Wednesday: Here's some resources to help those impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires.

Hi friends,

I wrestled a bit this morning on whether or not I was going to send a newsletter today…honestly, with the face of the devastation going on in LA currently, nothing I had to say felt very necessary or important.

But I’m sure I’m not alone in when seeing peoples homes and lives and families either directly or indirectly impacted by these awful fires and whether or not we personally are connected to it, we desperately want to help — and not helping feels pretty, well, helpless.

So, no industry insights or commentary this morning. Today, I just want to share some resources I Googled around to find that may help you help people who need it, and feel less helpless yourself in this rather helpless situation.

The escalating climate crisis has been an increasingly ever present threat to Los Angeles, and the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Relief Fund has been a mainstay to offer various types of assistance during several recent wildfire emergencies, but also give ongoing support after the news cameras go home — donating to them can help with ongoing community support, both for those displaced or who have resulting mental or physical health issues, but also with rebuilding and financial aid.

If you in the area, this is a good time to donate food to pantries and food banks (the LA Food Bank is a good place to start), and donate items such as diapers and formula, as people may have had to leave everything behind when they evacuated - Baby2Baby is a good starting point for these sort of donations.

There were reports on the news last night of animals displaced and roaming, especially wild ones, and those animals may need our help. Consider donating to the Humane Society, to help rescue the animals that need rescuing and support those animals that need our support.

If you are local and willing and able to volunteer, you may want to check in with California Volunteers to see where and how you can help.

Donate blood. I don’t know if there’s specifically a need for blood donation in this emergency as there’s not been talk yet of casualties (thank goodness), but I know personally speaking - whenever I’m overcome with helplessness as far as human lives in peril, donating blood has helped me. A donation of blood saved my life once upon a time and donating blood and knowing I’m saving other lives makes us all feel a little less helpless during helpless times - and, there’s always a need for blood donations, so take this opportunity to do that, too (you get free juice and cookies!).

If you have a friend or family member or colleague personally in need, maybe ask them to share their Amazon wish list so you can see what they specifically need (and I’m happy to share some here as well, going forward, as need continues.)

We’re a community, here. Here’s a great time to act like it and support one another.

Some news!

Every year, Muck Rack releases an annual list of the 10 most-viewed journalists of the year.

I’m so excited to share for the fourth year in a row, I made the list!

(Last year, I actually also topped their list of most popular food writers online, so I hope that happens again this year as well…crossing fingers!).

Thanks so, so much. In a world where being a freelancer can often be isolating and demoralizing, being recognized means all the world to me.

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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!

• Newsweek Readers Choice: Best Apres Ski Spots, Best Casinos with Live Music (outside Vegas), Best U.S. Wellness Resort, Best Packing Cube, Best Vodka, Best Gourmet Subscription Box, Best Mattress, and Best Outdoor Grill - more categories coming very soon!

• Travel & Leisure: A Travel Writer's $10 Amazon Packing Hack for Shoes

• Martha Stewart: 19 Walk-In Pantry Ideas for a More Organized, Stylish Space

• Forbes.com: Chef Nobu Matsuhisa Brings Gold Standard Sushi To This Year’s Golden Globe Awards

• Forbes.com: 8 Hot Toddy Variations To Try Just In Time For The Winter Chill

• Food Network: Starbucks Finally Adds Cortados to Its Menu

• Southern Living: Can You Eat Wilted Cilantro?

• Today.com: Do drugstore wrinkle creams really work? Experts weigh in

• Martha Stewart: 18 Coffee Table Décor Ideas That Blend Form and Function.

• Travel & Leisure: I Travel Solo Often, and I Won’t Stay in Another Airbnb Without Packing This 1 Safety Device

• Saatva: 5 Ways to Deal With Sleep Deprivation

• The Spruce: How to Add Storage to Your Kitchen Walls and Make the Most of the Vertical Space

• Southern Living: The 9 Best Bottles Of Bourbon, According To Southern Chefs And Bartenders

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.

Southern Living

Working on a story on How Playing "Check-in Chicken" Is A Hack To Get The Best Seats On Flights - would love travel experts and pro travelers to answer a few questions over email!

Apartment Therapy

Here’s a fun one: I’m asking Experts in the Adult Industry for the Best Way to Store Sex Toys: I’d love to speak to experts in the adult industry (performers, toy experts, etc.) and find out the best way to store sex toys and keep them organized as well as any tips on where not to store them because of any issues (cleanliness, etc.)

Forbes

Valentine’s Day will be here before we know it, and I’m looking for romantic cocktails available at bars and restaurants.

Also, I’ve done a lot of caviar dish roundups before, but now I’m working on one that is specifically caviar-centric cocktails…have any, email me!

For either of these, I want to see the following in pitches:

• The name of the cocktail

• where it’s available

• description (not a recipe)

• a quote about the cocktail

• an image (linked via dropbox, not attached please) with appropriate photo credit.

Please don’t pitch until or unless you have all that available. thanks!

Plate Magazine

I’m putting out bites/drinks of the week feelers, which is sort of a drink/dish spotlight piece. (Some examples are this Peruvian-inspired sweet potato in Savannah and a molecular banana daiquiri in Chicago.) Basically if you are pitching me something for this, think along the lines of: Is this dish/bite something new? What interesting techniques are used to make it come together? If the technique is simple, what’s the hook? An interesting ingredient? Something being made in house or in an interesting way? What’s the story behind the dish? What inspired it? Is there a cultural/family story behind the dish? An ingredient the chef got their hands on? Love to hear what you might have for me!

I’m also taking style-related pitches, obviously with the audience in mind: such as the the stories behind chefs who take their style seriously, but also various cooking styles, and how does style play a role, how does plating style affect how a dish tastes and sells? What does it mean to go from one cooking style to another in the course of a career, or operate restaurants that showcase various cooking styles?

Also taking After Dark-related pitches, as in everything that happens after dark—from late-night industry happy hours to night markets, such as the labor and techniques that take place in the kitchen (or parking lot) overnight—from BBQ to sous vide cooking and baking. I’m also looking for noteworthy bartenders to profile.

<3

aly