Hello Everyone! I know we have a lot of Substackers and newsletter writers on other platforms out there. I wanted to give you all a chance to share your work with our amazing community. And I’m curious to see what you are creating!
Share the title and URL and a brief description, and make sure to reply to each other as well. It’s always great to see how we support each other!
P.S. It’s been a busy week for me preparing my first workshop submission (I got put in the first group). So I apologize if I haven’t yet responded to your comment on last week’s post. I hope to get caught up again soon! In case you’re busy like me and missed it, you can read it here:
Now, let the reading begin! See you in the comments.
—Anne
Henri Matisse, “Girl Reading, with a Vase of Flowers,” 1922. Baltimore Museum of Art. (I saw this when I was back in the States a few weeks ago getting my visa sorted.)
Excited to connect with this community!! I am a former high school English teacher, recent PhD, and expecting mother still “figuring it all out,” and I use Substack to do a lot of the figuring.
In Resilient Resplendence, I write about reading, writing, teaching, running, caring for my animals, and preparing for my little human. Bonus content: lots of embarrassing childhood stories.
Hi all, So grateful for this opportunity to share my work, and also I am very inspired by all of your amazing ideas that are put into creative writings thru this platform.
This is a great way to share my writing with others like you all, my themes are about the environmental world we live in, thoughtful ways we can live on this planet incorporating nature and ourselves, also putting some creativity into the writing process.
Hi Anne, thank you for the invitation and great to see so many comments and newsletters to explore! I write A Little Fantastic - my reflections on living a sober life with presence and compassion.
Going alcohol free nearly 5 years ago has given me a life I never thought possible and I want to share this gift with others who might be trying to quit or cut down on alcohol but are finding it hard.
Thanks to Ann! I am 65 year old and started Fifteen Years and Counting..., a substack about the journey of aging. The title came about when my mother died one month before she turned 80 and in my grief, I realized that I had roughly 15 years to do the things I have been putting off. Writing from my heart and wisdom was one of those things. I live on five acres in a small rural community in the Washington state in the US and one my passions is plants. I have a huge permaculture garden that feeds and heals me. https://suekusch.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile
Hi everyone and thanks to Ann for giving us the chance to build community! I'm a former journalist, current copywriter and recent Substacker. Starting Over in Spain is about picking up and moving to Spain at 54 and explores topics like taking risks, creativity, finding love later in life and more. I look forward to connecting! https://startingoverinspain.substack.com/
Hi y’all! I’m a coach, healer, and songcatcher. I’m an ALS widow and mom of 3 boys (17, 15, 11). On my Substack Intellect & Intuition I write about mindset, healing, grief, and gardening, creating a community to assist sensitive people on their healing and intuitive journeys. I offer workshops to subscribers and monthly coaching at the founder’s level - and am running a flash sale that ends today, 9/30. https://celiacain.substack.com
Such a generous thread! I write Two Houses. Two Painters. Two Parents, about my life in NYC with my long-divorced artist parents. (I grew up in the 70s and 80s in Park Slope and SoHo.) I share their art and my story as a child of a well-known father and unknown mother. Themes for my writing are divorce, feminism, art history, NYC, grief, and Time. https://twohouses.substack.com
I’ve just so enjoyed reading about all the fab writers on this thread! I am a trauma therapist and I write about the intersection of healing and spirituality. I ask a lot of questions I explore without answering. Topics like “is struggle necessary for growth” and “existential crisis or menopause” and “what is resilience” and “motherhood and the awakening path” and I’m currently exploring spontaneous healing and yet another piece on motherhood. I love long form content and I frequently refer to cats.🐈⬛ 🐈😻
Hi, Anne. Thanks for this opportunity. And I am so excited for you and your new learning adventures. Anyway...I write at The Higher Call, nicoleclivengood.substack.com. It was intended to explore faith and/in life after Higher Ed, but it has taken on a life of its own.
Thanks for offering this, Ann. Here's the short description of my newsletter, A Thin Space:
For those who feel and live deeply, this newsletter is your companion. I write personal essays of awareness and intention that help readers to feel seen and understood with an emphasis on healing and wholeness.
