Open Secrets Magazine
Open Secrets Magazine, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, Dhana Musil, Alexandra Dane, Leslieann Hobayan, Casey Mulligan Walsh, Laura LeBleu, Jason Prokowiew, Lara Starr, Neil Serven, Blair Glaser, Athena Dixon, Marianna Marlowe, Katie Carter King, Lera Acey, Emily Rapp Black, Caroline Newton, Naomi Bindman, KC Courtland, Jill Rovitzky Black, Emmy FavillaOpen Secrets is a lit mag and community for memorable, revealing personal essays about all the subjects we're taught to keep "secret." Contact Editor Rachel Kramer Bussel at opensecretsmag at gmail.com
| Platform |  | Pricing | Freemium | Publishes | Daily |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 408 | Founded | 3 years ago | Last Issue | 3 days ago |
| Active | |||||
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opensecretsmagazine.comLatest Issues
September 2026 Book Club Pick: 'Portrait of a Mestiza' by Marianna Marlowe
Our September 2026 Open Secrets Book Club pick is memoir in essays Portrait of a Mestiza: A Life Between Cultures by Marianna Marlowe. You can get a taste of the book by reading Marianna’s essay, “Why My Friend’s Reaction to My Bracelet Cha...
The Awkward Psychic
Photo by Ioana Cristiana on Unsplash
Last spring, I was rushing through the city to meet a friend for lunch, pausing every few feet to hammer out a text to my husband. I furiously pecked at the screen, demanding that he immediately delete...
Volunteering With Dogs Who Die
The author with her goofy rescue dog Gizmo
It is Zion’s 348th day in the shelter.
He’s a skinny, chocolate-brown pittie with cropped ears, gray hairs dotting his muzzle just beginning to poke through—hints of the frosty face we had hoped...
Object-ives #46: Losing What She Touched
Playing Ellen’s guitar, wearing Ellen’s ring and the friendship bracelet she made for me; photo by Anthony Jancek
The rusty blue dumpster behind Second Chance Animal Shelter towers above me. Wedging one foot into a corner, I pull myself up...
Having a Drink with My Father
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
Bill’s first brand that I remember was a Schlitz tallboy. In the time before everyone recycled, the loud cans would roll out of the trash in our kitchen. As a child I assumed the name was onomatopoeic sinc...
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Authors
The writers behind this newsletter.
Open Secrets is a lit mag and community for memorable, revealing personal essays about all the subjects we're taught to keep “secret.”
Writer on motherhood, culture, books, personal finance, belonging and belongings. Editor of Open Secrets Magazine and host of podcast Finders and Keepers. https://rachelkramerbussel.com
An African feminist seeking sexual freedom.
Writer. Seeker. Collector of animals
Late-blooming writer & memoirist, Mom, Seattle devoted, bird at heart.
Poet. Storyteller. Activist. Professor. Host of the Spiritual Grit podcast. Author of Divorce Papers: A Slow Burn. Single Pinay mom to 3 almost-adult daughters musing on midlife, parenting, academia, social justice, and sometimes K-pop.
Casey Mulligan Walsh's work has appeared in The NY Times, HuffPost, Split Lip, WebMD, Modern Loss, and elsewhere. Her memoir, The Full Catastrophe (Motina Books), released in February 2025. Find Casey at www.caseymulliganwalsh.com.
Creator and founding editor of Geezer, the only print magazine just for Gen X.
Author of War Boys, a braided memoir about my Russian father’s adoption by Nazis during World War II and the trauma he carried into parenthood. Recently writing about life in my fat Queer body.
Publishing publicist, former radio producer, sometime cookbook author, low-key activist, and semi-pro thrift shopper. Storytelling is my superpower, and I only use it for good!
Writer of fiction & essays. Co-owner, Federal Street Books. Candlepin bowler. Language stuff. A lot of crank air. Used to write the dictionary. Western Massachusetts.
Writer and leadership consultant at The HI (Human Intelligence) Stack. Author THIS INCREDIBLE LONGING, Finding My Self in a Near-Cult Experience (Heliotrope). Undercover sorceress. More at www.blairglaser.com
Author of The Loneliness Files and The Incredible Shrinking Woman. Nonfiction Editor at Split/Lip Press. Music Lover. Philly via Ohio.
I'm a memoirist who lives in the SF Bay Area. I started writing creatively when I turned fifty and faced (for me) the dreaded empty nest. I love reading about the craft of writing and learning from different sources.
Writing about history and memory in the American South
Practicing Artist to Practical Nurse
Writer, professor, editor, book wizard, tiny business owner. I write sad books but I’m really funny. @circeconsulting @craftschool www.craft-school.net
Writing about beauty, power, belonging, and care in unstable systems to share what I've learned and help you feel less alone.
I am a poet, writer, musician, mother, activist, educator, gardener, baker, and lover of this planet and her beings. Things that sustain me are creativity, community, and being outdoors.
I live in California, where I work as a substitute teacher and spend the rest of my time lost in stories ... sometimes the ones I read, sometimes the ones I write.
Working on writing
Emmy Favilla is a New York–based writer and editor. Her essays have been published in Catapult, Pigeon Pages, BuzzFeed, Gloria and other outlets.
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