Amelia Brooks

How I work

Literary journalism lives or dies on preparation and trust, and I take both seriously. Before any interview I read the work closely, not just the new book but earlier work too, because the most interesting questions usually come from noticing patterns across a body of writing that the author hasn't been directly asked about yet. I research the writer's public record without letting it become a script, because the goal is a real conversation, not a walkthrough of the press kit. After interviews I fact-check quotes and context carefully before publication, and I give subjects the opportunity to clarify anything that might have shifted in translation from spoken to written. For articles that go beyond interviews into craft or publishing topics I draw on a decade of accumulated conversations with writers at every career stage, which gives me a reference point for what's genuinely common experience versus what's one person's particular circumstance. I'm also honest when my own reading taste is influencing a recommendation, because readers deserve to know the lens they're looking through.