I've Been Thinking About...Substacks to Gift

Incredible, interesting, helpful reading that will benefit you or a loved one all year long

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Last week I published my annual gift guide for writers and had the thought to add a bunch of my favorite Substacks. But I ended up listing so many of them that it felt better to do a whole separate post. Some of these people I know virtually and some I don’t, but I read all of these regularly. (Which explains why my inboxes are such a freaking mess.)

You can subscribe to them all for free, or choose a paid subscription—for you or someone else.

Why gift a Substack subscription?

It’s the gift that keeps on giving. Your gift recipient will have reading material, lots of it, all year long.

You’re supporting a writer or creative. And lord knows we desperately need our writers and creatives these days.

It’s easy and painless. All you have to do is hit a button et voila, you’ve got a gift sorted.

You or your gift recipient will get smarter. Okay, I exaggerate. I don’t know this for sure, but there’s lots of brilliant Substackers out there, so its bound to rub off, right?

Here are my picks

Some of these have to do with writing, but a lot don’t. I have crazy eclectic taste when it comes to reading, and especially Substacks. And they really aren’t arranged in any particular order.

Jeni Hankins. My girl in London. She’s the best, an endless font of creativity when it comes to songwriting and crafting. Girl’s got an Appalachian heart of gold, a voice you’ll never tire of, and a busy hospital job tending bears and dolls. Plus, you get a song download every month if you subscribe.

India Flint. Doesn’t matter if you never do a lick of natural dying (though she’s the expert) or stitching, her Substacks are always a fascinating dive into the creative waters. An Aussie who travels the world imparting her wisdom, but you can get it in your own home.

J.T. Ellison, The Creative Edge. Where creativity meets craft. J.T. is a prolific writer and reader and she shares it all on her newsletter, including a weekly Friday Reads post. Paid subscribers get her 22 Steps posts on writing a novel, and lots of craft advice.

Reta Hampton. Reta is a thriller writer who divides her time between Miami and Turkey and all points in between. Seriously, she travels a lot. And lucky for us, she writes about it. Reta came to our writing workshop in France in September and it was so fun to get to be with her in person.

Receipt from the Bookshop. Katie Clapham runs an independent bookstore with her mother in a small town in England near the sea. She works at the store every Friday and once there, she opens her Substack and chronicles her day. It’s charming and sometimes hilarious and always a good insider look at running a bookshop.

Deidre Reads Too Much. Deidre is one of my MFA buddies, although she is way, way smarter than me. And cooler. And she reads way more. She posts thoughtful reviews on the books she reads.

Brent and Michael Are Going Places. A wonderful travel blog from two digital nomads. They are cool dudes, but they may not be exactly what you think. They’re older nomads, and they love cruises. Always entertaining.

Publishing Confidential Kathleen Schmidt is a long-time publicist in the publishing world. An insider and sometimes contrarian view of the publishing world.

Elise Loehan, Pulling the Thread. I’m not cool enough to understand everything she talks about but I love it when she riffs on spirituality and explains the latest downloads from her friend, the famous psychic who apparently is not as famous as I thought since I can’t find her on Google. Just trust me.

Anne Helen Peterson. Culture Study. Dear lord, she comes up with some fascinating topics. And her threads are a window into what a certain slice of the country is thinking about. She lives on an island in Puget Sound and grows dahlias in her spare time.

Heather Cox Richardson, Letters From an American. Yeah, she has over a million followers, but it’s well deserved. She’s where I get my news these days. I no longer follow all the twists and turns of the crap that’s going on. I appreciate her unique historical slant.

The Lotus and the Pen. I’ve been reading Heather’s emails for years and I’ve taken classes with her. She recently moved to Substack, where all the cool kids are. Except for me. I’m here but I’m too old to be cool. The good thing is I don’t care. But Heather is way cool.

Jenna’s Substack, Author + Agent + Human. I’ve just discovered Jenna but I subscribed immediately. She’s got a three-part series on how she became a literary agent that tells a lot about the publishing industry. And as you might have guessed from the title of her newsletter, she’s an author, too.

Courtney Maum, Before and After the Book Deal. Author of the book by the same name, Courtney is a great font of information on the industry and writing.

Kate McKean, Agents and Books. Entertaining look at publishing from McKean, who is a literary agent with Howard Morhaim Literary Agency, and is an author as well.

I could go on forevah, listing Substacks I like because I read way too many of them. But don’t hesitate to throw them some change. Substack is actively changing the model for how writers get paid and I am here for it. Which reminds me—you can gift a subscription to my newsletter as well!

And I do need to point out that I don’t read all of these Substacks all of the time. If I did, I’d never get any writing done. But I do read them all at least semi-regularly.

Feel free to drop your favorites in the comments in case I haven’t mentioned them here!

I’ll see you back here on Sunday with my weekly love letter, and wait for it, information on the Artist’s Way class I’m running in 2025. Annnnndddd, the photo below is a hint of something that is happening in my life tomorrow. Come back Sunday to find out.

Photo by Brecht Denil on Unsplash