I Want To Give a Literary Gift—2 Paid Narratively Subscriptions
To the first two This Precious Dark Skin readers who write on the comment section of this post that they want the gift.
I love Himbasha.
It’s an Ethiopian Flatbread usually prepared for special occasions but I eat Himbasha regularly. I savor each bite, wishing the taste would last forever.
This is what I feel when I read Narratively stories, I savor them, I look forward to reading them, when a week goes by without reading a story I find myself looking at my calendar—to squeeze in time, even if it’s only five minutes.
I wrote about my favorite reads from Narratively before:
At Narratively, you find epic human stories. These stories are unique in the way each human story is but also because of the way the stories are told—with colorful, detail-rich scenes and compelling moments, where you are right there, in that place, in that moment, seeing the people and experiencing what they’re going through. And the stories are surprising and delightful. If that sounds like I’m biased, maybe I am. I’m a Submissions Reader for Narratively and I love my job and the people I work with are wonderful.
But.
Even before I joined the Narratively Team on January 2023, I remember telling friends and colleagues who love reading long-form essays how cool this magazine is.
Now, Narratively has given me a gift, paid Narratively subscriptions for 5 people. I want to give 2 (I gave 3 to friends who love reading this magazine as much as I do) to This Precious Dark Skin readers.
Do you love reading Narratively stories? Memoirs that leave you with haunting moments, even months after you read them? Moments that you feel the pain even though you’ve not lived that life, that pain (which I felt and am still feeling for Chaos and Noise: One Man’s Harrowing Stint in Solitary Confinement—the Grand Prize-winning essay in 2023)? Do you want to open the curtain that would show you the secret lives of people Narratively publishes in its Secret Lives category? How about extraordinary stories that happened centuries ago Narratively publishes in its Hidden History category?
If so, let me know. I will give the gift to the first two readers who write on the comment section of this post that they want the gift. Make sure to add your publication name or substack handle.
May you love the skin you’re born with,
Banchi
Hi, Banchi. I would love the gift as well. I’m a Filipino-American writer behind Midnight Letters to Friends. Learning to love the skin I was born with and wrote a novel about that experience called The Unsaid Summer. Thank you!
Hi Banchi. I would love the gift. I read your stories but haven't delved too far beyond them in Narratively. I write a newsletter callled The Greatest Story Never Told: Stories from the Black experience to help you live your best life. I email it to followers myself.