I'm so extraordinarily jealous at the idea of going back to school to enroll in a writing program. I'm not sure it's meant to be my path- journaling alone does not make one a writer but does feel so nourishing! enjoy! Best wishes!
I love this opportunity! What beautiful, passionate projects people have going on!
My newsletter is like having a book bestie–you know, that one friend who reads constantly and widely and can’t help telling you all about everything she’s learned every time you get together? Well, that’s my newsletter: Read, Think, Share: Repeat!
Learn more at katewebbwrites.com. I would love to have you along for all the conversations!
Thanks for creating some introductions! I write the imaginatively titled "June's Writing'. It's about life and reading and nature and books and what I'm doing and chatting. I love writing it, and once it's gone out there once a week I always look at it and can't quite believe I wrote it and let it go. But I love doing it and I love the interaction I get, and I love that I've found Substack friends. Here it is https://junegirvin.substack.com
Thanks, Anne, for the opportunity to find community. It's the missing ingredient. I write The Long Middle, letters from the mess of midlife. After four kids and a peri/meno hellscape, I find myself tumbling deep into elder care. Writing helps me figure it all out and find my people. It also, sometimes, brings me joy! (Though sometimes it just enrages me, like so much else these days.) I talk about books and bodies, bad days and good. Find me here: https://longmiddle.substack.com. So much great stuff in this thread!
Hello Anne and thank you for this opportunity to get to know each other. I've only recently started being active on Substack. As I write in my 'About' page, I enjoy stringing words together, changing them, moving them around and doing it all again until they tell a story. My inspiration is the people and things around me - so lots to choose from! I'm looking forward to discovering new writers here on Substack. I can be found at: https://substack.com/@lindathompson1.
Last year I serialised a culinary memoir "Finding France: a Memoir in Small Bites" about my first 35 years in France learning to cook as canal barge chef to becoming a cooking school owner and cookbook author. Now at 72, I split my time between writing here, a contemporary journal subtitled "Champêtre: a Field Guide to French Country Life," while also welcoming other audacious writers and artists to my home as a creative residency- Relais de Camont. They all fit together and feed energy into each other.
I've love meeting many of the amazing people I read and discovering new writers on your Substack, Anne. Brava to you!
Hello audacious women 😊 I'm Vicki and I write The Therapy Room - musings of the mind, body, heart and soul from the world of psychology, yoga and life. I'm 51 and living in New Zealand, hoping to move into the next stage of life with grace, vitality and audacity... in fact this is the subject of my post that's coming tomorrow 😃
My Substack, The Austen Connection, looks at the ways the stories of Jane Austen connect to us today. It's a chance to chat about feminism, history, race, romance, and pop culture through the lens of our classic literature and the stories we tell. We've connected Jane Austen to pop culture topics like reality TV and The Bachelorette, romcoms like "You've Got Mail," the TV series "Fleabag," and the novels of Sally Rooney; and also to deeper topics like the philosophies of bell hooks and Adam Smith, democracy and misinformation, and the comedies of Shakespeare. We always take a diverse, inclusive, and fun approach to the conversations because Jane Austen is for everybody. I like to say I'm a public-radio producer who's assigned myself the Jane Austen beat.
PS - wish me luck, after three and a half years on Substack I am currently writing a nonfiction book proposal for The Austen Connection. Anne's life and work is inspiration, as is this community. Advice and stories welcome!
What a great article. I’ve only read one of Sally Rooney’s novels, but I’ve read some interviews and heard her give a (really good) talk at a literature festival, and consider her a serious thinker. This goes into context and content and literary tradition in a wonderful way. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for engaging with it - so glad you found it meaningful! You're making me realize I should probably share out this post, given so many people who are celebrating Sally Rooney Day with the new novel (which I also need to rush out and get!) Thank you again for your kind comments!
If you don't find an agent (you probably will), I can offer help with self-publishing (more nicely known as independent publishing). I have published with the best, but have chosen to take all my books back and publish them independently. I am a big fan. Good luck.
Hello! We are two adventurous best friends writing about our year-long backpacking trip around the world (with sub-themes surrounding organic farming, authentic human connection, and a few existential thoughts). We are new to writing/Substack but have found so much joy in this outlet.
Hi everyone 👋 I'm Sophie, originally from Belgium and now living in New Zealand.
