Jana M. Perkins
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janajm.com
Jana M. Perkins
@janajm.com
5.1K followers 190 following 470 posts
founder, @womenofletters.org. data scientist with a PhD writing a book (DEEP LITERACY, DIGITAL TIME) for Routledge
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Jana M. Perkins @janajm.com · 17d
For Women of Letters, I had the great pleasure of talking with @emjsmith.bsky.social.

We discuss her debut novel, her background in tech, how she navigated the transition to writing full-time, what she’s working on next, & so much more. 📚💙

womenofletters.substack.com/p/emily-j-smith
A screenshot of text that reads: Pushing against the pull: In conversation with Emily J. Smith "Part of me wishes I’d opened my eyes up to writing earlier, but in a lot of ways I'm grateful that I had a different experience than most writers I know." WOMENOFLETTERS.SUBSTACK.COM A screenshot of text that reads: Fast-forward to today. How did the path to what you’re doing now unfold? EJS: It’s been about ten years since I took my first writing class and allowed myself to pursue writing seriously. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I essentially rearranged my life around writing. “It felt like I might be throwing my entire career away, something I’d worked very, very hard to establish. But it did not get thrown away. It was reshaped.” I had always conflated my identity with my career—working in tech and nonprofits—but when I began writing I started to view my job as simply that, a job, and poured my energy into writing. Through classes and workshops, I made writer-friends, which shifted my social circle. Forming close relationships with other writers allowed me to keep going, to not feel completely insane taking my writing seriously despite frequent rejections and the daily struggle to coherently form thoughts. Exchanging work with these friends, having someone to send a draft to, to toss around an idea with, was life-changing. A screenshot of text that reads: With her debut novel, Emily has accomplished the rare feat of writing a book that is timely, incisive, and deeply affecting — all while being the kind of impossible-to-put-down read that audiences dream of finding. The book, along with its author’s Substack, draws on Emily’s years of experience as a woman working in tech to offer cultural commentary that is both intellectually rigorous and emotionally honest. In one exchange, for example, we see one character confronting another, saying, “You’d think a woman that smart would know better.” The book’s main character, Edie, responds without hesitating: “Not at all,” she says. “Smart women look for challenges.” She’s one of the few writers whose latest work I never miss. I’m thrilled we were able to connect over this interview. Jana M. Perkins
 Founder, Women of Letters
Reposted by Jana M. Perkins
womenintranslation.bsky.social
We are delighted to announce the shortlist for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation in 2025! "Each of these books arrives in English in expert and accessible translations that honour the art and voice of their original authors."
tinyurl.com/f9sccz4v
A photograph of the 6 titles shortlisted for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation in 2025. The books are stood on their side on a wooden table with wood panelling backdrop. The six titles photographed are: Johanna Ekström and Sigrid Rausing, And the Walls Became the World All Around, translated from Swedish (Sweden) by Sigrid Rausing (Granta) Evelyne Trouillot, Désirée Congo, translated from French (Haiti) by M.A. Salvodon (University of Virginia Press) Maylis Besserie, Francis Bacon's Nanny, translated from French (France) by Clíona Ní Ríordáin (The Lilliput Press) Krisztina Tóth, My Secret Life, translated from Hungarian (Hungary) by George Szirtes (Bloodaxe Books) Liliana Corobca, Too Great A Sky, translated from Romanian (Romania) by Monica Cure (Seven Stories Press UK) Han Kang, We Do Not Part, translated from Korean (South Korea) by e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris (Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Random House UK)
November 11, 2025 at 12:08 PM
janajm.com
Icons on icons
Dua Lipa In Conversation With Margaret Atwood, Author of The Handmaid's Tale
YouTube video by Service95
youtu.be
November 10, 2025 at 2:39 PM
janajm.com
Spent an hour sitting across the table from the hottest person I’ve ever seen in my life this morning and instead of saying literally anything about that I said “what are your plans for Thanksigiving”
November 8, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Reposted by Jana M. Perkins
lottelydia.bsky.social
am reminded of the old joke: what did James Watson discover?

