ASJA members and other writers who traveled to New York City for the ASJA: Always in Fashion, NYC2025 conference have a lot to say about what they experienced and learned during the three-day event—and it’s all good.
We provided some initial observations in recaps of days one, two, and three of the event.
But as time passes, more attendees are taking to social media to describe the insights they gained, people they heard from, and fun they had. Here’s a taste of what they’re sharing:
Conference Overview
Ashley Cisneros Mejia devoted an entire episode of her Talk Freelance to Me podcast to recapping the conference – Episode 37: Freelance Success Strategies I Learned at the ASJA Conference. In the podcast, Cisneros Mejia discusses what she learned about standing out in an increasingly competitive freelance market, why niche expertise and skill expansion are more important than ever, top takeaways from ASJA’s Client Connections event for pitching top-tier editors, and more. Cisneros Mejia also appeared on a podcasting panel with Holly Rizzuto Palker and Estelle Erasmus.
“NYC trips are always a whirlwind and I’m so grateful to be an active member of ASJA,” Megy Karydes wrote on LinkedIn. “I was able to share some of the lessons I learned from writing my book, 50 Ways to More Calm, Less Stress, that helped me become a stronger writer with my fellow presentation panelists, Estelle Erasmus and Kristine Hansen.
The Fashion Institute of Technology was a presenting sponsor of the conference as well as the venue for the event. “Over and over, I heard accolades about the energy and vitality FIT students brought to the event,” wrote Allison Kyle Leopold, FIT assistant professor of marketing communications, in a recap for the FIT Newsroom. “That’s something that goes two ways, of course. The industry has morphed, sputtered, and rallied over the last decade, integrating online journalism and social media into its folds, and now, grappling with the implications of AI (a hot topic at the conference, for sure). For students to interact with passionate working writers of all stripes—content creators to Pulitzer Prize winners, all earning their livings as wordsmiths—was an incredibly valuable thing.”
Tips on Interviewing and LOIs
Christina Hernandez Sherwood has spent 20 years interviewing people for a living but still loves learning how to do it better. According to a post Hernandez Sherwood published on LinkedIn, one of her favorite interviewing takeaways from the conference came from FIT professor Emil Wilbekin, who advises writers to crowdsource questions by asking friends and family what they would want to know or soliciting questions on social media.
For Debbie Abram Kaplan, one major conference takeaway came from a panel for content marketing writers on letters of introduction. “When sending LOIs, include links to your favorite clips,” Abram Kaplan wrote on LinkedIn. “List your big clients. Show you’ve done some research on the potential client. Use bullet points – editors are skimming.”
Learning New Skills
Pulitzer Prize winner Lane DeGregory and her former editor Mike Wilson, who now edits the New York Times’ The Great Read feature, talked about narrative nonfiction, which emphasizes telling stories rather than writing articles. “The latter has scenes, characters talking to each other, a beginning, middle and end, and a sense of place,” Debbie Blumberg wrote on her Facebook page about what she learned. Storytelling often saves a big reveal for the end. The ingredients for a narrative can be summarized by the acronym CAST: character, action, setting, theme, which is what is the author trying to teach, such as happiness, fear, of family. “When interviewing, find the bruise or worm on the apple (no person is perfect),” Blumberg wrote. “To get them to reveal this, ask: What do you regret? Try to get inside your sources’ heads – what were they thinking in the moment? DeGregory’s process is writing out the various timelines in her stories and making lists of scenes and characters.”
“I’m always looking to level up and the conference delivered,” Ellen Sheng wrote on LinkedIn. “I came away exhausted but full of new ideas and new contacts.”
Landing Work
“Huge thank you to everyone who volunteered with Client Connections,” Jennifer Goforth Gregory wrote on her Facebook page. “I got my first assignment today from the event. $1000 assignment! Super excited!”
Meeting People Face to Face
“Conferences are a great way to learn and an amazing way to connect with people you’ve only met online or in Zoom meetings,” Jaclyn Greenberg wrote on her FB page. “So happy to have been able to spend the last three days in the city hanging out with my writer friends.”
“The ASJA conference was phenomenal!” Jen Reeder wrote on Facebook. “I always learn so much from the speakers, colleagues and sometimes even strangers in line for the bathroom. It’s so energizing to be with so many writers who are so interested and interesting! Plus, this year felt supersized with colleagues from the Society for Features Journalism attending and sharing insights on panels (like my smart, fun roommate, Laura Coffey!)”
Laura Coffey was one of several dozen members of the Society for Features Journalism who attended the conference. “What a treat to be able to spend time in person with journalism pals from SFJ,” Coffey wrote on Facebook, “and to many new writer friends who are longtime members of ASJA.”
Beyond the keynotes and sessions, the real highlight was seeing the wonderful people who make up ASJA, assistant conference chair Emily Dalamangas wrote on LinkedIn. “I was deeply involved in planning, so I knew the agenda inside and out. But what I didn’t expect was how much I missed the energy and interaction of in-person events. Getting to finally meet people IRL after only knowing them through Zoom or email was truly invaluable. I reconnected with writers I hadn’t seen since the 2022 conference and made a ton of new connections.”