This is not a gift guide

It's a witch guide

A few times a year, I ask the paid subscribers if they (or someone awesome they know) have a project, publication, business, product, or skill they’d like to promote in this space. This is the holiday 2022 edition! You might find a new book to order for a friend here for the holidays, or you might find someone to hire for a project or an expert whose newsletter you want to read or someone to do voiceover work or edit your thing or ghostwrite for someone you know or do translation for you or teach you Pilates or sell you some cute clothes and on and on. Witches are amazing people, and even if you’re not shopping, you should see what just a sampling of us get up to.

If you want to promote your own project/business/anything please go ahead in the comments. If you want to be one of the people whose business gets emailed out the next time I do one of these (probably spring/summer), become a paid subscriber.

If you contact any of these people directly, let them know you found them via the newsletter. And if you’re a witch who mentioned your thing here and noticed a sale or uptick in subscriptions, please let me know—I love hearing when this experiment pays off.

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My upcoming book, FAT TALK: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture explodes the myth of the "childhood obesity epidemic" and gives parents strategies for unlearning bias and raising kids in a fatphobic world. It comes out April 25 and you can preorder from all the places here.

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I have been writing my newsletter Leave it to Leonor for six years and I still love it so much! Every Thursday, you'll receive curated recommendations on what to read, watch, listen to, places to go, things to see, and internet happenings, all framed by a personal essay. Plus sometimes I have really incredible guest writers!

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In 2021 I published an inclusive anti-guide for all kinds of new parents called "You Look Tired: An Excruciatingly Honest Guide to New Parenthood." It has funny essays and great illustrations and charts and stuff. I think the sweet spot is postpartum moms and people who remember that part reeeeeeally well. Folks can order it through their local indies, or through Bookshop.org!

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I wrote a humorous advice book for introverted new parents — Babies Don't Make Small Talk (So Why Should I?): The perfect gift for the overstimulated new parent in your life looking for more alone time and comic relief.

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Time to Write is a free weekly writing community I will be facilitating on Zoom beginning in January. We will meet Wednesday mornings to write together for an hour.

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Jess Grose, a friend of many witches and one of my favorite people, has a new book coming out today, and it's SO GOOD. Everyone who's a mom or had a mom or knows a mom should read it! It's called Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood, and you can buy it here.

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Bring it On: The Complete Story of the Cheerleading Movie That Changed, Like, Everything (No, Seriously) is a brand-new book by superwitchy and hilarious mom friend Kase Wickman! This is great reporting about an incredibly rich topic and (like everything Kase does) compulsively readable. Here's an excerpt.

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Board books with quotable Shakespeare text and gorgeous, vivid illustrations became my passion project when I was worried my brain would melt from too many cutesy alphabet rhymes. I have one featuring the songs from The Tempest and one for A Midsummer Night’s Dream—the incredibly talented illustrator and I made sure they would be super fun for toddlers with a story and lots of animal noises, but with an artistic sensibility so the 900th reading is fun for parents, too.

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Check out my Poshmark closet. Mention you are a witch and I’ll give you a discount!

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I help witches share their ideas in clear, compelling writing and feel good while you're doing it—because the writing process doesn't have to be just one more thing sucking you dry. That includes sessions to tune up your workspace and body habits for fresh energy and focus, so conscious and subconscious discomforts don’t take up valuable brain power that could be going to your ideas, instead. I also do editing to make your nonfiction book, article, etc. really damn good, and coaching for stuck or drained nonfiction writers desperate to persevere even through the whirlwind of witch life.

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I have a gardening podcast called LEAFING OUT! We're not gardening experts, we're relative newbies who are sharing what we're learning as we attempt to figure out stuff like native plants, composting, low-mow lawns, growing vegetables and herbs, house plants, and more. Come learn with us and laugh at our many mistakes as we attempt to create the witchy woodland backyard wonderland of our dreams.

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My sister Nicole posts her sewing adventures here. She has tested patterns for a few companies and made bras, underwear, dresses, pants, bathing suits, Halloween costumes, fanny packs, and more. It's fascinating to see what's possible outside of fast fashion.

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I am a ghostwriter & editor - I write & edit blog posts, articles, & books for people who have some expertise to share with the world. Alas, most of the people who believe they have important thoughts to share are white men. If you know any witchy women who want help with a professional blog or nonfiction book proposal/manuscript, please send them my way!!

