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We all have a place on the Wheel of Fate

May 27, 2025

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24 min read

We all have a place on the Wheel of Fate

A Q&A with 'Andor' writer Tom Bissell on narrative structure, quick deaths, and getting T-boned by Star Wars history.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
You don’t need heirloom tomatoes

May 20, 2025

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7 min read

You don’t need heirloom tomatoes

A Tuesday special: Five mini-essays in one newsletter!

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Please don't call this a blog

May 13, 2025

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8 min read

Please don't call this a blog

What am I even trying to do here?

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Is reality a rhetorical question?

May 8, 2025

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12 min read

Is reality a rhetorical question?

It takes a leap of faith to connect language and experience—and sometimes we land in the abyss.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Why did you steal my book, Mark Zuckerberg?

Mar 26, 2025

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8 min read

Why did you steal my book, Mark Zuckerberg?

Come on, it was 50% off on Amazon! You didn't have $10.50?

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
How to Write a Trying! Essay

Feb 8, 2025

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13 min read

How to Write a Trying! Essay

The secret recipe for literary genius—revealed at last after 100 emails!

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
The Sex Robot Murder Comedy

Feb 7, 2025

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7 min read

The Sex Robot Murder Comedy

On falling in love with a tossed-off phrase, and what that says about writing—my own and everyone else's.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Bloody and Awesome: A Profile of Adam Gidwitz

Jan 21, 2025

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25 min read

Bloody and Awesome: A Profile of Adam Gidwitz

The children's book author, known for his dark and hilarious tales, is focused on the 'harder questions' of growing up.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
'Y.M.C.A.' Is a Gay Anthem

Jan 17, 2025

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12 min read

'Y.M.C.A.' Is a Gay Anthem

Come see Roland Barthes battle the Village People in a knock-down, drag-out brawl!

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Sometimes Writing Is Hard

Jan 5, 2025

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7 min read

Sometimes Writing Is Hard

But only sometimes! And also: not really all that hard!

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
I Shoulda Been a Tradwife

Dec 26, 2024

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9 min read

I Shoulda Been a Tradwife

On large-format cooking, and larger-format writing.

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Words to Leave By

Dec 14, 2024

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7 min read

Words to Leave By

Welcome to Newspeak, the Matt Gross way!

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
How Writing Rewired My Brain

Dec 9, 2024

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11 min read

How Writing Rewired My Brain

Cogito ergo scribo!

Matt Gross
Matt Gross
Sugar Honey Iced Tea

Dec 3, 2024

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12 min read

Sugar Honey Iced Tea

Curses! Foiled again!

Matt Gross
Matt Gross

Trying!

Funny, weird, thought-provoking, and occasionally insightful essays and reportage, brought to you almost daily, by Matt Gross

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