A Substack About Substacks, Part II

A list of all of the newsletters I subscribe to that have nothing to do with children or children's books. (And so maybe you're not that interested? Sorry.)

Following on from my previous newsletter about all the Substacks I subscribe to, here is part two! Part one included anything to do with children’s books, youth culture and parenting. Part two is the grown up stuff! There are a lot of Substacks below about literature and the publishing industry, but some that have nothing to do with either.

As I said in part one:

My favourite newsletters are the ones that have a very clear purpose and an authentic voice. The writing might meander, or digress from time to time, but it never feels like content for content’s sake.

Here they are! (There are so many!)

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Books + Bits (paid)

A place to informally discuss books and culture reccs that I find joyful and/or thought provoking: podcasts, movies, TV shows, journalism, poetry, sometimes vintage finds. I’ve loved recommending things for as long as I can remember and over the years, I have done it via a blog, a newspaper column, a podcast and now, this newsletter! In short? Let me cut through the cultural overload for you.

Pandora Sykes is a London-based journalist who knows everything worth knowing about books and culture. She’s a one-woman repository of goodness and gossip and trends, and I basically click on every link she shares, because the stories and interviews are always worth reading. The focus is mostly on books, but not exclusively.

Books + Bits is well-worth paying for and increases my ‘to read’ pile exponentially every week. I don’t understand how she is across so much, as well as having three children and a career and apparently, a full and varied life, but I applaud her. And envy her.

Favourite recent posts: In Conversation with Jack Edwards, the internet’s librarian, I Went on a Colleen Hoover Binge, and any and all of the weekly Bits posts (I savour them every time they come through!)

Pandora Sykes also recently did a cross-post with At Home by India Knight (more on that Substack below) because in case she wasn’t talented enough, she also has very cool taste.

Poetry Unbound

This is a home for both poetry lovers and the poetry-curious, that grew out of the Poetry Unbound podcast hosted by poet and theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama. Whether you’ve folded Poetry Unbound into your life from its beginnings, or are joining us for the first time, know you are most welcome. All that’s required is a curiosity towards what you might meet — in the poetry, in others who you’ll meet here, in yourself — and how your life will rise to meet it all in turn.

I was a bit late to the Pádraig Ó Tuama party, having only come across his work at this year’s Melbourne Writers Festival. After seeing him speak, I knew I had to read everything he’d ever written, including his Substack, which is a companion to his popular and much-loved podcast.

I love discovering the poetry I wouldn’t come across elsewhere, and the accessible analysis and unexpected questions that arise from each poem. I am always happy to see a Poetry Unbound newsletter in my inbox.

Favourite recent posts: Conversation starters and The state[s] of the world

The Hyphen (paid)

Here you will find musings on work, wellbeing and creativity. I am a firm believer that you can create your own career path. I am also passionate about writing and words being paid for.

The Hyphen is one of the most popular newsletters on Substack and frequently features on ‘best of’ lists. Author Emma Gannon apparently makes six figures from her tens of thousands of subscribers. I guess she is who every Substacker aspires to be! And good on her.

The content she puts out is varied. Life updates, culture recommendations, insights from navigating the publishing industry, and a curated list of links once a month. I find the latter a little lacking, especially compared to Books + Bits (above) or At Home (below). But! Here I am. Reading and recommending her stuff. Am I tall poppy-ing her? Maybe. She’s clearly great at what she does if you look at her subscriber numbers! And I continue to read every newsletter that comes through.

I paid a year subscription for The Hyphen because I was offered a good discount, but honestly, I’m not sure if I would still be paying if it was month-to-month. Most especially because I’m not super into the self-help stuff that focuses on themes of toxic productivity and burn out. Posts like this remind me of the era of the internet personal essay, and not in a good way. But, she did just release a new novel (which I read and liked), and I enjoyed following her recent book tour updates.

Favourite recent posts: Ten years later, I re-watched GIRLS and My answer to “what’s your favourite book?”

News + Reviews by Bri Lee (paid)

As the name suggests, I cover news (good and bad) and reviews (good and bad). News is usually about my areas of interest and expertise: law, feminism, inequality, the media, education, transparency, big tech, etcetera. The reviews might be of books and articles, TV and film, food and art, fashion and interiors, fancy things and funny things. People seem to like getting a mixed bag and being surprised, and I like that too.

This is an interesting one because it has recently taken a bit of a swerve. In fact, I think the above description is no longer that relevant. While Bri Lee used to offer what her title describes, a recent post explained that she’s going to move away from news commentary and links to purchases. Instead, she’s going to focus much more squarely on books. And her reasons are good:

What has fallen away during the last twelve months in Australia’s cultural landscape are spaces deliberately set up to let authors—dedicated artists and subject matter experts—speak to the public. Shameless’ book show was canned, Read This has just ceased, and now the ABC is cutting its team of arts reporters from ten to two. This is serious, people! Imagine these platforms and spaces as species in an ecosystem. If we don’t put some fucking effort in it’s going to collapse.