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My friend makes and sells candles inspired by historic events and they're AMAZING. It's been great to see her nerdy hobbies combine into a legit small business that has a following at her local farmers market.

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I do voice over! Mostly nonfiction audiobooks and some commercial work, but I also do fiction and am starting to get into the corporate narration and eLearning space. So if you've written a book or need a project voiced, and are looking for an approachable, warm sound, pop on over to my site and check me out. 

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I'm a freelance editor. I mostly do academic stuff, but can help with any sort of writing that needs a little love to get its point across.

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I am a food stylist & content creation coach. Check out my podcast Show Up Fully, where I share actionable tips & journal prompts in short podcast snacks & full length interviews with creatives and entrepreneurs. You can also find me on Instagram here. I also have a freebie that I share with communities: The Social Media Meditation + Affirmation Toolkit. You send out a vibrational energy in anything you create and choose to share. This is simply not something that is taught but is important especially if you are sensitive or empathic person. Social media creation and consumption can lead to overwhelm and burnout.

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MagdaBrown.com is a place to share my grandmother's story of surviving the Holocaust and honor her incredible legacy. Well into her 90s, my grandmother, Magda Brown, traveled the world on a mission to tell her harrowing story of surviving Auschwitz and to share three key lessons with her audiences: Think before you hate. Protect your freedom. Stand up to the deniers.

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Writing witches: do you want someone to say you're not doing it wrong? Listen to Marginally Podcast, join our supportive community of writers in monthly write-ins, and/or subscribe to our newsletter. We're all about building sustainable routines that work for you, not hustle culture. We promise to never tell you to wake up at 4 a.m. to get the writing done. Follow us on Instagram for bonus tarot and cat content.

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Want to raise a reader? Can we read? is your weekly guide to children's books and how to build a culture of reading in your home. Let me save you the time, energy, and emotional labor of finding excellent books so you have more bandwidth for what really matters: reading together.

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Three years ago, I left my marriage of 19 years to journey into single co-parenthood with a 4-year-old, two years ago I quit my cushy corporate job to build a solo coaching practice, and one year-ago I was diagnosed with ADHD at age 40 after a lifetime of masking--and I’m still unwinding the shame-monster that went with being undiagnosed and perpetually feeling like there was something wrong with me.    I offer coaching for people in transition, for those who feel stuck, and for those who believe they were meant for something more. I also host leadership workshops and retreats in the Chicagoland area as well as integration circles for those exploring therapeutic use of earth medicines.  Curious to learn more? Sign up for a free info call or email to connect!

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I translate never-before-translated books from German to English, especially ones that were overlooked because they are so original, odd, or artsy. My most recent translation is an offbeat early sci-fi comic modernist feminist one, Paul Scheerbart's 1906 novel Munchausen and Clarissa: a Berlin Novel. People like Walter Gropius and Walter Benjamin loved Scheerbart and his utopian novels. My witchiest translation is Unica Zürn's The Trumpets of Jericho. It's a very cool and disturbing, powerful and visceral novella about childbirth, poem-making, and the imaginative act of creation.

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Republic Restoratives Distillery is a women-owned and led distillery in Washington DC.  Previously our spirits were only available locally but we just launched our national shipping site!  We donate a portion of most spirit sales to something important to us.  Recently we've donated a portion of our Dissent Gin sales to the National Network of Abortion Funds and a portion of our Civic Pride sales to the Colorado Healing Fund.  Most importantly it keeps me and a small but mighty team of folks well employed. 

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I am offering 50-minute mat Pilates classes (or on a reformer if you have one) via zoom for 30 bucks a session.    I like to do a full postural assessment and then tailor each session to your unique needs.  I’ll even give you a home exercise program…or not…either way, you rock! Follow me on Instagram and/or drop me an email if you’re curious to learn more: Gillingham.pilates@gmail.com

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Got boys? So do I — 4 of them! My weekly newsletter, Building Boys Bulletin, will help you understand & connect w your boys. Makes a great gift for fellow #boymoms & teachers too! You can also pre-order my second book, Building Boys: Raising Great Guys in a World That Misunderstands Males. The book will be out in early April 2023, so if you order now, you can be pleasantly surprised when it shows up at your door!

