Publications that made Medium great in 2024Published inThe Medium BlogSent as aNewsletter4 min readJust now-- Today gives us a wonderful two-for-one holiday deal: Merry Christmas AND Happy Hanukkah!Issue #236: a tech copywriters foster care beginnings, Xmas movie reviews, and hilarious Hanukkah cartoonsIf youre not entirely familiar with publications on Medium, theyre essentially magazines or collections of stories. Some writers use publications as portfolios to collect their best work. Others have grown them into thriving communities, with their own meetup schedules, editorial calendars, and support systems. In 2024, over 865,000 stories were published in over 33,000 active publications.These publications are gifts to the Medium community. Their editors often put in long hours managing and delivering feedback on dozens, if not hundreds, of drafts a month. Earlier this year, we launched a new Featured Stories functionality to help them get their best stories out to a wider audience.A little bird told me theres a lot more in store for publications in 2025. To help you learn more about them and support them in the new year, were dedicating this issue to the array of publications on Medium.New pubsOver 11,000 new publications were launched in 2024! Here are a few that particularly resonated with our readers this year:The Quantastic Journal: a publication about humanity, science, and technology. Sample story: What is a Particle, Really? by Selena Routley.The Parenting Portal: its about all things parenting, but its not just for parents. Sample story: Pregnancy Feels Different With Grief by Ayne.Life Without Children: for those who choose (or did not choose) a child-free life. Sample story: Why the Crazy Cat Lady Stereotype Is Especially Problematic for Women Without Children by Charlie Brown.Iberospherical, a publication that focuses on stories of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking lands and culture. Sample story: My Name, My Home by Mario Lpez-Goicoechea.The Psychology of Workplaces: examining workplace culture and featuring tons of career tips. Sample story: How My Outsider Status Led to My Greatest Successes by Neela.Active pubsThese publications are dependable resources every day. They are inspiring examples of what Medium communities can offer, especially if you are thinking about launching a pub of your own!Towards Data Science: Truly a one-stop-shop for anyone interested in technology topics, you can learn everything from tech career tips to how to build your own LLM.UX Collective: Its not just about digital design. Its stories feature a lot of important conversations about inclusivity/accessibility, color theory, and brand-building.The Writing Cooperative, a phenomenal resource for grammar tips and advice on crafting narrative, but it also features encouraging topics, like Writing Through The Christmas Holidays: A Survival Guide.The Narrative Arc: If you love memoirs about the human condition, this is the place to be. It also runs monthly writing challenges, which are a great way to stretch your skills and get to know their community.Tastyble: Featuring truly useful recipes and cooking advice for things you know you should be doing, but dont, so now you dont have an excuse (such as properly cleaning a cast iron pan or how to quick-pickle your own stuff).Find *your* new favorite pubsSubscribe to our Huge List of Publications Accepting Submissions. Although primarily a resource for writers seeking pubs, its also a way to find active and emerging communities on Medium.PRO TIP: Use Mediums search to look for topics youre interested in, and filter by hitting the publication tab on the results page!Subscribe to our official blog for our monthly It Happened On Medium roundups. We mention plenty of new publications there, too.Check out the comment section of this post!? If its empty, why not get into the generosity of this holiday season and share your favorite ones here?Recommended readingIn Debugging My Childhood, Shari Walker shares her journey from a foster home to becoming a tech copywriter, lovingly depicting heartbreaking details from her childhood and describing how she transformed her experiences into empowerment.Laugh your way into the next eight crazy nights with Ellen Liebenthals hilarious illustrated Hanukkah Gifts for Companies That Just Dont Get it. My favorite might be the Chanukah Bunny. (Runner up: The Adam Sandler snowglobe??)Eric Pierce, editor of Fanfare, endured 40 titles to make this list of the best and worst Christmas movies to stream right now. His pick for #1 best movie? Klaus, an animated film available on Netflix that seems profoundly charming and may help you avoid the #1 most controversial debate at family holiday gatherings: So, what should we watch tonight?STILL searching for gifts? Youre not alone. For those of us in the U.S., we can blame a late Thanksgiving for that; its left us all in a scramble. Im thankful for this gift guide by author Ximena Vengoechea, which features useful book recommendations and easy options to quickly find, such as a panettone cake (classic and classy, IMO) or unique memberships (like to your local botanical garden).A practical dose of writing wisdom: denotation vs. connotationIf you are worried about offending your audience, lean into the denotation (the strict definition) of the words you use. If you want to persuade your audience, lean into their connotations (the vibes).