Bri Lee is also clearly moving her project away from being just a newsletter with subscribers, and more into a community with members. This includes her online book club Spoiler Alert, her reading and writing retreats, and The 5 Star Noodle Exchange which is “a street library, except it’s online’”. (I can’t link to that because it’s for paid subscribers only.)

I liked her old stuff. I enjoyed the current affairs and the t-shirt recommendations. But! I think I like this new focus even more. It’s about books, after all. And I was super sad when Read This was cancelled. So, bring it on. I also just booked tickets to the Melbourne launch of her upcoming book, Seed, which I am very excited about.

Favourite recent posts: The Solar Eclipse of My Life and I’m Calling It: The Substack Vibe Has Shifted

Bookish Nooks

This is a place where you can find bookish conversations, articles, thoughts and news from the perspective of a book publicist in Melbourne.

My lovely publicist at Text Publishing, Madeleine Gerber, has a great Substack filled with personal musings, professional insight, and nostalgic reflections. I love that I never know what’s coming next. Maddy’s book recommendations are always surprising, with a great mix of high and low. She also just writes with such honesty and warmth, and contrary to that Substack written about above, Bookish Nooks reminds me of the era of the internet personal essay, but in the best way. I especially recommend following if you’re interested in the publishing industry, Grey’s Anatomy, or Motorbike Smut. What a combo! There is also some excellent cat content.

Favourite recent posts: A Lesson in Nostalgia and The Very Big, Bad Thing

Jessica Stanley’s READ.LOOK.THINK.

READ.LOOK.THINK. is an email newsletter for writers and readers by London-based Australian novelist Jessica Stanley. Sent out every three or four weeks, each edition links to scores of essays, books, recipes, podcasts, interiors and more.

Jessica Stanley’s most recent newsletter stated that she’s leaving Substack, so this is a cheeky inclusion on my list! But she is continuing her work, just on another platform. Thank goodness! I love her approach to curating monthly lists of things to read, look at and think about. Her suggestions are always engaging and I click on every single link, saving articles to read when there’s time (there’s never enough time, but I try!).

Jessica Stanley is the author of the recent hit novel Consider Yourself Kissed, which I read and loved and wrote about extensively in several of my own newsletters. She’s an Australian living in London and her writing and curating is compelling and diverse. In the same newsletter she’ll recommend some great toy storage alongside a think piece about what a spiral of silence can do to democracy. It’s my kind of mixed bag.

Favourite recent posts: 248. READ. LOOK. THINK and 247. READ. LOOK. THINK (but also just any of them)

maxwell museums (paid)

If you want to keep abreast of what’s going on in UK museums – and there’s a lot at the moment, with repatriation demands flying around and scandals brewing at the British Museum – this newsletter from a Design Museum PR manager gathers the week’s main stories (international as well as local) into an enjoyably gossipy digest every Friday.

This is a recent discovery and an addictive one, albeit slightly niche. From 2011-2013 I lived in London, and nearly every Saturday morning I would go to a cafe with the arts liftout from several newspapers, circle every exhibition I wanted to see that weekend, and head off to the Tate Modern, or the National Portrait Gallery, or the V&A, or the Saatchi Gallery, and see handfuls of shows. I was working in the arts at the time, and straight off my undergrad in Visual Arts. I loved every moment, but even then I don’t think I understand how lucky I was to be seeing so many incredible works of art and museum exhibitions, often for free. It was such a profound and formative time in my life (again, not that I knew it) when I was living alone, seeing the world, figuring out who I was, and developing my sense of taste. Anyway. maxwell museums goes some way to filling a hole that I’ve never been able to replicate.

Every week this free newsletter (which I donate to because I love it so much) offers museum and gallery updates, news, gossip and insider knowledge. It’s as close as I get to going to the shows themselves, and makes me feel just a tiny bit more ‘in the know’ when it comes to that whole world. It’s mostly about London institutions, but often includes a global taster. It’s pretty nerdy in lots of ways, but very loveable and accessible, too. I highly recommend it, especially if you’re interested in the GLAM industry.

Favourite recent posts: Bitter row at Freud Museum and National Trust cuts 550 jobs

Emma Straub’s Newsletter

Here’s what you can expect: updates and information about my books; reading recommendations and updates on Books Are Magic happenings; thoughts on television and food and cats and other things that I find good in the world.

Emma Straub probably needs no introduction, but in case you’ve missed out, she’s a brilliant author, New Yorker, mother, and owner of incredible bookshop Books Are Magic, which is probably number one on my list of ‘bookshops I hope to visit one day’.