How did you become a writer? I’ve always written – I’ve been keeping diaries and making up stories since I can remember. Maybe it was because I loved reading. Maybe it was a response to the conditions of childhood (not much control). Maybe it was because I foresaw a future in which I’d turn my child-thoughts into content! I do think my eight-year-old self would have been thrilled that those early journals eventually helped me write a memoir. 

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.). I’ve never formally studied writing–I don’t have an MFA, and I studied archaeology in college. I started my career at The New Republic in 2013 and was lucky to be surrounded by people – my peers as well as my editors – who had really good taste in books. I discovered a lot of my favorite books and writers just from being around them, and from seeing what galleys were coming into the office and what was being reviewed in the magazine. A few I return to again and again: Jenny Diski, Doris Lessing, Janet Malcolm, Delmore Schwartz, Vivian Gornick.

When and where do you write? I try to maintain a pretty “normal’ schedule” – writing is isolating enough without trying to do it in the middle of the night. My favorite place to write is the London Library, this gorgeous old library right in the middle of London. When I’m in a good rhythm, I go there every day and let its opening hours dictate my schedule. My favorite spot is a desk in the stacks overlooking St. James’s Square. Of course, when I have a deadline, this all goes out the window, and I’m just writing on the floor in my pajamas.

What are you working on now? My second book, Don’t Think, Dear: On Loving and Leaving Ballet, came out a few months ago, so I’m still doing some interviews and events for that. I’m working on a few shorter essays relating to the themes of the book, and I’m also playing around with ideas for longer projects. But I’m trying not to rush into anything. After my first book came out, I spent several months freaking out and pursuing dead ends. The idea for book #2 didn’t come until almost a year post-pub – I had to give myself time to think.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? I definitely have days that are less productive, unproductive…but I have a pretty long list of book and article ideas saved,  probably more than I’ll ever have time for. A nice thing about writing nonfiction is that if I’m really struggling to put words together, I can still be “productive” by reading or doing research. 

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received? I’m not sure what makes advice useful. Your readiness to hear it? Your relationship with the person delivering it? I’m sure I’ve forgotten or dismissed all kinds of wise advice because it didn’t resonate at that moment. Here’s one, though: Don’t keep track of which of your friends have read your book(s). It’s very generous if they do, but it really shouldn’t be a requirement.

What’s your advice to new writers? Read widely; read the kind of work you’d like to produce. When you find a book you love, look up the author and read their backlist; you’ll probably find that their early work was very different. This can be comforting as well as instructive.

Alice Robb is the author of Why We Dream (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018) and Don't Think, Dear: On Loving and Leaving Ballet (HarperCollins, 2023). Don't Think, Dear has been called "a beautiful, difficult, and compelling memoir" (Vanity Fair); “Enlightening, perceptive” (The Wall Street Journal); "A nuanced, intimate mash-up of memoir, reportage and cultural criticism" (The Guardian); “Remarkable for its nuance and insight” (The Times Literary Supplement). As a journalist, she has written for Vanity Fair, Vogue, and The Atlantic, among other publications.