find your faves: part 3
the final roundup of all the substacks I'm subscribed to
I know what you’re thinking! How’s that giant Ferrero Rocher typing? Your guess is as good as mine — but I knew I couldn’t leave you hanging for Part 3 of my the Substacks-I’m-subscribed-to-roundup over the yuletaint, so here we are. I hope you had a very lovely Christmas Day, whether you celebrate or not.
The first section in today’s is work related, so if you’re kicking your feet up and still have the keyboard swapped for the cheeseboard, feel free to scroll past that section & screenshot it to come back to later (or bookmark it here on Substack).
The second, and only other, section, comprises publications that defied all other categorisation, other than “life”.
As a reminder, here’s Parts 1 & 2:
Find your new faves: part 1
The other day, my friend Will Patrick sent me a screenshot of part of my Substack profile, with the number of publications I’m subscribed to circled and the caption “!!!!!!!!” I replied — within the same minute, clearly I was exceptionally hard at work — with “??????” (would you believe we’re both writers and have two English and Linguistics degree between us?)
Find your new faves: part 2
If you missed Part 1, I’m sharing all the Substacks I’m subscribed to, in the hope that you can find some gorgeous reading material for this Slanket-and-Bailey’s week we have coming up (or, as I’ve always enjoyed it being called, the Christmas Perineum). You can find part 1 here:
For (my line of) work
These ones are Substacks I’m signed up to because they help me with my work. And if you’re like hey Ellie! What do you do for work; firstly, hey Dad! And secondly I’m a self-employed writer, both here and at my main gig Eleanor Mollie. (I’m also a speaker, so…book me if you fancy it!)
byLink in Bio is a brilliantly wry and informative newsletter for those who create content as part of their jobs. What I really like, too, is that Rachel always reminds subscribers that a paid Link in Bio subscription is likely expensible.
by“Taking a nerd's-eye view of brands doing interesting things with their language and tone of voice".
byMatilda is a digital strategist with a focus on not f*cking up the world. I recently found her on instagram and she was an immediate follow thanks to her ~ great vibe ~, so I look forward to reading more editions of Broken Growth, which presents us with an alternative view out the boring/bro-marketing/bullshit idea of ‘brand growth’ that we’ve been surrounded by for so long.
byLucy is the queen of PR, and helping you get your face, name and product in front of the masses; her Substack is full of excellent tips to help you do it too.
For life
by I love these monthly insights into Julia’s brilliant creative brain. It’s like another world - one I want to be a part of forever and ever.
/ bySasha is one of my very favourite writers ever (so much so that I asked her to write a piece for VORACIOUS 1 and VORACIOUS 2). She’s also the person who made me understand the appeal of journaling, thanks to her ever-genius prompts and discussions.
byAlice has deftly taken a life situation that wasn’t always on the cards into an excellent Substack about houses, moving, and feeling at home.
byI think if I could be anyone, it may well be E. Jean Carroll.
byAnna writes honestly, humorously and insightfully about the world of work, particularly freelancing. I really appreciate her frequent breakdowns of what she earns, too — it’s always interesting to see!
byYou may remember Hannah from her guest piece on Pep Talk, or perhaps mine on hers. She’s a multi-hyphenate creative writing about creativity and career changes, and I love her insights and interviews.
byA look at the culture we live in, Culture Study is based on the idea that ‘everything is interesting if you just spend some time analyzing and contextualizing it’ — it certainly is when Anne Helen is writing about it.
byYou might know Sara from a whole host of things — instagram advice, the most beautiful pictures documenting her life, and a lot more besides. Entre Nous brings all of that to the Substack platform.
Discussions around the things Kate likes, with unashamed, unabashed enthusiasm, and lots of Claudia Winkleman — exactly my cup of tea.
A lovely, heart-warming reminder that the world is a wonderful place.
byI met Jo on a day retreat this year, and she brought a very wise, musing vibe to proceedings — she also brings that to her newsletters.
byRebecca’s musings on the world of work (and life) are always so rich, it feels like chatting to your most interesting friend over a cup of tea.
I’m not ashamed to admit, I’ve a bit of a crush on Emily — whether she’s writing about the Elvis weekend in Wales or her work for Tony’s in Amsterdam, I adore her view on things.
I adore Emma Gannon and all she does. So I’m a broken record! Sue me! Not only do I love everything she writes, on creativity, connection, culture and more, but I also love how she’s paving a new way here on Substack, with it being one of her main income streams (she’s even signing out of instagram, for good, in 2024).
Bella writes about juggling multiple creative projects and pursuits, and the importance of making time for the things you love.
by“Maybe Baby is my attempt to chip away at the inscrutability of modern life. The essays I publish here every Sunday range from personal stories to cultural critiques, usually with the aim to understand myself or the world differently than I did before.”
byClare, otherwise known as My Frugal Year, is a brilliant voice on money and financial wisdom in this day and age. No “no more avocado toast” here; more “here’s how you can have your avocado toast and try and save even though the world is on fire”.
Jackie is full of it, and I mean that as nothing but a compliment. Whatever “it” is — life, wisdom, energy — she’s got it in buckets, and I love reading everything she writes.
byI love Nicole’s content on instagram, and I love her Substack too - on soft living, life in your 30s, and everything in between.
byI found Roisin’s Substack via a post she did on Mary Oliver’s The Orange, which we both have tattoos of. Fun!
Kate was another alum I met at the day retreat, and she is a tour de force — whatever she writes about, it’s done with vivacity, humour, and intrigue.
Gabby is the founder of Bloody Good Period, and reflects on what her day to day life contains post-CEO life.
byFor everyone who’s ever been called a “jack of all trades”, and wondered why that’s seen as a bad thing.
byAs well as working for Substack as their Community Lead, Hannah writes Tell Their Stories, a newsletter all about storytelling and community.
byTo be honest I think Katie should get some kind of honourary award from the Lancashire Tourist Board, because her “Receipts from the Bookshop” series, where she chronicles her days in the bookshop she runs with her mum, have made me want to go to Lytham-St-Annes. Maybe some kind of nobility? Red Rose Royalty? I’ll work on it — in the meantime, you should subscribe.
byIf I told you the number of times Nina has made me see things in a completely different way, we’d be here all day — so the TL;DR is that she’s ripping up the rulebook on the world of work, and she’s one of the smartest people to ever do it.
byHarriet’s pieces are beautifully honest and incredibly relatable musings on the importance of (in)dependence and responsibility and what that looks like in life.
bywhat if is Olivia’s space for work that doesn’t fit in with the writing she gets paid to do as an artist, writer and teacher, meaning it’s a passionate, hilarious selection of musings on many different things.
byYou know when your parents say “If so-and-so told you to jump off a ledge, would you?”? If so-and-so is Tamu, then yes, yes I would. Her background in somatics and social work mean she’s in a league of her own when it comes to coaching, and it feels like a genuine honour to learn from her as she learns more about her (and therefore our) relationship with capitalism and toxic productivity.
“Cautionary tales, unsolicited advice, and loving rants from an artist and recovering company founder.”
Ta-da! There we have it; all 9273 Substacks I’m subscribed to, for you to peruse. I’ve really loved having all of these brilliant writers in my inbox this year at the touch of a button, and hope you’ve found someone new to follow too. (If you’ve found lots…I can only apologise. Welcome to my life.)
Hey Ellie!!! Thank you so much for including me, so happy you love Claudia Winkleman too, hehe xxx
What amazing company to be listed in, would make a great dinner party line up. Thanks so much for thinking of me x