Gabriela Fowler on getting published in The New York Times and the books she can’t wait to read

Copywriter at Canva, New York Times published writer

“Sunshine, spaghetti and the Sistine Chapel.”

It was, of course, Rome that set the scene for Gabriela’s essay on being a hopeless romantic. The one that made it to the dizzying heights of The New York Times, no less.

Given her ability to write from the heart, it makes sense that Gabriela spent three years working for Papier, the brand that wants to make every day noteworthy. And now, for Canva, the design tool that empowers people to create beautiful content.

Her writing career has taken her from Australia to the UK and back again, and it’s safe to say she’s learned a few things along the way.

From her top tips for writing to the healing powers of salt water, here’s Gabriela on life lately.

1. You recently moved home to Australia, swapping stationery for software. How did you find going from a small team of writers at Papier, to a team of 25+ writers at Canva?

The Papier creatives were like my little London family! On a small team, you become really close, which makes working together such a dream. The two writers I worked alongside at Papier will be friends for life.

But I’m loving being at a bigger brand. The copy direction is really built into Canva’s purpose and values. It’s cool because we’re a tech brand, but everyone still sees the worth of creative teams. AI is a creative partner, not a replacement.

There are so many exciting copy projects happening at once, and I love seeing the ideas our writers come up with! After only three months, I’ve worked across naming, tone of voice, campaigns, scripts… It’s always something new. The best brands have a bold story to tell, and I’m loving contributing to Canva’s.

2. You talk on LinkedIn about being a writer with heart. What does this mean to you?

It’s the only thing separating us from robots, right?

I’ve always put a lot of feeling into my writing. Great copy is about connection. It might seem counterintuitive if you’re working on corporate comms or a B2B project, but writing with heart – tapping into experience and emotion and memory – is what makes words have more impact.

That’s why creatives are so cool. The things you make will be different to anyone else’s, because they’re yours. I love reading copy that couldn’t have been written by AI, and I think it’s heart that brings humanity.

3. What's one tip that's improved your writing over the years?

I always come back to Anne Lamott’s advice in Bird by Bird about the “down draft” and the “up draft”. I’m often my own biggest obstacle, and her book offers thoughtful advice about the headspace you should be in to write well.

She says that everyone should have a “down draft,” where you do whatever it takes to get ideas down on the page. Then you work on the “up draft,” where you tidy, polish, refine.

This has helped so much with my overthinking and perfectionist tendencies. It works with fiction and copywriting. Just get ideas down first, then you can tidy up. There’s nothing worse than staring at a blank page, willing that perfect line to come to you. But if you give yourself the freedom to write badly or write something cringe, then something original could come out.

4. The first words are always the hardest! You wrote a beautiful article for The NYT about a period of depression that led you to book a flight to Rome and the fling that followed. Did you turn to writing during this time for a kind of emotional release?

Thank you! That article remains the piece of writing I’m most proud of. I wrote non-stop on that trip. I carried around a notebook to trattorias and piazzas, I jotted observations in my iPhone notes, and I started the draft of that essay on the balcony of my apartment in Trastevere.

I remember being in absolute emotional turmoil, and just pouring it all onto the page. I was writing as the fling was unfolding, figuring out my feelings in real time. I go into my private little world to write, then go back into the big wide world to live some more, then dive back into my writing. It’s a very fluid process for me, navigating my emotional world through my words.

I know things are really bad when I can’t write. But honestly, being a writer is one of the best parts of my life. I feel very lucky.

5. Congratulations on getting published, that's such a huge achievement. What steps did you take to get noticed by the editors?

So the Modern Love column is notoriously difficult to get into. According to the editor, statistically, it’s easier to get accepted into Harvard 20 times than to be selected for publication!

The steps I took were… I tried and I failed. I had submitted twice before: a different story, and the story that ended up being published. The essay I finally got published, (third time’s a charm), I didn’t rush. I knew it was the right story, I had just gotten excited and sent it off too soon. I remember some people advised me to give up on that narrative, try writing something else. But I knew this was it.

So I worked on it quietly for about eight months, alongside my full-time job. I polished and rewrote. I think I only let one trusted person read it, and finally got to a place where I couldn’t change another word.

Then, I just sent it off to an email address and waited. I was quite down and pessimistic about my personal writing at that point – I’d been getting a lot of rejections.

