As an essayist and journalist, I’ve covered a wide range of topics for print and online publications, largely centering on sex, dating and relationships, books, pop culture, feminism, body image and hoarding. Want to hire me to write an essay or article? Email me at mail at rachelkramerbussel.com

JOURNALISM: As a journalist, I’ve covered a wide range of topics, largely on books (see below), culture (see below), politics, personal finance, and food, including how personal bankruptcy can provide a second chance for The New York Times, how to capitalize on an article going viral for The Freelancer at Contently, what millennial women think about Hillary Clinton for Fortune.com, how women pay for IVF for Romper, what it’s like to be an airline superfan for Yahoo! Travel, a pro-choice Congressional candidate in a district where a Congressman switched from Democrat to Republican, a The Hunger Games college class for Teen Vogue, political resistance erotica for Rolling Stone, and why men read erotica for Playboy. I’ve spent three days eating my way through the Minnesota State Fair for Grub Street. I’ve interviewed Momastery blogger and bestselling author Glennon Doyle Melton for The Fix, pioneering transgender activist Jazz Jennings for Paper and a couple on marriage and gender transition for Slate. 

BOOKS: One of my main beats is on books and publishing. I’ve written about books as wedding favors and libraries, social media and Bookface Friday for The New York Times, LGBTQ book clubs, LGBTQ romance, drag queen-themed children’s books, publishers updating backlist titles, and a romance publisher’s unpaid royalties for Publishers Weekly, how authors use TikTok, podcast-based book deals, the market for historical fiction, and fat representation in fiction for publishing-focused newsletter The Hot Sheet, the popularity of bookstore crawls for The Goods, how to get a book deal from your Instagram account for Forbes, why books have long subtitles for Washington Post Book World, books with curses in their titles for MEL magazine, books with hashtags in their titles for The Guardian, and recommended 20 sexy books for BuzzFeed Books. I interviewed Holly Whitaker, author of Quit Like a Woman, for the New York Post, profiled a romance series bible creator for Bustle, and interviewed author Elizabeth Zelvin about her sober mystery series for The Fix. For Forbes online, I’ve written over 200 articles, including an article on a five-year-old boy’s book deal, which garnered over 120,000 views, a silent Zoom group reading hour organized by BookTubers, a bookmobile business, how independent bookstores are adapting their sales strategies during the Covid-19 pandemic and why so many self-help books are published in January.

POP CULTURE: On the pop culture front, I’ve covered the resurgence of sticker collecting and the modern sticker market for Glamour, a luncheon with Fifty Shades of Grey author E L James for the Observer, a BDSM author who converted to Christianity for Broadly, celebrity inspired Valentine’s Day cards and a podcast about those with guilty consciences for The Daily Dot, the musical Fun Home for BuzzFeed, “rad fatty” badges and fighting fat-shaming for Mic, a naked comedy show for Daily Intel, Jaws celebration Jawsfest for Vulture, and an Obama fundraiser with the cast of The Wire for Daily Intel, recommended podcasts for families for YourTeen, interviewed Dita von Teese about performing burlesque, interviewed actress Jemima Kirke about art and acting, and interviewed Gabe Dunn about the Bad with Money podcast for Salon. I’ve also done pop culture commentary, such as a Salon piece on why Nicole Arbour’s YouTube video “Dear Fat People” wasn’t satire.

SERVICE: I’ve written service pieces on various topics, such as how to negotiate with the IRS for Real Simple, how to unclutter your email inbox for Forge, how couples can merge bank accounts for Stash, how to quit your business or side hustle for The Riveter, how to argue with your significant other for the Washington Post, how to use hate mail to your advantage for The Freelancer at Contently, and had experts analyze my to-do lists for Fast Company.

OP-EDS: I’ve written opinion pieces, such as for NBC News THINK on Senator Josh Hawley’s book cancellation and the First Amendment, for CNN in defense of libraries, for The Independent on Impeachment: American Crime Story, five for the Philadelphia Inquirer, for the San Francisco Chronicle on the role of fatherhood in a child’s life,, and for the Philadelphia Inquirer, on the need for library funding, cell phone addiction, my Congressman switching parties, the emotional toll of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fraught nature of socializing during the pandemic.

HOARDING: I’ve written widely about hoarding, including coming out as a hoarder at Salon, how hoarding affects my relationship for the Washington Post, why I turned down a hoarding reality show at Shondaland, hoarding N95 masks and mental health for Salon, being a hoarder during the 2020 toilet paper shortage for HuffPost, how Marie Kondo’s Netflix show is useful for InStyle.com, why you can own too many books for The Toast, and how to shop for a hoarder at BuzzFeed.

SEXUALITY: I’ve written widely about sexuality, including a piece on talking dirty for Glamour, one on younger men dealing with erectile dysfunction for Mic, an article on the best sex positions for bigger guys for Men’s Health, why people prefer morning sex for Swell by Dame, an article on sleeping in separate beds for AARP’s The Arrow, and one on a blog detailing the difference between the vagina and vulva for The Daily Dot. I’ve also profiled feminist pornographer Erika Lust for Marie Claire. I’m a former sex columnist for alt weeklies The Village Voice and Philadelphia City Paper, Penthouse magazine, as well as DAME and Elle.com, where I covered a wide range of sexual practices, events, fetishes, sexuality news, culture, politics and more..

ESSAYS: In my personal essays, I’ve explored a wide range of topics related to dating, relationships, sex, money, hoarding, mental health issues, family and more. I’ve written about not listing my baby’s weight on her birth announcement for TODAY, love and decluttering for the Tiny Love Stories section of The New York Times, improving my mental health by not posting on social media for Open Secrets, peeing myself because my boyfriend makes me laugh for HuffPost Personal, adopting a child as a woman in her late forties for The Girlfriend, being an obsessive worrier for Gloria, why I don't want to get married for The Washington Post, how kids are affected by divorce for The Independent, why I bought life insurance after my friend died on my birthday and why I’m in a 12-year nonmarried relationship for Business Insider, why I’ve spent $2,000 playing bingo for The Goods, no longer being kinky for SELF, aging proudly and compliments for The Girlfriend, ditching negative self-talk at age 46 for Oldster, why my boyfriend and I don’t have many couples photos for Redbook, why I have 10,000 Google news alerts for The Kernel, why I don’t wear pants and why my boyfriend and I sleep in separate beds for Refinery29 and what I’ve learned about body image by dating a fat man for YouBeauty, among many other subjects.