8 more favorite newsletters
You all, the Substacks are good these days. So many writers whose work I admire have joined and are here, just putting out their thoughts on writing and life. The Notes section of the Substack app feels, to me, the way Twitter used to feel, when my feed was mostly people looking for connection over their shared interests. (I tried Threads for a bit and I’m sorry to say it does not feel that way — my “suggested posts” there are full of people looking to go viral with complaints and rage — though I do still log in every so often to see what Bookshop.org and USPS are up to.)
I just counted and I now subscribe to 63 Substacks. Some of them are published very sporadically, but it’s still a lot of Substacks to keep up with! I turned off the emails long ago and I now use the app to read them. I’m perpetually behind, but I love taking time on a Sunday to browse everything that’s come out in the previous week.
A handful are paid subscriptions, among them Carley Moore’s My Subby, Garth Greenwell’s To a Green Thought, and Courtney Maum’s Before and After the Book Deal. When I upgrade to paid, it’s either because I want to support a beloved writer’s work in the long stretches between books or I want access to the information that lies behind the paywall. Sometimes it’s both.
The last time I did a roundup of my favorites was September 2021, and I still subscribe to all eight of those Substacks, though one has gone quiet. I also have perennial recommendations that live on the homepage of The Next Novel. In addition to those, here are eight more of my current favorites.
Meghan Mayhew-Bergman wrote two of my all-time favorite short story collections, Birds of a Lesser Paradise and Almost Famous Women. Her monthly Substack is about writing and art-making and understanding place in the era of rapid environmental change. Her writing is thoughtful and grounding.
I meant Dan Sanders in a Sara Lippmann class in 2021 and loved his writing basically from the first paragraph. I don’t think the particular story I’m thinking of has been published yet, or if it has he hasn’t promoted it (which wouldn’t surprise me — has the goldfish story been published yet, Dan?). This is a Substack that tries to be quarterly and if you subscribe, you might get news of the goldfish story when it comes out.
I also met Stephanie Austin through Sara, not in a Sara class but because Sara kept saying, “You know Stephanie Austin, right?” until finally, I knew Stephanie Austin. Stephanie is newer to Substack, writes funny/poignant things about life, and still misses TinyLetter, so give her a follow.
Out of all the ones I read, Danielle Lazarin’s Substack probably has the most in common with my own, so if you like this one, give hers a try? I hope she wouldn’t be offended by me saying that, like when you tell someone they look like someone else and they absolutely do not agree. But Talk Soon is about writing and revising and process — all the ups and downs. I appreciate that Danielle wrote frankly about when her novel didn’t sell (I’ve been there!) and I’m rooting for her next project.
Lynn Steger Strong was my teacher once, years ago. It was just one Sackett Street workshop, but I can still picture her passionately talking about the fictional characters in the stories we brought in. She is a great teacher and a great writer and her newsletter is basically just her encountering life with a writer’s eye. I loved her post about sticky books and the one she wrote about having a baby as a grad student.
I believe I have Amy Shearn to thank for turning me on to Sarah McColl’s Substack (and Amy’s How to Get Unstuck is another great read, so consider this a twofer). LOST ART is about “the creative lives and works of (mostly) dead women.” I loved Sarah’s recent essay on Anni Albers and how we make the things we make.
I don’t remember how I stumbled upon maura chen’s “views from the bike lane” but I do remember that I subscribed after the very first post. Drafting Curbside is a vast and highly visual collection of things noticed in the urban environment, mostly LA but there are also photos and memories from Philly and Brooklyn, which feel more familiar to me. Specifically it’s about noticing things most people might want to look away from, and maura brings an activist architectural designer’s perspective to things like empty signage, the undersides of highway overpasses, and sidewalk hatches.
Cassie Mannes Murray maps essays! My brain maps ideas in exactly the same way, and though I only make maps when writing, Cassie’s maps make me want to try it when reading too. These essay maps become their own essays — read Mapping “Portrait of the Mother as an Artist” and you’ll see what I mean.
Bonus rec: Little Happies
Jiordan Castle just joined Substack and hers is fledgling but very promising. Her first post is about how she went viral on Twitter in the way you do not want to go viral on Twitter.
Do you have a favorite newsletter you think I would like? Tell me about it.
Love to you all.
I do still miss TinyLetter! I wish it didn't go away.
Thanks so much for sending people my way! Goldfish is getting published soonish in Bull, so glad you remembered it