How did you become a writer? 

When I was a little girl, I used to have Wednesday night sleepovers with my Great Aunt May. She was a retired teacher who read to me and taught me how to read before I started kindergarten. She was the first person to tell me I could – and should – be a writer. 

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.). 

My mother owned the Hue-Man Experience, which was the largest Black bookstore in the country. Being around books and authors was very inspiring to me as I was coming of age. I was also very influenced by Susan L. Taylor, the former editor in chief of Essence Magazine. She hired me as health editor and promoted me to executive editor of the magazine, and the experience of working in a Black women-centric environment was foundational to my growth. 

When and where do you write? 

I’m a morning person, but writing isn’t precious to me. It’s my profession, and I can do it anywhere, anytime.

What are you working on now? 

I just finished a book and am now contributing to a special report for the New York Times Magazine on gun violence and children that will run at the end of the year. 

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? 

There’s no such thing as writer’s block. 

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received? 

There’s no such thing as writer’s block. If you feel stuck that means you need to find inspiration by doing more research.

What’s your advice to new writers? 

Don’t let anyone discourage you. Just out of college, at my first magazine job, my supervisor told the rest of the staff that I was an affirmative action hire the day before I started. She later advised other editors not to encourage me because I had no talent. Now I feel great satisfaction each time the New York Times Magazine lands on her doorstep with my name on the cover. 

Linda Villarosa is a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine where she covers race, inequality and public health. Her 2018 Times Magazine cover story "Why America's Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis was a finalist for a National Magazine Award. She is the author of Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation which was named as one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post, Publisher’s Weekly, Time Magazine and NPR – and by the Times as one of the Top 10 Books of 2022. Linda is a journalist in residence and professor at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism @ CUNY with a joint appointment at the City College of New York.