I write about living the off-grid life in a tiny house, while holding down my busy 9 to 5 job. I write about my journey to rewild and reconnect with nature. My substack is https://thisissophietoday.substack.com
Hi everyone! Thank you Anne for this opportunity to share and connect with others! I’m Alexandra, I currently live in the Washington DC area, and I’m very new to this space. I recently started my Substack called The Lively Word as a place to share my thoughts about writing and creativity. I write all day for my job, and I aspire to publish a book (currently querying my first novel!), but I found myself missing the joy of writing just for fun. That’s what The Lively Word is for 😊 While I mostly focus on topics related to writing, there’s also tidbits about modern dating (I’m a single 27 year-old in DC, it’s rough out here), the pressures of daily life, and poetry. I can’t wait to connect!
I just wrote this to someone else, but if you don't find an agent (you probably will), I can offer help with self-publishing (more nicely known as independent publishing). I have published with the best, but have chosen to take all my books back and publish them independently. I am a big fan. Good luck.
Well, it's easy and quick and you make more money (but NOT a lot unless you're very lucky), but if you want to know more than that, I can answer questions to the best of my ability.
Thank you! I write about Mexico and the Maya. My latest is on Maya Warrior Queens—Unstoppable woman warriors. Today's theme in your post seems to echo the same sentiment!
This is SENSATIONAL! I can imagine hanging out with everyone in this thread. Such a broad variety of topics and locations. I'm going to set a reminder to come back in a few days to see who else shares their Substack.
I'm an ex-journo - now a comms writer. Mid-pandemic we moved from Melbourne to central Victoria, Australia. I set up Tuesday Trash Talk after my primary/high school BFF asked "what are you going to do for the next couple of decades of work-life?". It was a bit of a wake-up call. The Substack for me is about building knowledge, a bit of play and experimentation, finding the good people in the local waste, recycling, reuse, circular economy, etc industries.
Hello! I'm a funeral celebrant, a death doula, and an end-of life consultant. I help people get their heads around who and what matters, and how they want to plan for their future death. I want to normalize having conversations about death, dying, living our best life, and dying our best death. Excited to check out all these amazing newsletters! https://deathready.substack.com
I share your interest in death and dying and am probably closer to it than many people on Substack (I am 82), but I wouldn't say I am really ready for it. Have you seen my book, Life in a Hospice? You might like it, as it allows a series of people working in hospice care to talk to the reader about their work. It is even funny in places.
Humor is so valuable when we talk about death, I think! I just found your book and will order it. It looks great. And in terms of being "ready," I'm not sure all of us will or can be. But we can do so much to make it somewhat easier for those we leave behind.
You will see that I write posts about death and dying from time to time. At some point, I categorised all my posts so you will see them easily. I also wrote a book in the 1990s based on interviews with people dying from AIDS from all over the world. It is very moving but wasn’t well publicised at the time.
Yes, very important work! It’s a bit of an irony that we live our best life when we keep our eventual death in view. It puts everything in perspective.
Oh fun! Thanks, Anne, for this opportunity! I'm Melissa, and my Substack focuses on how I'm creating a life I love on the cusp of 50. I write about my upcoming move halfway across the country, from Nebraska to Virginia, as well as thoughts on writing, classic movies, chronic illness, and anything else that comes to mind. Hope you'll join me! https://melissaamateis.substack.com/
Hi, everyone, and thanks to Anne for this invitation. I've enjoyed reading through the posts and learning about so many "audacious women" who are out there! My newsletter, All Things Italy (and a little bit more), began on another platform while I was in the midst of finishing up a book on 19th-century US women in Italy. I met Anne during that project, when she was finishing up her biography of Constance Fenimore Woolson (mentioned briefly in my book). As they say, the rest is history! I have learned so much from both reading her work and watching her journey. Her courage prompted me to to expand my writing voice and to not be shy about my love of travel and leading groups of smart adults. My newsletter is informed by my time in Italy, first as a student many years ago, and later as a professor. https://ettamadden.substack.com/
which offers visions, solace, heart and grit for those on unconventional paths and wild journeys. It is inspired by stories and experiences from 20 years in 10 countries, working in the aid sector.