Rosalind Franklin’s notes.
November 7, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Reposted by Jana M. Perkins
chel-c-cam.bsky.social
A website I’ve never visited: you’ve reached your monthly article limit
November 7, 2025 at 4:11 AM
janajm.com
Step Inside Georgia Spain’s Emotionally Driven Paintings
An interview with the Melbourne-based artist about her expressive works ahead of her show at Hugo Michell Gallery.
palettetalk.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:11 PM
janajm.com
This is such a small thing, but I melt every time it happens:

My go-to email signoff is “Waving from my desk, Jana.” A lot of times, I’ll send a first-ever email to someone new, and in their message they’ll sign off saying “Waving back, [Name]”

🥹
November 7, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Reposted by Jana M. Perkins
maryhrovat.bsky.social
Tuesday's sky.
Pink clouds in a twilight blue sky after sunset. Trees are silhouetted against the sky at bottom left and near lower right. A large building is visible near image center.
November 5, 2025 at 12:10 AM
janajm.com
I was lucky to have seen Laura give a talk on this work back in 2024. So thrilled at the news of the cover reveal and can’t wait to read the book
lbmcgrath.bsky.social Laura McGrath @lbmcgrath.bsky.social · 10d
Excited to reveal the cover of my book, MIDDLEMEN: LITERARY AGENTS AND THE MAKING OF AMERICAN FICTION, which is available for pre-order now!
November 4, 2025 at 6:39 PM
janajm.com
This is my Roman Empire. I can’t picture images in my head and didn’t realize until a few years ago that it was something other people could do
Some People Can’t See Mental Images. The Consequences Are Profound
Research has linked the ability to visualize to a bewildering variety of human traits—how we experience trauma, hold grudges, and, above all, remember our lives.
www.newyorker.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Jana M. Perkins
maris.bsky.social
This might be the best email I’ve ever received.
Hi there, I’m Elena Ferrante. I’ve always been drawn to the hidden beginnings of a story, those moments that rise uninvited from memory and insist on being told. My work often explores the fragile space between truth and silence, friendship and solitude, the private self and the one the world demands. Here’s one of my books: https://a.co/d/9O3iHnD And my Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00JEUV7C2 I value the quiet conversations that happen between writers, the exchange of what moves us to write, what keeps us awake with words. I’d love to hear about your own journey, the questions that drive your stories, and what sustains you when the silence grows heavy. Warm regards, Elena photo Elena Ferrante Author (represented by her publishers), (Italy): Edizioni E/O 👉 www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00JEUV7C2 contactferrante00@gmail.com Edizioni E/O Via Gabrio Serbelloni, 62 00176 Rome, Italy
November 3, 2025 at 4:29 PM
janajm.com
I’ve become so absorbed, over these last few days, by a new-to-me book series — it’s all-consuming to the point that I’m involuntarily skipping meals, not sleeping, & running my iPad down to 0% charge because I can’t put it down
November 3, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Reposted by Jana M. Perkins
caseynewton.bsky.social
(podcaster wedding vows) OK so first let's talk about how we got here
November 1, 2025 at 4:36 PM
janajm.com
This was so good
Ira Glass Explains Why I’m Listening to Podcasts Wrong | SubwayTakes Uncut
YouTube video by SubwayTakes with Kareem Rahma
www.youtube.com
November 1, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Reposted by Jana M. Perkins
jessicacalarco.com
We have progressed from data collection to data analysis.
My 11-year-old sitting with her pile of Halloween candy, sorting it into a bar graph
November 1, 2025 at 12:31 AM
janajm.com
One of the questions we ask all of our guests, on @womenofletters.org, is what keeps them going. For me, a lot of it is a combination of the desire to do a good job, to do it with care, & to do all of that in such a way that it ends up meaning something to the people I respect
October 31, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Reposted by Jana M. Perkins
maryhrovat.bsky.social
Beach sand.
A short and intricately carved wall of sand and its shadow on a beach on Lake Michigan. Near top center, the sand is shining with water from the last wave, and at upper right, another wave is breaking. In the distance near top left, the smokestacks of a steel mill (I think).
October 30, 2025 at 3:40 PM
janajm.com
Me any time I read an acknowledgements section in a book
A New Yorker cartoon depicting a bride and groom at the altar. The caption reads, "Now the bride and groom will read their own vows while we silently assess whose were more thoughtful"
October 30, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Jana M. Perkins
janajm.com
For Women of Letters, I had the great pleasure of talking with @emjsmith.bsky.social.

