I’m rushing around because I leave tomorrow to teach at my Magical Morocco writing retreat! (Hence no Office Hours this month). We have seven students, two spouses and one friend. There will be 10 of us, in addition to my partner Sanaa Boutayeb and my husband Owen.
I’ve never been to Morocco but I’ve wanted to go since I first heard the 1969 song The Marrakesh Express by Crosby, Stills & Nash. The line “Striped djellabas we can wear at home” stayed with me. Maybe I’ll buy one of those loose caftan-like robes, slip it on when I get home, brew some mint tea, and revisit that song of my youth.
I was interested in travel and food writing once. I wrote a few features in publications that are no longer around, mostly about restaurants abroad. Then I took a class on travel writing. By the end of it, I decided I’d rather enjoy myself on vacation and not work on a story.
A dear friend (and one of the two copy editors of this newsletter) saved a postcard I wrote to her 40 years ago. It was soon after China opened to tourists after decades of isolation. If you can’t read my handwriting above:
“We have done some very strange things here. Stranded at the Holiday Inn in Beijing, we couldn’t decide whether to eat a hamburger while in China, or eat Chinese food in a Holiday Inn. We chose the former, and minutes later a hamburger appeared, but 4 waitresses took it and fries and disappeared into a storage close it to eat it. We also went bowling! On the same day we went to the Great Wall. You can get frozen Sarah Lee Cheesecake here. This is not what we expected.”
When I look back at my past writing, I’m never sure whether I’m going to like it. But this time I was pleased because I sound like someone fun — someone I’d like to know. Do you go through this also, looking at your older writing? Do you feel apprehension about reading it? Are you pleasantly surprised most of the time, or do you think you have improved?
My Morocco students and I will venture into travel writing during the workshop, exploring the sites and eating tagines, B’stilla, cooked salads and freshly grilled fish.
For my writing lectures, my students chose these as the most popular subjects in my survey:
Voice and why it matters
Elements of storytelling
Writing with the senses
How to write recipes that work
Editing your own work.
If these topics resonate for you, here are links to how-to pieces by me and others:
I’ll just say “Waqtan tawilan hataa alan,” or “So long for now,” in Arabic. See you after my big adventure!
What I’m Reading
The Best New Cookbooks of Spring 2026, chosen and cooked from by the staff of Bon Appetit.
23 of the Best Cookbooks for Spring 2026. From The Los Angeles Times. I’m so proud of Monti Carlo and Mia Castro, whose cookbooks are featured here. I coached both of them on their cookbook proposals. Naoko Moore’s donabe pot cookbook also made the list. I coached her on the proposal for her first book.
The 10 Best Cookbooks of 2026 So Far. Harper’s Bazaar also included Mia Castro’s cookbook.
The 6 New Food Books We’re Devouring This Spring. Eater discusses memoirs and a book about the history of French Cuisine.
The Hot Plate with Kyle Tibbs Jones. A long interview with one of the founders of The Bitter Southerner, an award-winning site of long-form journalism, which eventually gets around to what she’s looking for in a freelance story pitch and writer.
Ravenous is a new food and culture site started by award-winning food journalists.
I Wrote a Cookbook and Now I Know Too Much. Solha El-Waylly weighs in on new Spring cookbooks and her desire to get on The New York Times bestseller list.
What Is the Role of a Literary Agent? Sally Ekus explains. Also see How to Write a Cookbook Proposal and Land a Book Deal with Sally Ekus, a Food Blogger Pro podcast.
Do We Still Need Agents? Which is actually about the pros and cons of self-publishing.
Recipe Writing with Real Cooks in Mind. Molly Stevens, co-host of Everything Cookbooks, tackles the author’s responsibility of to ensure home cooks’ success.
Food writer Stephanie Weaver reveals what she went through to get her memoir published. Boy, she was persistent.
Kenji López-Alt No Longer Calls His Recipes “The Best.” The Sporkful’s Dan Pashman goes deep with Kenji and his online role in this podcast. (Scroll down to find it.)
Applications for the 2026 Edna Lewis Foundation Scholarship are open. Grants of up to $5000 and mentorship for candidates pursuing careers or education in food studies, food writing and more. The deadline is June 13.
‘Little Fat Boy’ author redefines American food. I love watching his creative videos.
Wild Sorrel Cookbooks. A new cookbook store comes to New York City.
Defending the 30-Minute Meal. Some scoff at service writing, but it’s necessary and useful. As a service writer, I agree!
A lovely photo memorial to food writer Marian Burros (the Washington Post and The New York Times), who died recently.
Two Delicious Food Memoirs, Two Very Different Menus. A review in The New York Times. (Gift link.)
Want to win an IACP award for food writing? To do so, you must enter. Deadline is May 15, 2026.
Alison Roman and Britt Cobb on Cookbook Design. An Everything Cookbooks podcast that shows how much Alison Roman wants to do her own thing, even from the start.
The Epic Fall Of Print On Demand. A rant about its failures.
How Australian Food Media Icon Donna Hay Changed the Game. A Cherry Bombe podcast with the author of around 30 cookbooks.
How do books get on The New York Times list? It’s not what you think.
Where Have All the Book Reviews Gone? Hoping for a review of your latest book? Gah. (The New York Times gift link.)
A new publication to pitch: to_go_zine, a Los Angeles zine of food stories.
Coming Events
Book a Private Consult with Me Anytime
One-hour consult: $250
If you want to write a cookbook, get published or find better freelance assignments, I can help move you forward. Email me at dj@diannej.com.
Other Events
Cookbook Social. May 2, Kingston, NY. An afternoon event with cookbook authors. Enjoy conversations, tastings and talks. $35-$55,
News from Clients and Students
I like to brag about the food writing accomplishments of clients and students. Send me yours at dj@diannej.com.
Majed Ali started a Substack newsletter based on his Instagram, called The Cinnaman. (I coached him on a cookbook proposal.)
Student Pailin Chongchitnant has a new and improved 10th Anniversary of her first cookbook, Hot Thai Kitchen.
The UK Guild of Food Writers shortlisted student Ankita Neotia for the Newcomer Award 2026. Read her post, The Barstool That Remembered Me.
Swati Singh started a 10-month newsletter about her experiences as a farming apprentice. (I coached her on personal essays.)
As for me, Jenna Helwig of Cookbookery Collective interviewed me recently in her Substack newsletter. If you don’t subscribe to her newsletter and you love all things cookbook, you should! Here’s her interview: Dianne Jacob Has Plenty of Cookbook Opinions.
My Book
The newest edition of my multiple award-winning book, Will Write for Food: 2021: Pursue Your Passion and Bring Home the Dough Writing Recipes, Cookbooks, Blogs, and More.
Disclosures: I am an affiliate of Food Blogger Pro, Amazon and Bookshop.org. Right now I’m mad at Bookshop.org, because they keep my book on backorder, so no one can order it.
Thanks for Reading
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Dianne Jacob
Editor, Writer and Coach
Email: dj@diannej.com
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Wow reading what you’re reading took all my time set aside for reading.:-) To Go Zine peaked my interest and I ordered a copy. Thanks for so much valuable info and have a great trip.
Have a fabulous trip to dreamy Morocco ✈️