Do join me if you are interested to travel along together :)
What a beautiful way to connect with others! I'm Jessica and I write "This Fever Called Writing." You can find it here: https://jessicaleibe.substack.com/
It is an intimate exploration of my writing journey, mindfulness tips, and growth (particularly for creative people). My goal in life is to live a balanced and creative life using the art of storytelling as my compass. I hope you'll join me and I look forward to see all the amazing work you release out into the world.
When I was having trouble figuring out my next big writing project, I realized that I didn't need to have something big underway--and that I wanted to focus on writing for the pleasure of writing. I'm using my Substack for this purpose--as a place to post writing that's important to me.
What a great idea! I can't wait to check out all of the publications in these comments.
My publication is Dream Big. I write biweekly essays on finding writing in my 40s, writing my first novel, and the everyday moments that inspire me as I juggle a busy family life and my dream of becoming a published author.
I am a late-career academic who believes academic writing is creative, despite the fact that many folks say otherwise! In 2019, I started a newsletter for academic writers called Scholarly Writing as Creative Work. About a year ago I shifted the newsletter to Substack and renamed it Finnegan's Take to reflect that now I also coach academics who want to write fiction and memoir. https://carafinnegan.substack.com/
Hi everyone, I write about the power of story to lead and to step into our own power through the connections and relationships that result from them. I just started my Substack (I’ve been writing on my blog for many years) and will be adding stories about stories every two weeks. I’m based in Sandpoint, Idaho. Thank you, Anne for this opportunity to connect with you and others. https://open.substack.com/pub/lisagerber
I got my MFA at 65 and at 70 I’m a sculptor in a studio with a shop where I work and that features my art along with 12 other ceramic artists. I’m a retired art teacher who had happily reinvented my life, built a whole new, very supportive tribe and is living my dream.
So lovely to have this opportunity to connect and learn about each other, thank you!
I’m serialising a memoir about reclaiming sovereignty and creativity as an expression of spirituality after 30 years of devotional and tantra yoga practices.
I revived my Substack newsletter this year, as I’m finishing seminary and writing memoir essays. I write about my long journey building a life and faith that nourishes me through challenges - raising my daughter with a rare disease, taking care of my father with dementia, living in two countries and finally seeking out the roots (and healing) of my own struggles with anxiety and depression.
Hi I'm Traci. My son passed 3 years ago and I found myself feeling lost. I needed a purpose. I always had a desire to write, but never pursued it. I'm working with a writing coach now and I'm just getting started. I hope to post more soon.
I’m Rachel. I edit personal essay magazine Open Secrets, which
is a home for memorable, revealing personal essays about all the subjects we're taught to keep “secret.” We have a year and a half of powerful personal essays on the site and accept submissions from our free or paid subscribers (we pay $50/essay for 1,000-2,000 unpublished essays). See our writing guidelines section for details.
This is such a great idea, thank you for this, Anne. I’m a writer, author, actor, and podcaster. I've been obsessed with relationships for as long as I can remember, but have remained single for most of my adult life. I’ve been writing about dating and relationships longer than any of my real relationships have lasted. In reality, I apply a “do what I say, not do what I do” approach to my articles, never following the sound advice I’ve bestowed to readers and love-seekers for over a decade.
But, now I’m in my 40s. I want to try love and life, differently.
Love, Brie is the sort of space I wish always existed, especially when I felt like I was the only one who showed up to weddings alone without a plus-one or felt like I was the only one doing things different from everyone else.
What a wonderful thread! I am 55 and live in Northwest Ohio, USA. I started my Substack last December. I have always written but it was not a career. It is part of who I am. Substack has been the most organic way to share my writing. I’ve tried to publish my work in more traditional ways, getting rejection letters, having editors completely change my work if it is accepted, etc. I hated it and it didn’t make me want to write more. It simply chipped a hunk of my soul away with every query. I will never go back! My newsletter is essays about life as well as a serialized novel about a young woman navigating in the paradox of being told she has no power but using it haphazardly and never realizing that she is hurting people as a result. Oh yeah and there’s a vampire in a non-traditional setting.
