Welcome!
The Spark is a newsletter for book nerds who have FOMO for what everyone’s talking about at the coolest lit parties, but don’t want to leave their house (if they don’t have to). This is where you’ll find my musings on how to get your writing out of your head and onto the page, my rantings and ravings about the patriarchy, the rituals, routines and recommendations of some of your favorite authors, designy stuff I love, #realtalk on how to cross the finish line of whatever you’re working on (an essay, book proposal, manuscript, or even just digging in the sandbox of your ideas), and my behind the scenes adventures in writing my own book.
Why should I care about what you have to say given my already crowded inbox?
Good question. I’m Ruthie Ackerman and I’m not only an accomplished editor, I’m a writer too. You can find my essays related to my forthcoming memoir in Vogue, The New York Times, Glamour, O Magazine, and more. My book, The Mother Code, will be published by Random House in 2025. Most recently, I was the Deputy Editor at ForbesWomen.
I’ve also worked with hundreds of writers to turn their ideas into narrative gold. My clients have received major non-fiction book deals with Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, and more. They’ve gotten agent representation by Aevitas Creative Management, Park & Fine Literary and Media and Janklow & Nesbit. And my clients’ essays have been published in The New York Times, Electric Literature, HuffPost Personals, Vogue, Cosmo, Catapult, Tablet, Health Magazine, New England Journal of Medicine, Well + Good and more.
I have a Masters in Journalism from New York University, which means I’m overeducated, underpaid and spent my career getting laid off from one media company after another. I write about the intersection of women, motherhood, and economics and live in Brooklyn with my husband, our daughter, Clementine, and her imaginary friend, Ball. When I’m not working at my desk that sits two feet from our bed, you can find me online on Instagram @ruackerman or sitting next to Ed Sheeran at Joe Coffee totally oblivious to the fact that he’s anyone famous.
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