, will be published by Routledge. Visit her online at janajm.com [http://janajm.com] or @janajm [https://www.instagram.com/janajm] on Instagram. —— Song: “Walk Through the Park,” by TrackTribe

“I think whole is always better than good”: Savala Nolan on her career as an essayist and professor

With her latest book, Savala has accomplished the rare feat of building on a widely celebrated first book with a second book that—already, in its first month post-publication—is on track to be equally if not more so. (Ms. Magazine, for example, has proclaimed it a most anticipated feminist book of 2026.) The 12 timely essays of Good Woman: A Reckoning offer a striking blend of cultural commentary, reporting, and memoir across topics like the surge in GLP-1 messaging that’s reshaping expectations around our bodies; the ways that racism amplifies misogyny; how women have been socialized to be agreeable and ‘good’; and why compliance didn’t bring her wholeness, happiness, or safety. It was a joy, when we spoke, to get to learn more about this collection alongside the experiences that have shaped her career. P.S. I am so excited to be able to gift two copies of Savala’s latest amazing book, Good Woman. Head over to our Substack [https://womenofletters.substack.com/p/savala-nolan] to enter to receive your copy. 📚 — Savala Nolan is an essayist and professor who writes about race, bodies, and gender. She helped create the Peabody Award–winning podcast The Promise, and directs the social justice program at UC Berkeley, School of Law, where she teaches about the role of identity in lawyering. Her work has been featured in Vogue, Harper’s magazine, The New York Times Book Review, NPR, Time, Forbes, LitHub, and more. —— Song: “Walk Through the Park,” by TrackTribe