We discuss her debut novel, her background in tech, how she navigated the transition to writing full-time, what she’s working on next, & so much more. 📚💙

womenofletters.substack.com/p/emily-j-smith
A screenshot of text that reads: Pushing against the pull: In conversation with Emily J. Smith "Part of me wishes I’d opened my eyes up to writing earlier, but in a lot of ways I'm grateful that I had a different experience than most writers I know." WOMENOFLETTERS.SUBSTACK.COM A screenshot of text that reads: Fast-forward to today. How did the path to what you’re doing now unfold? EJS: It’s been about ten years since I took my first writing class and allowed myself to pursue writing seriously. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I essentially rearranged my life around writing. “It felt like I might be throwing my entire career away, something I’d worked very, very hard to establish. But it did not get thrown away. It was reshaped.” I had always conflated my identity with my career—working in tech and nonprofits—but when I began writing I started to view my job as simply that, a job, and poured my energy into writing. Through classes and workshops, I made writer-friends, which shifted my social circle. Forming close relationships with other writers allowed me to keep going, to not feel completely insane taking my writing seriously despite frequent rejections and the daily struggle to coherently form thoughts. Exchanging work with these friends, having someone to send a draft to, to toss around an idea with, was life-changing. A screenshot of text that reads: With her debut novel, Emily has accomplished the rare feat of writing a book that is timely, incisive, and deeply affecting — all while being the kind of impossible-to-put-down read that audiences dream of finding. The book, along with its author’s Substack, draws on Emily’s years of experience as a woman working in tech to offer cultural commentary that is both intellectually rigorous and emotionally honest. In one exchange, for example, we see one character confronting another, saying, “You’d think a woman that smart would know better.” The book’s main character, Edie, responds without hesitating: “Not at all,” she says. “Smart women look for challenges.” She’s one of the few writers whose latest work I never miss. I’m thrilled we were able to connect over this interview. Jana M. Perkins
 Founder, Women of Letters
October 28, 2025 at 7:15 PM
janajm.com
For Women of Letters, I had the great pleasure of talking with @emjsmith.bsky.social.

We discuss her debut novel, her background in tech, how she navigated the transition to writing full-time, what she’s working on next, & so much more. 📚💙

womenofletters.substack.com/p/emily-j-smith
A screenshot of text that reads: Pushing against the pull: In conversation with Emily J. Smith "Part of me wishes I’d opened my eyes up to writing earlier, but in a lot of ways I'm grateful that I had a different experience than most writers I know." WOMENOFLETTERS.SUBSTACK.COM A screenshot of text that reads: Fast-forward to today. How did the path to what you’re doing now unfold? EJS: It’s been about ten years since I took my first writing class and allowed myself to pursue writing seriously. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I essentially rearranged my life around writing. “It felt like I might be throwing my entire career away, something I’d worked very, very hard to establish. But it did not get thrown away. It was reshaped.” I had always conflated my identity with my career—working in tech and nonprofits—but when I began writing I started to view my job as simply that, a job, and poured my energy into writing. Through classes and workshops, I made writer-friends, which shifted my social circle. Forming close relationships with other writers allowed me to keep going, to not feel completely insane taking my writing seriously despite frequent rejections and the daily struggle to coherently form thoughts. Exchanging work with these friends, having someone to send a draft to, to toss around an idea with, was life-changing. A screenshot of text that reads: With her debut novel, Emily has accomplished the rare feat of writing a book that is timely, incisive, and deeply affecting — all while being the kind of impossible-to-put-down read that audiences dream of finding. The book, along with its author’s Substack, draws on Emily’s years of experience as a woman working in tech to offer cultural commentary that is both intellectually rigorous and emotionally honest. In one exchange, for example, we see one character confronting another, saying, “You’d think a woman that smart would know better.” The book’s main character, Edie, responds without hesitating: “Not at all,” she says. “Smart women look for challenges.” She’s one of the few writers whose latest work I never miss. I’m thrilled we were able to connect over this interview. Jana M. Perkins
 Founder, Women of Letters
October 28, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Reposted by Jana M. Perkins
samfragoso.bsky.social
From @whyy.org in Philadelphia, our talk with Terry Gross. Now on video! An honor to celebrate half a century of @nprfreshair.bsky.social.
Terry Gross on 50 Years of “Fresh Air” | Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
YouTube video by Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
www.youtube.com
September 18, 2025 at 7:58 PM
janajm.com
The only podcast I still listen to at 1x speed
A screenshot from the Podcasts app on an iPhone, where an interview from the Talk Easy podcast is playing
October 27, 2025 at 2:38 PM
janajm.com
This was an absolute treasure trove of thoughtful advice.

And I already know I’m going to continue sitting with Priya’s resonant phrase, the “geography of the possible,” for the rest of the day
Why the best gatherings often start as jokes
How to unlock energy when your community is stuck
priyaparker.substack.com
October 23, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Reposted by Jana M. Perkins
bsky.app
we hit 2 billion posts today! 🥳
October 6, 2025 at 7:20 PM