About Open Secrets Magazine
The scoop on our lit mag all about personal essays on the topics often kept "secret"
Welcome to Open Secrets Magazine!
Below you’ll find details about what we do, how to submit, and our in-person and virtual events.
Why subscribe?
Open Secrets Magazine is a lit mag and community for memorable, revealing personal essays about all the subjects we’re taught to keep “secret.” Open Secrets Magazine launched in April 2023 and publishes 4-5 original personal essays per week (occasionally more) and is edited by essayist, journalist, writing instructor, and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. We also publish columns The ADHD Diaries by Rachel Kramer Bussel, Radical Pleasure by Athena Dixon, and Truth Hurts by John DeVore.
Call for submissions
We are open to Hobbies and Object-Ives flash essay submissions from Open Secrets subscribers. See writing guidelines here.
We welcome submissions from new writers as well as established authors. We expect to open to submissions in all categories in early March 2026.
We host a memoir and essay book club every other month, featuring books by our contributors and speakers. See our book club archives for excerpts and author interviews.
Our March 2026 Open Secrets Book Club pick is the memoir sorry i keep crying during sex by Jesse James Rose; watch our author interview March 24 at 7 p.m. ET in the Substack app. Read an excerpt here.
Upcoming Open Secrets Magazine virtual and in-person events:
February 18, 8:30 pm ET, Q&A with upcoming contributor Amanda McCracken, author of memoir When Longing Becomes Your Lover; link to watch or visit Open Secrets in Substack app
February 27, 7 p.m. ET, Q&A with upcoming contributor Amie Newman on midlife eating disorder recovery, link to watch or visit Open Secrets in Substack app
March 5-7, Baltimore, AWP writing conference table with swag, zines, and book signings, Booth 305, in-person
March 6, 2-5 p.m. ET, Baltimore, AWP Booth 305, book signings: 2 p.m. Athena Dixon (The Loneliness Files), 3 p.m. Amanda McCracken (When Longing Becomes Your Lover), 4 p.m. Amy Gallo Ryan (You May Feel a Bit of Pressure)
March 6, 6:30-9 p.m. ET, Baltimore, AWP offsite cocktail party, limited spots available - email opensecretsmag@gmail.com
March 20, 3:30 p.m. ET, Q&A with upcoming contributor Courtney Kocak on her memoir Girl Gone Wild; link to watch
March 24, 7 p.m. ET, Open Secrets Book Club video Q&A interview on sorry i keep crying during sex by Jesse James Rose; link to watch or visit Open Secrets in Substack app; read a book excerpt here
May 2, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. ET (followed by ticketed after party 6-8 p.m.), Open Secrets Live personal storytelling summit, in person, Symphony Space’s Leonard Nimoy Thalia, NYC, ticketed event with keynote speakers comedian Youngmi Mayer, author of memoir I’m Laughing Because I’m Crying, and Somebody Somewhere costars Jeff Hiller, author of memoir Actress of a Certain Age, and drag king Murray Hill, author of forthcoming memoir Showbiz.
Plus 30+ memoir authors speaking on panels about relationships, family, identity, LGBTQIA life, mental health, and physical health, editors panel with editors from Abrams Books, Atria/One Signal (Simon & Schuster imprint), Catapult, Tiny Reparations Books (Dutton imprint), The New York Times’ Modern Love and Tiny Love Stories columns, and Slate, plus keynote speakers. Tickets are on sale now.
May 2026, date TBA, Open Secrets Book Club video Q&A interview on Better: A Memoir About Wanting to Die by Arianna Rebolini; link TK or visit Open Secrets in Substack app
July 2026, date TBA, Open Secrets Book Club video Q&A interview on Adulting for Amateurs by Jess H. Gutierrez; link TK or visit Open Secrets in Substack app
We nominate for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, The Best American Essays, The Best American Food and Travel Writing, The Best American Science and Nature Writing, and the ASJA (American Society of Journalists and Authors) First-Person Esssy Award.
Subscribe for free to get full access to every essay as it’s published and the website archives. Proceeds from paid subscriptions and donations go directly to paying our authors. You can also support our contributors and us by buying their books via our Bookshop affiliate storefront; shopping there also supports independent bookstores.
Want to reach Open Secrets Magazine’s editors? Email opensecretsmag at gmail.com
Why Open Secrets Magazine?
Open Secrets Magazine was founded by writer, editor, and writing instructor Rachel Kramer Bussel. After the closure of several prominent publications for essays in 2023, Rachel wanted to provide a home for the kinds of powerful essays she enjoys reading, in which writers share powerful truths about their lives and foster connections with readers.
We’ve since published over 100 personal essays and columns, expanded with new categories, including flash personal essays in Hobbies and Object-ives.
From Editor Rachel Kramer Bussel: I have been a fan of the personal essay format for decades, as both a reader and a writer. I read as many essays as I can find and am always eager for more that give me a peek into the author’s inner life, show me new ways to live my own life, and will stay with me forever.
After the demise of several prominent publications for personal essays in 2023, I wanted to provide another online outlet for essay authors, both established and newcomers to the genre, to share their work with an appreciative audience.
How can I access Open Secrets Magazine essays?
All Open Secrets Magazine essays are free to read and are emailed to free and paid subscribers. Paid subscribers also have access to our craft writing essays. Paid subscriptions and donations go directly toward paying our writers.
How can I submit a personal essay to Open Secrets Magazine?
You first must be a subscriber to Open Secrets Magazine (free or paid), unless you’re submitting to our food insecurity call for submissions. Then follow our writing guidelines in full. Our guidelines change periodically to meet our editorial needs. You’ll have the best chance of breaking in to Open Secrets Magazine with a flash personal essay of 500-999 words for our Object-ives section or upcoming Hobbies section, since those run more frequently than our other categories, which rotate.
Open Secrets Magazine Staff
Editor-in-Chief: Rachel Kramer Bussel
Managing Editor: Farah Faye
Social Media Manager: Sara Knight Bidlack
What is Open Secrets Magazine’s comment policy?
Comments related to the text of Open Secrets Magazine essays are welcome. Comments may be removed at the discretion of Open Secrets Magazine. Personal attacks and tirades, hate speech, spam, and other non-constructive comments will be deleted.
Does Open Secrets Magazine host in-person or online events?
Our first in-person event, Open Secrets Live, was held on May 3, 2025, in New York City. Open Secrets Live featured Open Secrets Magazine essayists as well as other writers and editors from various publications. We will post details about future in-person events as they’re booked. We’ll have a table March 4-7 at the writing conference AWP in Baltimore, with a cocktail party held March 5 (email us at opensecretsmag@gmail.com for details) and the next Open Secrets Live to be held in spring 2026 in New York City.
We have a book club that meets every other month online and conduct occasional Substack Live Q&As with our contributors.
Selected Press
Interview on Freelance Writing Direct podcast hosted by Estelle Erasmus on how to craft cathartic personal essays
The Queer Love Podcast interview
Wisdom & Words The Writer’s Corner interview
The Game of Nerds writeup of Open Secrets Live 2025 editors panel
Sari Botton on Open Secrets Live 2025
Broadwayworld on Open Secrets Live 2026
Collected Open Secrets Live testimonials
How can I contact Open Secrets Magazine?
To contact Open Secrets Magazine and Editor-in-Chief Rachel Kramer Bussel, email opensecretsmag@gmail.com