At the end of each year, I like to pause and reflect on what I’ve done over the course of the previous twelve months. This year is dizzying to look back on. Before I do, though, I want to let you know that there’s a big announcement coming at the end of this post! Some of you already know about it, and some of you don’t, but either way, I’m really excited to share. Feel free to scroll down to the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT header if you’re the kind of person who reads the end of the book before you buy it.

On to the reflections. In 2025, I was supposed to spend six months on sabbatical, but because of the nature of my work and the demands of certain publishing schedules, it was more like four months at 20 percent of my normal workload. Even though I didn’t manage to do a full stop in terms of work, the experience was still transformative. I’ve slowed down and recovered from a lot of burnout, and now I’m staring down a future in which my priorities are reordered for the better.

I travelled so much in 2025 that I am amazed my feet ever touched the ground. I drove through most of the middle of the country I live in and visited six countries I’d never been to before. I spent time with friends and family all over the world. I hiked in the alps and swam in the Caribbean and stood inside a neolithic structure in Sardinia and ate things I’d never heard of before. I got explosively sick on a French train. I attended the Paris opera. On the JoCo cruise, I sang in front of an audience of thousands (a furious karaoke rendition of Part of Your World) (I was VERY nervous) (I did just-okay.). I cat-sat for a pal and fed their chickens. I worked as a private chef in Colorado for a week. I gave a keynote address that we pivoted to digital at the last minute, so instead of standing on a stage, I gave the talk from my hotel room as a COVID-induced fever slowly took hold of my brain. 

I attended two weddings, and I officiated a third—the wedding of one of my very best friends in all the world. I scaled back my annual Christmas Fudge to be an extremely limited batch, because there was simply no time left, and nobody seemed to mind a bit. I threw a housewarming book fair and hand-illustrated a book for a brand new family member whose eyes are just starting to recognize colors. I hand-drew a zine and mailed it to a pal. I painted my kitchen. I reconnected with old friends. I gave a speech at the Locus Awards.

I got engaged.

I also did some work here and there. I published Love Letters: Reasons to Be Alive – a real physical magazine that is also a free-to-read digital essay series. I mailed out quarterly magazines (and am about to mail out a year-end care package to folks who subscribed at the highest backer level). I am so so proud of this undertaking, which would have been impossible without my amazing team. Thank you, Josh, Kate, Lydia, Shing. 

You can find links to the entire series here.

And I released a book. Spread Me came out in September. I went on a whirlwind tour around the country. I got to meet so many of you. It was one of the great joys of my life to celebrate this bizarre little book with you, and a thrill to see you put it on the USA Today Bestseller List. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Somehow, I wrote somewhere in the neighborhood of 204,500 words. That word count doesn’t include the editorial work I did on Stone Soup, which ran a total of 74 features this year, including the weekly digest, guest features, Supper Club posts, and essays from Love Letters: Reasons to Be Alive. 

In 2026, a lot is going to happen. I get to take on a couple of catering gigs. I am going to be on faculty at the Sirens conference. I’ll be a special guest at a few other things, too, but they haven’t been announced yet, so just… watch the horizon, I guess? I’ll tell you when I’m allowed, I promise.

I’m going to get married to the love of my life.

Also, I have a big announcement. (See? Told you.)

In 2026, Stone Soup will be launching the Supper Club Discord! The Supper Club is a community I’ve cherished since it started, and it’s long past time for that community to have a space all its own. Members of the Supper Club will get lifetime access—even if their paid subscriptions lapse or end—to a space where we can share this amazing life, together. I hope you’ll join the Supper Club, so you can be part of what we’re going to build.

Oh, one more thing about 2026. I have a book coming out.

Pre-Order: Make Me Better

Celia is so tired of being alone. All she wants is to have a family—to belong to someone. That's why she's going to Kindred Cove for the annual Salt Festival held by the secluded community that lives there. They promise that healing is possible. They promise that transformation is inevitable. There is no grief at Kindred Cove, because there is no suffering. Nothing is ever lost.

Celia knows that, at that mysterious island surrounded by that impossible, ever-growing reef -- she will find herself.

She’s ready to be healed. She’s ready to be transformed.

She's ready to believe.

I’ll be honest with you, friends. This book nearly made me quit writing. I rewrote it five times over the course of six years. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever made. I can’t wait to share it with you.

Barnes & Noble | Bad River Website | Find an Indie Bookstore

That’s all for now.

Thank you for going on this ride with me, friends. 2026 is going to be a wild one. I think it’s going to be thrilling. We also all have a lot of work to do together in this coming year to build a future that is centered around justice, care, and community. 

I believe in us. 

If you’re not already subscribed to the newsletter, I hope you’ll consider it. If you sign up for a free subscription to Stone Soup, you’ll get:

• The Supper Club Scrapbook, a monthly community-oriented reflection on the world we’re building together
• An irregular round-up of my favorite things from around the internet
• Regular media reviews from pop culture luminary Alasdair Stuart
• Occasional guest features
• Career updates and announcements

If you sign up for a paid subscription, you’ll get all that, plus:

• A lifetime membership to the Supper Club Discord server, where we’re going to cook and write and create and yap and build community together
• Access to the comments
• Writing/coworking dates, during which time we’ll spend a couple of hours creating things in tandem
• Access to a lush backlog of paid content, including recipes, book recommendations, playlists, and exclusive original fiction.
• The Personal Canons Cookbook Ebook, which collects a full year’s worth of essays and recipes from brilliant guest authors, plus essays on food, dining, hosting, and community written by me—and a ton of my own favorite recipes.

I’ll see you in 2026. In the meantime, do what you can. Care for yourself and the people around you. Believe that the world can be better than it is now. Never give up.

Cheers,
Gailey