Delia Cai is a freelance writer and editor living in New York. Here is what she’s written lately:
Also rn she has a column at FastCo and CULTURED magazine.
But you most likely know her from her newsletter Deez Links, which apparently was at the forefront of our 2020s Substack-as-literary-genre wave. In 2024, she published the viral Hate Read pop-up newsletter (okay it’s a blog), which you can read about in The New York Times. Deez Links currently has nearly 24,000 subscribers. Which is crazy lol.
From 2021-2024, she was the senior vanities correspondent at Vanity Fair, covering celebrity and culture.
Her debut novel, Central Places, was named as one of the “Today” show’s best new books of 2023. Now Nylon thinks she’s a lit “it” girl!
She’s on Twitter @deliacai and IG @deeeliacai; if you’d like to finagle book press, please email the lovely Melissa at mfolds@penguinrandomhouse.com.
FEATURES & ESSAYS
The Professional Try-Hard Is Dead, But You Still Need to Return to the Office
'Euphoria,' When We Were Young, and the Millennial High School Forever Time Warp
Perfectly Imperfect and the Growing Currency of the Personal Recommendation
Inside the Jawn-Obsessed Newsletter Nailing Down Exclusives With Jerry Seinfeld and André 3000
PROFILES & INTERVIEWS
For Mindy Seu, Digital Archiving Isn’t Just a Job—It’s a Lifestyle
Esther Perel Thinks All This Amateur Therapy-Speak Is Just Making Us Lonelier
Three Generations of Blue's Clues Hosts Are Still Cool With Being Your Best Friend
Zoo Day With Ed Yong, Resident Animals (and Pandemic) Sense Maker
Rayne Fisher-Quann Deconstructs the Weirdness of Online Womanhood
She Invented ‘Adulting.’ Her Life Fell Apart. She Wants You to Know That’s Okay.
WOW EVERYONE LOVES DEEZ LINKS
Fast Company: Deez Links wants to make the internet fun again
New York Magazine: The Sound of My Inbox
The New York Times: Why We’re Freaking Out About Substack
Business Insider: Substack creators are making 6 figures off their newsletters (not me though, spoiler alert)
WOW EVERYONE ALSO LOVES CENTRAL PLACES
The Washington Post: “Ambition is the antihero in ‘Central Places’”
Interview Magazine: Debut Novelist Delia Cai on Olive Garden, Central Places, and Interracial Relationships
The Guardian: Central Places by Delia Cai review – a return to one’s roots
Vogue: Delia Cai’s Poignant Debut Novel Asks: Can You Ever Really Go Home Again?
Harper’s Bazaar: Give Me All the Stories About Asian American Moms
Shondaland: The Golden Age of the 20-Something Coming-of-Age Novel Is Here
The Rumpus: Hometown Humbling: Delia Cai’s ‘Central Places’
BUT WHAT IS SHE REALLY LIKE, PERSONALITY-WISE?
How Long Gone: Ep. 463 Delia Cai
Normal Gossip: You Must Never Forget Your Nemesis By Proxy
Longform Podcast: #520 Delia Cai
Asian Not Asian: S3E40: AI Asians with Delia Cai (Vanity Fair)
Slate: Dear Prudence: Help! I Wrote to Prudie for Advice and Delia Cai Answered
GrubStreet Diet: Delia Cai Makes the Most of a Breakup Brunch