Off Assignment

Last night, in a wood-paneled room overlooking the Statue of Liberty from the 25th floor, OA writers and supporters gathered for our annual "Stories & Strangers" soirée — celebrating stories that transport and strangers who enchant. We raised glasses of bubbly, choked up retracing OA’s origins, and shared the far-flung locales we'd all come from (including South Africa, Canada, the UK, the Bay Area, Chicago, and more!). We were treated to a reading by our very first contributor, Leslie Jamison, and were hypnotized by Pier Nirandara's () award-winning “Letter to a Stranger” essay. On the cusp of our 10-year anniversary, we also couldn't help but look ahead to the next ten years—as our magazine grows and our community expands, we can’t wait to gather in person more often and celebrate literature, place writing, and strangers around the globe. 📸:

When Farah Faye () took our Masters' Series course called "Scrappy: How to Build an Alternative Literary Life" last year (led by the inimitable Chloé Caldwell ()), she was inspired to begin an eponymous reading series in Brooklyn, leaning on the scrappy ethos and the community she developed through OA. So we're simply thrilled that it's come full circle to us hosting a joint Scrappy x OA event this November 14 with all-Off Assignment lineup: contributors, teachers, and alums. Free to attend, but space is limited so register through the link in our bio, and spread the word — can't wait to see you there!

Huge congratulations to Lucy Schiller (), whose “No Equivalent” essay “Harmas” was selected as a Best American Essays 2025 Notable! A well-deserved recognition for this virtuosic essay on etymology, insects, wastelands, fertility, and diagnosis. We’re so proud to celebrate Lucy and “Harmas”—head to the link in bio to read!