Five Substacks by Writers in Love with their Subject

Plus join February's Weekend Write Along with guest speaker Jamie McGarry

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Today I have for you five substack recommendations from writers who are so obviously in love with their subject. These are substacks that are steeped in research and knowledge about subject. Each one is a joy of thoughtfulness. Each one displays a level of detail that only comes when a person is in love with their subject. Enjoy!

1. Footnotes and Tangents by

   Simon Haisell
   - A place to join a slow reading book club. I’m in the Wolf Crawl read along presently, re-reading the Hilary Mantel trilogy, and while I have not had chance to join in as much as I’ve liked, I am loving the posts and threads with added details, background and context provided.

Start here – join a slow book group for curious and creative readers

2. The Thread of Her Tale by

   Bea Stitches
   . Often moving, always fascinating, I’m watching the creation of a ‘Cromwell narrative quilt’ emerge in these posts, and enjoying all the background thoughts and facts emerge with it. Magical.

3. Noted by

Jillian Hess

a deep dive into note taking, using archive materials to explore the methodology of note taking. There is something intimate about seeing the doodles in the margins, the thoughts and systems of others, especially literary heroes.

4. Lost in the Archives by

   Ann Kennedy Smith
   . Another fascinating exploration, this time of Cambridge women. The thought behind these posts, often exploring the relationship between women, access to higher education and affect on life experience, is wonderful. This is a real rabbit hole to lose yourself down while procrastinating over your tax return or other important deadlines (I speak from experience)

5. Honeybee Histories by Matt Phillpott. An exploration of honeybee history. Lovely stuff.

Coming Up

The next of my Dawn Chorus early morning zoom writing groups starts next week on the 5th. A space for community, accountability and inspiration. Come and join this friendly group for a gentle hour with poetry or prose extract and optional prompt, facilitated by me.

To find out more and to book your place:

Weekend Write Along

Following on from the success of last week’s Weekend Write Along with Polly Atkin, I’m delighted to bring you news of the next one on 17th February with Valley press founder

Jamie McGarry

. The day starts with a talk from our guest speaker, followed by Q&A and then two writing prompts (optional) and time to work. You can bring along a longer term project, or work on whatever you want to in this time. It’s all about Community, Inspiration and Accountability, a chance for you to learn from industry experts, get inspired and prioritise your own work. All for £25 plus booking fee.

For more details and to book you place:

I’ll be back with details of the next book club next week, but in the meantime happy reading!