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I offer communications strategy and messaging support for nonprofit and for-profit clients in several cities, and as part of that, do some speechwriting work, but I'd like to do more! I've written for nonprofit CEOs, tech company C-Level folk, etc., but would love for 2023 to be the year that I do lots more of this type of work. If you or someone you know needs a speech written — for an event, a keynote, an award presentation, etc. — I'd love to support you in finding exactly the right words to move your audiences. 

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Learn how to let go and become kinder to yourself and others. Join the 8-week virtual Stress Management through Mindfulness and Compassion course starting on Tuesday, January 24th from 8am - 9am (CST). This course teaches practical techniques to increase mindful awareness, cultivate kindness and compassion, and reduce stress in everyday life. This is a perfect way to start the new year! Sign up here: Mindfulness & Compassion Course

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My latest novel, Any Other Family, is about of three women who happen to be adoptive mothers of biological siblings. It's the story of trying to build a new family through open adoption and of how to be a person and a mother at the same time. It's perfect for book clubs (you should invite me to Zoom in for your discussion!), and for anyone wrestling with family and parenthood and their own emotional baggage.

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I create a biweekly illustrated newsletter, Somebody Might Enjoy This. I write about channeling my dead father, making things, going outside, and how all of that overlaps with self-employment. My friends have described it as “a keen sense of how to use line + humor + color in a very sharp, focused way” and “zooming in on small moments and recognizing the big in them”.

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Are you a UK witch whose child has Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND)? Me too, and choosing a school can be harder than it needs to be. I'm an education analyst, building a free website for parents to find and understand the data more easily. If you'd like to hear more, email sendschoolchoice@gmail.com .

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When everyone and their brother decided to start baking sourdough in the darkest months of 2020, I knew it was time to finally pitch my book, The Sacred Life of Bread: Uncovering the Meaning of an Ordinary Loaf, which is about how the practice of baking and eating bread (and even growing the wheat for the flour) offers a glimpse into deeper things such as family, spiritual practices, tradition, wisdom, and community. I’m an Episcopal priest, so I naturally write from a Christian perspective, but that’s not the same perspective as your weird, Trump-loving, gun-toting, judgmental cousin who wants to know if you’ve been saved. Not even close. Think Anne Lamott (a fellow Episcopalian!) but in covered in flour. It comes out in June 2023, but is available for pre-order from all major retailers (and would make a great gift for your weird cousin and everyone else who has a sourdough languishing in the back of their fridge).

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If a reader needs some financial knowledge to cast stunning spells at work, check out my two revised books: Options Trading and Hedge Funds for Dummies.

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My "Writing for Graduate Students" professor has started her own consulting/coaching business. I really enjoyed her writing class in grad school at Texas A&M. She helped us set up systems, (writing groups, writing logs, templates, checklists, etc) to succeed,  and also fostered an incredibly welcoming and motivational environment in class.

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Finally, I’ll promote two things myself (this is Claire again.) My “Pitches that Worked” guide for freelancers, which includes real pitches I sold to publications along with annotations pointing out the general ‘formula’ other freelancers can borrow from for their own pitches. Also, as much as I don’t want to say anything nice about my husband, he is a very talented and professional film editor, director, and animator and has worked for clients like Coors, Graduate Hotels, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and for artists you might know like Steve Martin and Ke$ha. Also, I named his company, so, it’s basically my company. I am the director now.

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End credits

One quick thing before my usual end-of-newsletter spiel. A freelancer friend is looking for sources for a story for New York magazine and wants to hear if anyone has said “No gifts” on a kids’ party invitation and how that worked for them. If you have a good/funny story about that and don’t mind being quoted, drop her a line at emilgou@gmail.com

End of newsletter spiel: Thanks for reading Evil Witches, a newsletter for people who happen to be mothers. If you haven’t yet, I hope you consider becoming a paid subscriber which gets you bonus content and helpful/honest/fun members-only threads.

If you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions for the newsletter, you can reply to this email or talk to other witches on Twitter, not because I think Twitter is super awesome lately, I just can’t deal with digital transformation on top of everything else right now.

The archives live here. Some posts and threads from the recent and distant past include the holiday grind for moms, The 12 days of Christmas parties with a toddler, being an interfaith witch who has to deal with Christmas, and holiday snacks.

I’ll be on break some smudgy period around late December and early January depending on break and who is sick or not.

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One witchy thing