Nona Willis Aronowitz (born 1984) is a New York-based writer and editor, whose work focuses on "women, sex, politics, and the economy". As of December 2022, she was writing an advice column on sex and love for '' Teen Vogue'', serving as an editor for ''
Splinter
A splinter (also known as a sliver) is a fragment of a larger object, or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initia ...
'', and writing the "F*cking Through the Apocalypse" newsletter. She is the author of '' Bad Sex'', a 2022 memoir published by Plume-
Penguin Random House
Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House.
On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase ...
, and served as an award-winning editor of collections of her mother's works. Aronowitz has worked for
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
,
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
, and other news venues, and her writings have appeared in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', the ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
'', ''
New York Magazine
''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...
'', ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', and other venues.
Early life and education
Aronowitz was born in 1984, and is the daughter of the late
Ellen Willis
Ellen Jane Willis (December 14, 1941 – November 9, 2006) was an American left-wing political essayist, journalist, activist, feminist, and pop music critic. A 2014 collection of her essays, ''The Essential Ellen Willis,'' received the National ...
, a journalist, writer on feminist and cultural issues, and
NYU
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
faculty member, and the late Stanley Aronowitz, a blue-collar organizer, writer, and CUNY faculty member.
She graduated from
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...
with a degree in
American studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory.
Schol ...
in 2006.
Career
Aronowitz has been a fellow at the
Roosevelt Institute
The Roosevelt Institute is a liberal American think tank. According to the organization, it exists "to carry forward the legacy and values of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt by developing progressive ideas and bold leadership in the service of re ...
, worked as an education and poverty reporter at
NBC News Digital
NBCNews.com, formerly known as msnbc.com, is a news website owned and operated by NBCUniversal as the online arm of NBC News. Along with original and wire reporting, it features content from NBC shows such as ''Today'', ''NBC Nightly News'', ''M ...
, worked as an associate editor at
GOOD magazine
GOOD Worldwide Inc., is a United States-based company with offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle that reports on businesses and non-profits. GOOD produces a website, a quarterly magazine, online videos, and events. Content covered include ...
, and has written for various publications.
Writing and editing corpus
In 2009 Nona and Emma Bee Bernstein's book ''Girldrive: Criss-Crossing America, Redefining Feminism'', about their drive across America talking with women about feminism and being women, was published.
In 2013, Aronowitz cofounded ''Tomorrow'', a one-shot magazine about "creative destruction".
Aronowitz edited a collection of her mother’s work entitled ''The Essential Ellen Willis'', which appeared in 2014. She also edited ''Out of the Vinyl Deeps'' (
University of Minnesota Press
The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota. It had annual revenues of just over $8 million in fiscal year 2018.
Founded in 1925, the University of Minnesota Press is best known for its boo ...
, 2011), the first collection of
Ellen Willis
Ellen Jane Willis (December 14, 1941 – November 9, 2006) was an American left-wing political essayist, journalist, activist, feminist, and pop music critic. A 2014 collection of her essays, ''The Essential Ellen Willis,'' received the National ...
's music reviews and essays.
Aronowitz created and edited "The Slice", a features section at ''
Talking Points Memo
''Talking Points Memo'' (''TPM'') is a liberal political news and opinion website created and run by Josh Marshall that debuted on November 12, 2000. The name is a reference to the memo (short list) consisting of the issues (points) discussed b ...
'' which began in 2015.
As of 2017, Aronowitz was the features editor for
Splinter
A splinter (also known as a sliver) is a fragment of a larger object, or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initia ...
(previously Fusion) and writing the weekly newsletter "Fucking Through the Apocalypse".
In 2019, Aronowitz began writing a sex and relationships column for Teen Vogue.
Aronowitz is featured in the feminist history film '' She's Beautiful When She's Angry''.
In October 2019, it was announced that Aronowitz had signed a book deal with Plume for a book called ''Bad Sex'', “a blend of memoir, social history, and cultural criticism” that examines why, “despite the ubiquity of both sex and feminism, true sexual freedom remains elusive.”
Awards and recognition
The one-shot magazine, ''Tomorrow'', cofounded by Aronowitz, was nominated for an
Utne Media Award
''Utne Reader'' (also known as ''Utne'') ( ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and ...
for general excellence.
Aronowitz's collection of her mother's work, ''The Essential Ellen Willis'', won the 2014