What a lovely invitation! Thank you, Anne! I’m delighted to share and discover others. I am a former English professor/ poet turned holistic coach not intentionally, but by following a thread of breadcrumbs that led me to a fuller expression (for me) of working with others inclusive of but also beyond the realm of the intellectual. My Substack is a place where i explore creativity, integration, culture, coming into aliveness, wholeness, identity all through the lens of the Feminine Principle not as gendered expression, but as a dimension of reality.
I started as a journalist, but then for a long time focused on family and work that tapped into the more "admin" bit of my brain. After my parents died I realised that I wanted to start writing again, as I had lots of stories to tell. Substack is the right place to do that, full of encouragement and inspiration. I love reading as well as writing here. My Substack revolves around memoir, family, books and the arts.
Lovely to meet all the fellow Audacious Substackers here!
I’m Erin and I’m afraid my writing is not quite as deep and meaningful as everyone here, but, if you’re in the mood to throw a GREAT dinner party, my newsletter, Quaintrelle, is where it’s at.
I’m a sommelier by trade (by way of a journalism career mostly in politics and crime – 😴 ) and a frequent student at various cooking classes in Toronto but other parts of the world, too.
Basically, I drink and throw parties for a living.
By the way, Quaintrelle means “A woman who emphasizes a life of passion expressed through personal style, leisurely pastimes, charm, and cultivation of life’s pleasures.”
I like your vibe! I lived in toronto for 8 years and this brings a lot back. I sent your Substack to my bf who lives in Toronto too. I feel like you both need to be friends. 🤣
It's a great descriptor, Simona! I'm currently at a stage where I have an itch to do...something else, but not quite sure of the appropriate scratch. So Quaintrelle, and the cultivation of life's pleasures" is a nebulous enough directive to keep seeking.❤️
Hello. I’m Abra and I write The Booktender, where I post monthly reading lists around a theme and write about books. I started it in January when I really needed to snap myself out of a mid-life “is this all there is?” despair. Getting back to my love of reading and books was step one.
Then a few months later, I left my 19-year career at a university to become executive director of the Tucson Festival of Books. I’ve written myself happier here on Substack!
I keep making good changes— currently working on my physical strength and supportive routines (sleep, nutrition, mind, etc) so I will definitely be checking out some of the work of others who commented here on these topics. If you would like to connect, here’s my url https://open.substack.com/pub/thebooktender
So many amazing women and Substacks! I'm a mid-life writer and writing coach, and I write about the joys and challenges of the creative life as well as craft issues for writers at Set Your Muse on Fire: https://setyourmuseonfire.substack.com/. I have an MFA in Writing and worked for an MFA program for many years (still teach there occasionally) and also have an interest in more genre fiction. I'm particularly interested in the lives of "solo creatives" since they face different challenges than women who are enmeshed in raising a family. We may not have kids or spouses, but we may still have other responsibilities, jobs, etc. - and we still face the challenge of the blank page!
Thank you for sharing your back-to-school journey with and inviting us to connect here, Anne!
My name is Maya, and I am a 64-year-old artist, activist, change strategist, and storytelling futurist. I am a U.S. citizen living in Argentina but moving to Europe next year.
This is my fFIRST WEEK writing on Substack, where I will be doing a short weekly post as creative balm for your climate blues. My goal is to offer a mood-lifting musing and a creativity prompt to get folks to imagine a brighter future. (After all, we cannot create what we don't see as possible!)
Thanks for this opportunity to share! I’m a disabled Filipino-American writer and I write “Comedy, Tragedy,” which is about my bipolar journey. I also write lifestyle pieces and about writing. At the end of each month I list the books I read for that month.
Excited to connect with this community!! I am a former high school English teacher, recent PhD, and expecting mother still “figuring it all out,” and I use Substack to do a lot of the figuring.
In Resilient Resplendence, I write about reading, writing, teaching, running, caring for my animals, and preparing for my little human. Bonus content: lots of embarrassing childhood stories.
https://open.substack.com/pub/helenplevkajones
Hi all, So grateful for this opportunity to share my work, and also I am very inspired by all of your amazing ideas that are put into creative writings thru this platform.
This is a great way to share my writing with others like you all, my themes are about the environmental world we live in, thoughtful ways we can live on this planet incorporating nature and ourselves, also putting some creativity into the writing process.
