January Update
Seven calls for artists and writers, an interview with an author, observations on a TV show from over 20 years ago, and more.
This month’s “On Our Radar” section is a little more sparse than usual—I’ve been spending a lot less time scrolling on my phone lately, which has been good for my brain but bad for certain parts of this newsletter. This issue does contain a great interview for you, and a bunch of local opportunities for writers and artists!
Thanks for being here,
Kerri
A podcast I like, You’re Wrong About, put out a holiday special where they collaged together clips of listeners from around the world talking about where they live and why they like it. There are, of course, two New Jersey entries (back to back, starting about 41 minutes in), but the whole piece is a really fun listen!
I’ve been (re)watching House lately, and I was reminded it is a show that takes place in New Jersey. It wasn’t filmed here, but a lot of the aerial shots are actually Princeton and Trenton. A fun game we’ve been playing in our house is pausing the screen anytime they show a pill bottle so we can see the New Jersey addresses. I’ve been trying to decide why it doesn’t really feel like a New Jersey show despite being set here, having them mention Trenton and Princeton and Camden and other towns frequently. But every so often something will jump out at me: a street scene that looks like Manhattan but is supposed to be Princeton, a reference to it taking two hours to get somewhere that is really only like 40 minutes from Plainsboro, or a bagel that looks disgusting.
Sticker Club
Thank you to everyone who has submitted to my call for sticker designs so far! The deadline was initially earlier this week, but I truthfully will not have a chance to look at things until the weekend, so feel free to send me things through this weekend. Basically, if the website still shows the form linked, you can still send me submissions.
New Jersey Bookstore Crawl
I announced previously that our 2026 crawl will be held on June 5-7 this year, and I’m pleased to share that bookstores can now apply to join us. I’ve emailed everyone who participated last year, and I’ll be doing more outreach soon! If you’re another type of business, please note that this form is only for bookstores, but we will have opportunities for others to participate in the form of sponsorship and events, and the details of that are forthcoming.
Available for wholesale!
Thank you as always to the independent retailers who purchase Jersey Collective-made items for their shops. If you’d like to carry any of our items in your shop, shoot me an email and I’ll send you our current wholesale catalog. I can also do bulk orders if you want to give our items as gifts for your large scale event—in the past year, I’ve put together bulk orders for the Newark Museum of Art and for William Paterson University (both huge honors!). If you’re interested in stocking New Jersey Fan Club, that can be arranged directly through Rutgers University Press for the best deals, or through book distributors.
Reeves-Reed Arboretum
Location: Summit, NJ
I don’t know about you, but I certainly have one thing on my mind after all of the recent (and forthcoming?) snow: spring. I thought I’d share Reeves-Reed Arboretum this month so you can mark your calendar, like I am, and plan to visit once daffodils are in full bloom. They’ve got a beautiful field of them, and I’ve only ever seen photos of it when they’re at their peak, but it looks beautiful. That first pop of color after winter ends is always the best.
Let’s hear from an interesting New Jerseyan! Interview has been lightly edited for space.
This month’s Q&A is with author Pooja Makhijani, author of two forthcoming picture books: Bread is Love and Together for Mama. Read on to learn about her books and her process, and then plan to check out one of her book events this spring at libraries and bookstores across the state!
Congratulations on having TWO children’s books coming out this year! I was excited when you announced Bread Is Love because as a person who has followed you on Instagram for a few years now, I always really enjoy seeing your photos of the bread and baked goods you make. It just felt like such a natural fit, for you to write a children’s book about bread. How did you realize that you should combine two of your skills in this way?
Picture books have always been my first love, and I’ve known since I was in middle school that I’ve wanted to write them. I published my first picture book in 2007 (!), but found greater success in journalism and creative nonfiction.
I fell in love with bread baking during a challenging divorce almost a decade ago. It’s has been a life-changing practice: bread baking has eased my anxiety, enriched my relationships, provided literal nourishment, and fed me as an artist and photographer (which you have seen on socials!).