Seeing the reply from the editor was one of the best moments of my life. But it’s been a good lesson. Take time and take care. Trust your instincts and keep trying.

6. In that piece, you wrote that "traveling can be like geographic medicine." Where's your favourite place to go when you're seeking something, whether that's inspiration or a change of perspective?

I always come back to the ocean. In Australia, I grew up with a beach at the end of my road. I’ll basically throw myself into salt water at any opportunity; once when I was homesick on Christmas Day, I went for a swim in Brighton, and it really helped to shift some sadness. You never regret a swim – there’s something so magic about stepping into salt water and letting it all go.

I’m excited to go back to London in a few weeks. I’ll always see it as the place that turned me into a writer, in part because it’s the first time I was truly on my own. Living there, I fell in love with my own company. Half my heart will always be in London.

Rome, too, has a special creative energy for me. It’s just so full of life, incredible food, beautiful art, people who love to love. I’m actually going back this summer, to the same Airbnb where I wrote my essay. It was a stroke of serendipity – the apartment was available for the few nights I had free in July! I’ll always follow signs and synchronicities, so I had to book it.

7. Hopefully this trip inspires more writing, or a summer fling… Speaking of which, who are your favourite writers on the topic of love and heartbreak?

Beautiful question! I adore Caleb Azumah Nelson’s writing. It’s so arresting, it feels like he cuts straight to the truth of things so quickly, while capturing that poetic feeling of falling in love. His debut novel Open Water is also just such a vivid love letter to London.

André Aciman is another favourite. The Times wrote that you don’t read his novels but “tumble breathlessly into them” and that feels spot on. It’s very dreamy and escapist, with these incredible conversations in the most beautiful settings. His novella A Gentleman From Peru was my favourite read last summer – I devoured it in a single day on a sun lounger in Ischia. Perfection.

Of course, nobody writes about the intricacies of intimacy like Sally Rooney. I remember reading Normal People and having the epiphany that I needed to write a love story of my own one day.

And I’ve just ordered Love in Exile by Shon Faye. She writes in such a clever, vulnerable way about romance, queer identities and mental health. It’s definitely my non-fiction pick of the summer.

8. I can’t wait to read Open Water on holiday! Having moved across the world, what advice do you have to anyone who's thinking about starting afresh somewhere new?

If you’re thinking about it, just go. It was the best thing I’ve ever done.

There will always be a million reasons not to. You’ll have your heart split in two, but it’ll crack your life wide open. You’ll definitely go to some weird parties and have lonely weekends and question your choices. But figuring out who you are away from everything you’ve ever known? Not everyone gets to do that. It will make your life so much bigger.

If you can, do it when you’re single. Your love life will never be so dramatic and chaotic and devastating. And solo travel is simply the best.

9. I'm sure people prepared you for the weather in London, but what surprised you most about the city?

Probably how much I didn’t feel ready to leave. Living there felt so thrilling to me, even five years later. I’d still get moments – sitting on the tube with friends, drinking in a wine bar alone, walking through Victoria Park or Hampstead Heath – where I’d pinch myself that I was living my dream.

People always raise the weather thing, but you don’t live in London for the sunshine (although I love the contagious euphoria it brings when it does arrive). You live there because it’s this exhilarating, vibrant city filled with fascinating people and new opportunities for stories around every corner. I miss it every day.

10. Aside from your many upcoming travels, what are you excited about right now?

My novel!

I’ve just sent the second draft to my literary agent in London. Last year, I was awarded Highly Commended in the Cheshire Novel Prize, a competition for unpublished writers, and signed with my agent, so it’s been surreal to get that recognition. I’ve had a really turbulent six months, and I’ve just kept putting little bits of love and energy into this book. I’m hopeful that it could be the one that gets published.

I’m also excited about the possibility of falling in love. I’ve had a lot of heartbreak this year (which I’ve documented extensively on my Substack, Sex and Sensibility) but now that I’ve settled in Sydney, I’m reconnecting with the excitement that a new love story could start at any moment. That’s the other side of heartbreak. It feels shocking when things fall apart, but then you realise that you get to fall in love again, if you’re lucky.

That’s definitely something to look forward to.

Never has a conversation left me with such a long reading list! Wishing Gabriela all the luck and love for her debut novel. For now, follow her on LinkedIn or Substack for more of the good stuff (like lessons from ex-lovers and mental health must-haves).