Megan Jessop

About Megan Jessop

Posts by Megan Jessop:

Poetry Spotlight graphic featuring “In Spite Of All Of This Grief” by Megan Jessop with glowing mason jar lights.

August 27, 2025

Poetry Spotlight: “In Spite Of All Of This Grief” by Megan Jessop

Megan Jessop Grief, Poetry, Poetry Spotlight contemporary poem, Hope, indie poetry, joy, light, Resilience

Today I saw a panda bear dancing with a manwhile waiting for the train in Portland, Oregon.Oh, it reminded me that sometimes our weird, whimsical joy might be just the thing to remind people to look up. Pay attention.Happiness still exists in spite of allof this grief. Wake up. There is still laughter to be spilled from your lips,to be drank in by a lover while he/she/theythirstily kiss each drop of sunshine that scatters from your open-mouth grin. It […]

October 31, 2024

Scorpio Season and the Death Card: Embracing Transformation and New Beginnings

Megan Jessop Metaphysical Ancestral Connection, Death Card, embracing change, Life Cycles, Liminal Spaces, Major Arcana, Mysticism, personal growth, Renewal, Samhain, Scorpio Season, spiritual growth, tarot, Transformation, Witch Archetype

Hello, readers and supporters of Unencumbered Press! As we enter Scorpio Season (October 23 – November 21) and approach Halloween, Samhain, or the Witches’ New Year, we find ourselves at a time when the veil between worlds is at its thinnest. This season invites cosmic adventurers to navigate the liminal spaces—the seen and unseen, the real and imaginary, the natural and spiritual. It’s a moment steeped in mystery, closely tied to the Death archetype and […]

September 19, 2024

Featured Book Review | Talk About Finding the Right Book at the Right Time—My Review of ‘Grief is for People’ by Sloane Crosley

Megan Jessop Bookstores, Featured Book Review, Grief, Nonfiction, Personal Stories best books on grief, book recommendations, books on grief and loss, bookstore fire, bookstore support, COVID-19, Crosley memoir, dealing with loss, East Bay Booksellers, emotional journey, family, finding the right book, grief, grief during pandemic, Grief is for People, Healing, healing through reading, life and death, literary review, loss, loss and healing, memoir, memoir about grief, memoirs of loss, navigating loss, nonfiction book recommendations, pandemic, personal growth books, personal growth stories, personal reflection, processing grief, Publisher's Weekly, reading recommendations, self-care through reading, Sloane Crosley, Sloane Crosley review, synchronicity, unexpected loss

When Death Comes in Threes This past spring, around the same time I started a promising new job, I lost my grandmother. While her death was somewhat expected, we did not expect the timing of it. I adored Granny. I don’t think I ever heard a bad thing said about her my whole life. She was sweet and spicy, all rolled into one, with a zest for life and a deep love for her people […]

September 6, 2024

Shared Post | Why Transparency in Marketing Matters

Megan Jessop Book Publishing, Marketing Insight, Shared Post, Transparency audience connection, audience engagement, authenticity, brand loyalty, brand values, business transparency, clickbait alternatives, consumer loyalty, consumer trust, corporate transparency, ethical branding, ethical business practices, ethical marketing, honesty in marketing, long-term business relationships, marketing practices, Ooligan Press, Shel Holtz, Starbucks, Toms, transparent marketing

Transparency is a core value at Unencumbered Press, where we prioritize being upfront about who we are and what we offer. In her recent Publisher’s Picks post, Stephanie Johnson Lawson highlights how authenticity helps foster a community where readers and creators feel seen and valued. In marketing, it’s easy to use tactics like bait-and-switch strategies, clickbait, or misleading headlines—designed to intrigue without clearly stating what’s being asked of patrons. But at Unencumbered Press, we see […]

August 27, 2024

Redefining Success Beyond Expectations and Embracing Growth

Megan Jessop Book Publishing, Grief, Personal Stories authentic life, book marketing, courage, fulfillment, life journey, mindset change, Ooligan Press, overcoming failure, personal growth, personal transformation, Publishing, redefining success, self-discovery, success

Have you ever felt like your world was completely turned upside down, only to realize it was exactly what you needed? Australian poet Erin Hanson is celebrated for her inspirational poetry, reflecting themes of courage and self-discovery. If you’re anything like me, you might have a crippling fear of failure that keeps you from trying anything new or stepping outside your comfort zone. After all, what if you fall? Sometimes, I feel like falling is […]

August 14, 2024

Shared Post | Ooligan Press Books as the Major Arcana

Megan Jessop Altered Tarot, Book Publishing, Metaphysical, Shared Post, The End of Love Book Publishing, Breaking Cadence, Cataclysms on the Columbia, Cindy Hiday, Erin Moynihan, Faultland, Finding the Vein, Iditarod Nights, Jennifer Hanlon Wilde, K. Hiatt, Katie Grindeland, Laurel Everywhere, Major Arcana, Matt Tompkins, Megan Jessop, metaphysical, Odsburg, Ooligan Press, photography, poetry, R. Tanksley, Rosa del Duca, shared post, tarot, The Gifts We Keep, The High Priestess

You may already know that Stephanie Johnson Lawson and I are both former Oolies. That’s what we call the graduate students who run Ooligan Press. One requirement of us was to regularly write blog posts, and we had an absolute blast doing it. One of my favorite posts explored the intersection of tarot and the remarkable books published by Ooligan. We’re excited to share that with you here. Read the full blog post** below.