The pandemic prompted me to take an inventory of my creative ambitions (as it did for so many others). I recommitted to writing picture books. Writing about bread, and celebrating all the things it came to mean to me—science, self-care, sustenance, sharing—just made sense.
You are good at writing across genres—you are also a journalist, and you’ve written reported pieces and recipes and you did a great essay for New Jersey Fan Club—how do you decide whether a subject you’re interested in should be a children’s book vs. a reported piece vs. a recipe?
As woo as it sounds, the story often ‘tells’ me how it needs to be told. I write so I can understand the world and my place in it. The story leads me and I follow—fingers crossed that I learn something along the way.
Like many artists, I also have obsessions—family, food, books, parenting/care work, identity, migration—and I also return to these subjects over and over in different ways. I wrote a deeply personal essay about postpartum depression for The Washington Post. Shortly after, I convened a roundtable of new parents of color to discuss postpartum depression and other mood disorders for Buzzfeed. I contributed a recipe to Bon Appetit’s Fourth Trimester series: til (sesame) laddoo. And now, a picture book—Together for Mama (Rocky Pond Books, June 23)—about a family who is experiencing the hardship of postpartum depression.
Having one book come out, let alone two within a few months of each other, is a big undertaking for any author. How are you approaching the next few months?
As such a privilege. I can’t wait to see, hear, and feel how children and their caregivers and educators react to my books! I’m looking forward to story times, and craft times, and also advocating for art, community, and diversity alongside fellow authors and illustrators.
What advice would you share with someone who wants to pursue writing children’s books?
Read, read, and read some more. You can’t be a writer if you aren’t a prolific and critical reader. Read books that have been published in the last three years to get a sense of what is being published and where your ideas/work may fit into the marketplace. Read book reviews. Talk to children’s librarians and booksellers and ask for recommendations—they know everything!
A call from us: Jersey Collective is open to submissions for our next two series of stickers! I’m accepting work for our next unthemed series as well as for a special series that will be used to promote the bookstore crawl. More info and submission form are here. Deadline: 1/23.
Bury Me In New Jersey is accepting submissions of writing and artwork for the second issue of their literary magazine, Mourning Papers, which “reflects the spirit of New Jersey while exploring broader, universal themes: how we build community, how we care for one another, and how those practices can extend beyond where we live.” Deadline: 1/30.
Flemington DIY is accepting submissions of photographs for a show called “Glimmers Through the Lens,” which aims to display work that reflects “a warm embrace in the chilling moments we are experiencing.” Deadline: 2/12. $10 entry fee, less for members.
coLAB Arts, in partnership with the City of New Brunswick and others, will be producing the inaugural Heartbeat of the City Festival in Fall 2026, and they are seeking “artists who have a history of creating public art, including but not limited to murals, sculptures, monuments, and landscape design and architecture that speaks to cultural history, placekeeping, memorialization, and commemoration” to apply for residencies to create “temporary public art installations.” Deadline: 2/13.
The Monmouth Museum seeks submissions for a juried exhibition called “A Time Within a Time,” which asks artists to reflect on “the moments that sit inside other moments, the memories that define us, and the ways we understand the passage of time,” through any visual arts media except photography. Deadline: 2/13. $30 submission fee for first work; $10 each for up to three additional submissions. Work must be for sale; 30% commission to the museum, 70% to the artist.
Over the Moon Art Studios is seeking submissions for a show called “Art of the Esoteric,” which will feature work that “explores the spiritual, the symbolic, and the transformative,” using any medium, including but not limited to “oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, drawings, sculptures, collage, printmaking, and photography.” Deadline: 2/16. $25 submission fee for up to three pieces; additional submissions are $10. Work must be for sale; sales split 50%-50%.
NJ Pinhole Club is accepting submissions for a spring pinhole photography exhibit to be held at Unique Photo in Philadelphia. Deadline: 2/22.
I used to live in Baltimore before I moved to New Jersey. I mention this because I too am rewatching House and my favorite episode is one where they are FLYING from Baltimore to Princeton.
No one does that. Even if they could.