Monday: Back in NYC and the Thanksgiving countdown is ON!

Also: Final week to take care of my 50% subscription sale!

Good morning!

I’m back from Dallas and now I’m home with a lot going on this week…

I’m prepping for a consulting session this morning (if you are interested in booking one for your team, drop me an email — I’m all booked for November but have availability in December and would love to chat!), and looking forward to my next trip — kind of a different kind of departure for me.

Next week I’m headed to Miami for a christening sailing of a new cruise ship, and it’s a big deal for me because I generally am NOT a cruise person (it’s been over a decade since I’ve last done a cruise press trip!). But I’m really excited about this one — one of my best friends will also be on the trip, it looks like a beautiful ship, and lets face it — we can all use some sunshine and smooth sailing in our topsy turvy life right now. So, I’m excited to be doing all sorts of sharing and posting (and Substacking!) from that cruise next week…and who knows, maybe I’ll emerge a person into cruising!

But of course, before next week is THIS week - and it’s Thanksgiving! It’s the biggest cooking/eating week of the year - and for a person that lives and breathes cooking and writing about food, this is sort of my Super Bowl.

To that end, I have lots of fresh content to send your way, from my latest for Forbes: Creative Variations On A Traditional Thanksgiving Meal, and for The Kitchn: 11 Best Breads for Thanksgiving Stuffing, According to Chefs. For Clean Plates, 7 Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes That You’ll Love (We Promise!) and 11 Trader Joe’s Thanksgiving Staples Nutritionists Love, and for Eat This/Not That, 12 Thanksgiving Side Dishes You Can Make in the Air Fryer.

For Forbes, some Thanksgiving cocktails to be grateful for this season, and for Southern Living, how to travel with food this Thanksgiving.

Finally, because we love our fur babies — here’s the lowdown on what dogs can eat at Thanksgiving (and CANNOT EAT). My story for Pawp.

PS: Remember last year when I was interviewed by the New York Post and chatted about why air frying your Thanksgiving turkey is a fun idea? Well, hold that thought because this week I’m going to do just that with a new air fryer that I was sent that is big enough to hold a turkey! Be sure to watch my Instagram stories come Thursday AM…

Reminder: it’s the final week to take advantage of my 50% Thanksgiving promotion - upgrading your subscription now will give you access to my industry commentary supplemental newsletters as well as upcoming Zoom sessions where you can ask me literally anything!

Newly published or freshly updated

Since people are often asking about the status of stories from a while ago, and I only share stories in this newsletter that were published or updated in the current week, I have created a list of my author pages at various publications to which I contribute. Bookmark it and make your life a bit easier.

This list will live on my Substack URL and be updated as necessary. That way, you can see what I’m doing at any publication, at any time, from types of stories to general structure of stories to even volume and frequency of my content at that outlet.

This can also help you to target pitching a bit better. That makes your job easier, and mine too!

• Forbes: Creative Variations On A Traditional Thanksgiving Meal

• The Kitchn: 11 Best Breads for Thanksgiving Stuffing, According to Chefs

• Clean Plates: I’m a Food Writer and These 7 Trader Joe’s Meals Are Always Stocked in My Freezer

• Clean Plates: 8 Frozen Foods at Trader Joe’s Nutritionists Love to Buy

• YourTango: 16 Easy Ways To Immediately Look Younger Longer, As Recommended By Dermatologists

• Forbes.com: Two Beloved Cuisines Marry At Curry Pizza House Las Vegas

• Forbes.com: Ming Tsai’s MingsBings Has Added A Meaty Addition To Its Lineup

• Food Network: You Can Buy Just About Anything Inside an Olive Garden – Including Its Cheese Graters

• Forbes.com: Holiday Gift Guide 2023: The Best Gifts For The Meat Lover

• Forbes.com: Holiday Gift Guide 2023: The Best Gifts For The Sushi Lover

• HerMoney: The Best Free Or Low Cost Sleep Apps

• Forbes.com: Holiday Gift Guide 2023: The Best Pink Kitchen Gifts For Barbie Lovers

• RetailMeNot: Where to Get Free Food Today (and Every Day of the Week)

• Travel & Leisure: I'm a Longtime Solo Traveler, and These Are The 12 Best Personal Safety Devices on Sale at Amazon

• Travel & Leisure: Travelers Are Using This Flight Attendant-approved Gadget to Get More Space on Planes — and It Only Costs $13

• Travel & Leisure: The Flight Attendant-approved Hack I Swear by for Getting Through the Airport Stress-free Is Just $10 Right Now

• Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and I Swear by This $9 Trick for Keeping My Feet Comfortable While Sightseeing

• Travel & Leisure: Frequent Fliers Say This Genius Hack Makes It Feel Like They've Upgraded Their Seat — and It's Only $35

  If you or your client are featured in any of these stories, I super appreciate any social media shares! Please remember to tag @alywalansky and the outlet.

Here’s what I’m working on:

Be sure to read the below list carefully. Many are stories I posted about yesterday, but some of yesterday's stories are no longer listed and a few new ones have been added since yesterday. This (below) is everything that is still a currently open opportunity as of today.

Please remember when pitching me: Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com - do NOT just hit reply on this newsletter, or there’s a good shot your email will be lost in the heap. Give your email a subject line that makes it clear which story you are pitching me for — it’ll help you in the long run.

Please consult my industry insights guides on submitting expert commentary, sending emails that will catch a journalist’s attention, how to craft pitches journalists will say ‘yes’ to, and the right and wrong way to submit photos, if you need any extra guidance before sending your pitches.

RetailMeNot

For RetailMeNot, I’m updating my New Years store hours guide from last season. I’m looking to maintain the same format and the same stores, just needs to be updated for 2023. So: If you or your client was included in last year’s guide, I would so appreciate if you can drop me a quick note and confirm the open/closed/modified hours info is still the same - or if it’s not. Otherwise, I’ll be reaching out soon!

I’m ALSO updating my Stores Open Christmas Day + Christmas Eve Store Hours guide from last year. Same guidelines as above applies!

Forbes.com

For Forbes, I’m rounding up creative Hanukkah-themed dishes and cocktails at restaurant and bars around the country. If you have any, please send details (usual format!)

Looking to up your affiliate marketing game?

Affiliate marketing is complicated, and it seems that the landscape keeps changing. If you are looking to be prepared for gift guide season and all other shopping-related content, you may want to try the Ultimate Masterclass and Introduction to Affiliate Marketing for Publicists. It's a brilliant course and it'll answer all your questions (including some you didn't know you had!)

Virtual (and now in-person!) consulting sessions...

Looking for a consult as you plan your next event or trip? Or just want someone to take a look at the pitches you’ve been sending and give some feedback? I’m available for PR team virtual meetings to answer questions about pitching, events, and trips from a media perspective.  Note: I’m also available to travel for consulting sessions as long as travel expenses are covered. We can chat! This is available for entire agencies or smaller group lunch and learn type concepts.

Have a great day!

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