Welcome to New Material Girl
Where language, culture, and the internet collide:
New Material Girl is a newsletter about literature and its relationship to the world. It is interested in understanding the humanities the way humanists do, and using criticism and theory as tools to expand on everyday experiences.
About Me
Like you, I fell in love with words early. I grew up in Massachusetts—but really, I grew up online.
As a teenager, I started my first blog, then launched a digital marketing agency at 15. At 17, I was named one of Boston’s Top 25 Under 25 by the Boston Business Journal. While studying English and Linguistics at Stanford, I led marketing teams at tech startups. Today, I’m the founder and chief publicist of Punctuation PR, a publicity and marketing agency for writers and thinkers. I live in Los Angeles.
What I miss most about college is reading theory, designing research experiments, and—somehow—writing endless essays. My research used discourse analysis from linguistics to study dialogue in contemporary novels, and I still like to think of myself as a budding sociolinguist. This newsletter is my way of staying in conversation with the ideas I love.
When I’m not working, I’m thinking: while I cook, walk, or spend time outdoors. I love museums and galleries, and I firmly believe anyone can change their life—and maybe even the world—with nothing more than a library card.
Why Subscribe?
I believe in the public humanities—the idea that academic work should live in the world, not within the confines of ivy-covered walls. I try to post an essay every Tuesday and a paid-only exclusive every other Thursday.
On principle, my essays themselves will always remain free and accessible to all—because ideas should be shared widely. However, by becoming a paid subscriber, you can help sustain my independent writing and keep my research public.
Here’s what paid subscribers receive:
Exclusive Content:
Curated reading lists featuring the books, articles, and papers that inspire my essays.
Monthly AMAs to discuss linguistics, literary theory, or whatever else is on your mind.
Behind-the-scenes insights into my research and writing process.
Subscriber-Only Chat: Connect with a community of curious, thoughtful readers.
Founding members will also receive an NMG care package—including stickers and a hand-selected copy of a book I’ve explored on my blog, like Stoner by John Williams from this popular post.
Join the Conversation
If you’re curious about language and culture, subscribe to New Material Girl. It’d be pretty ironic if I didn’t love hearing from people, so please write to me!
I’m grateful you’re here.
