Who are you, and what do you do?
I’m Melanie Walsh. I’m a writer and professor at the University of Washington. My research explores the intersection of books, culture, and data, looking at trends like BookTok, library checkouts, and AI-generated fiction and poetry.
My writing has appeared in the LA Review of Books, Public Books, Publisher’s Weekly, The Pudding, and many other academic venues. I wrote an open-source Python textbook, and I’m currently working on a book about American authors who went viral on the internet.
What do you use to get the job done?
A crazy proportion of my job happens via laptop. Right now I use a 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro. When I’m on campus, I hook it up to a nice ultra-wide LG monitor. Also on my desk: this UW-themed lava lamp (with Bluetooth speaker) that I picked up at a thrift store, and LaCroix cans. Next to my desk: a little electric heater that I feel fondly toward.
For coding, I use VS Code and increasingly Claude Code. Perhaps misguidedly, I’m writing my book in a combination of Markdown, Quarto, and Pandoc, which lets me convert to any output format (Word document, PDF, website) or citation style on the fly.
Speaking of, I like my citations like I like my pizza: Chicago Style (Lou Malnati’s or bust). My go-to citation manager is Zotero. I also use the excellent Zotero app on my 10th generation iPad, which I otherwise mostly use for notes when giving talks or presentations.
For collaboration, I use Google Docs, Overleaf, and GitHub, as well as Slack and Discord. Miscellaneous research notes live in Evernote, while my Notes app catches everything else—random work thoughts, to-do lists, groceries, bad poems, jokes that I think are funny.
I also make a lot of websites and data visualizations. I’m currently obsessed with Quarto, Observable, and Svelte (I highly recommend The Pudding‘s Svelte starter template).
For the sneakerheads who care, I’m currently wearing Puma’s Stewie 2: Water shoes when I go to “work” on the basketball court.
What would be your dream setup?
Weirdly, I dream about writing at a desktop computer. There’s something very appealing and romantic about this to me—I don’t know why. Also, since staring out the window and daydreaming account for roughly 60% of my writing process, I fantasize about windows with exquisite views.
My university actually has a lab on San Juan Island, and you can go there for writing retreats. It’s probably the dreamiest work set-up I’ve ever had. Maybe they’ll let me move in.