“In ‘Vintage Contemporaries,’ A Young Woman Reconciles Her Idealism With the Realities of Adulthood in New York City,” Electric Literature, March 2023
Interview with author Dan Kois on the publishing industry, writing about race as a white person, and the gendered assumptions of friendship stories
“Non-Union Harper Employees Discuss Workload, In-House Morale, and Solidarity,” Publishers Lunch, February 2023
Reported article in series on three-month Harper Collins Union strike
“Book Critics Build Careers, But Can’t Make a Living,” Publishers Lunch, October 2022
Reported article on pay for book reviewers
“Publishing Workers Feel the Burn Out,” Publishers Lunch, September 2021
Reported article on pervasive burnout among publishing employees
“YA Grows Up: Teen Protagonists Step into Adulthood,” School Library Journal, April 2021
Reported print magazine feature on crossover YA books
“Five Years Later: On the Enduring Legacy of All American Boys,” LitHub, September 2020
Article examining what’s changed and what hasn’t since the publication of All American Boys
“Two Suicidal Teens, Four Possible Paths,” New York Times Book Review, September 2020
Review of Bill Konigsberg’s The Bridge
“Rereading the Master of ‘Dying Teen’ Lit,” LitHub, December 2019
Essay about my childhood obsession with Lurlene McDaniel books and the cultural appeal of “sick lit”
“Middle Grade Is Too Young, YA Too Old. Where Are the Just-Right Books for Tweens?,” School Library Journal, November 2019
Reported print magazine cover story about the need for books that fit tweens and young teens; winner of the Eddie Award for excellence in magazine media
“Why Aren’t Female Celebrities Writing More Novels?,” Slate, September 2019
Essay considering why famous men write fiction and famous women recommend it
“Losing My Religion at Christian Camp,” Longreads, August 2019
Essay about the way my decade at Christian summer camp both shaped and condemned my views of faith and girlhood
“Amber Tamblyn Wants You to Call Her Out,” Electric Literature, March 2019
Interview with Amber Tamblyn on intersectional feminism, problematic entertainment, and going public with her #MeToo stories
“This Book and Podcast Examine How We Consume Stories About Dead Girls,” Electric Literature, September 2018
Reported essay on crime novel
“Amanda Stern on Living with Anxiety in an Increasingly Scary World,” Electric Literature, August 2018
Interview with writer Amanda Stern
“Who Agrees That Swimming in the Ocean is Scary?,” Catapult, July 2018
Essay about fear, aging, and the beach
“‘Hey Ladies!’ Is An Utterly Relatable Parody Book That Hilariously Spoofs All Those Wild Group Emails With Your Girlfriends,” Bustle, May 2018
Article on Hey Ladies!, female friendships, and the ways we communicate online
“The Beautiful Nobody,” Los Angeles Review of Books, March 2018
Longform critical essay about the podcast Beautiful/Anonymous
“Truly, Brutally Alive: An Interview with Michael Parker,” TinHouse.com, January 2018
Interview with flash fiction writer
“Festive Fifty 2017,” Contrast Podcast, December 2017
A year-end music list; I discuss Kesha’s “Bastards” (#42), HAIM’s “Want You Back” (#35), and Jens Lekman’s “How We Met, The Long Version” (#32) and “To Know Your Mission” (#8)
“Before ‘The Disaster Artist’ Became A Film, It Was A Book About Two Men’s Friendship & The Worst Movie Ever Made,” Bustle, December 2017
Article on The Disaster Artist book and film, including interview with author Tom Bissell
“Author Robin Benway Was Rejected From Every MFA Program She Applied To — Now She’s A National Book Award Finalist,” Bustle, November 2017
Profile of National Book Award winner
“Home is Here,” The Rumpus, July 2017
Longform reported essay on the lives of four American Muslim women
“In Praise of an Ordinary Life,” Los Angeles Review of Books blog, March 2017
Book review essay about Amy Krouse Rosenthal, minutia, and boring lives
“KJ Keep Playing that Song: A Seven-Day Journey through Brooklyn’s Karaoke Bars,” Brokelyn, May 2016
A project in which I visited 9 karaoke bars in 10 days
“Unattainable Love,” Lost magazine, February 2011
Personal essay about love and change
Katy Hershberger 