You are welcome at Terra Wellbeing!
https://tempesttshoshannarose.substack.com/
Hi Anne, thank you for the invitation and great to see so many comments and newsletters to explore! I write A Little Fantastic - my reflections on living a sober life with presence and compassion.
https://ellienova.substack.com/
Going alcohol free nearly 5 years ago has given me a life I never thought possible and I want to share this gift with others who might be trying to quit or cut down on alcohol but are finding it hard.
Thanks to Ann! I am 65 year old and started Fifteen Years and Counting..., a substack about the journey of aging. The title came about when my mother died one month before she turned 80 and in my grief, I realized that I had roughly 15 years to do the things I have been putting off. Writing from my heart and wisdom was one of those things. I live on five acres in a small rural community in the Washington state in the US and one my passions is plants. I have a huge permaculture garden that feeds and heals me. https://suekusch.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile
Hi everyone and thanks to Ann for giving us the chance to build community! I'm a former journalist, current copywriter and recent Substacker. Starting Over in Spain is about picking up and moving to Spain at 54 and explores topics like taking risks, creativity, finding love later in life and more. I look forward to connecting! https://startingoverinspain.substack.com/
Sounds wonderful! Thank you, Jennifer!
Hi Jennifer, I can’t wait to read more about Spain. It’s great to connect!
Hi y’all! I’m a coach, healer, and songcatcher. I’m an ALS widow and mom of 3 boys (17, 15, 11). On my Substack Intellect & Intuition I write about mindset, healing, grief, and gardening, creating a community to assist sensitive people on their healing and intuitive journeys. I offer workshops to subscribers and monthly coaching at the founder’s level - and am running a flash sale that ends today, 9/30. https://celiacain.substack.com
This sounds amazing, Celia. Beautiful work! Thank you for sharing it with us.
Such a generous thread! I write Two Houses. Two Painters. Two Parents, about my life in NYC with my long-divorced artist parents. (I grew up in the 70s and 80s in Park Slope and SoHo.) I share their art and my story as a child of a well-known father and unknown mother. Themes for my writing are divorce, feminism, art history, NYC, grief, and Time. https://twohouses.substack.com
I love those themes. They sound like very rich territory. Thank you for sharing with us!
I’ve just so enjoyed reading about all the fab writers on this thread! I am a trauma therapist and I write about the intersection of healing and spirituality. I ask a lot of questions I explore without answering. Topics like “is struggle necessary for growth” and “existential crisis or menopause” and “what is resilience” and “motherhood and the awakening path” and I’m currently exploring spontaneous healing and yet another piece on motherhood. I love long form content and I frequently refer to cats.🐈⬛ 🐈😻
This sounds lovely, Michelle. I think finding ourselves spiritually is such an important part of healing. Thank you for writing about it!
Really happy to find so many “audacious women” here!
Hoorah to frequently referring to cats!
🤪🐈⬛
Hi, Anne. Thanks for this opportunity. And I am so excited for you and your new learning adventures. Anyway...I write at The Higher Call, nicoleclivengood.substack.com. It was intended to explore faith and/in life after Higher Ed, but it has taken on a life of its own.
Thanks for offering this, Ann. Here's the short description of my newsletter, A Thin Space:
For those who feel and live deeply, this newsletter is your companion. I write personal essays of awareness and intention that help readers to feel seen and understood with an emphasis on healing and wholeness.
https://econway.substack.com/
I'm so extraordinarily jealous at the idea of going back to school to enroll in a writing program. I'm not sure it's meant to be my path- journaling alone does not make one a writer but does feel so nourishing! enjoy! Best wishes!
I love this opportunity! What beautiful, passionate projects people have going on!
My newsletter is like having a book bestie–you know, that one friend who reads constantly and widely and can’t help telling you all about everything she’s learned every time you get together? Well, that’s my newsletter: Read, Think, Share: Repeat!
Learn more at katewebbwrites.com. I would love to have you along for all the conversations!
There's no such thing as too many book besties! Love this. :)
What a lovely description! Thank you for sharing, Kate!
Thanks for creating some introductions! I write the imaginatively titled "June's Writing'. It's about life and reading and nature and books and what I'm doing and chatting. I love writing it, and once it's gone out there once a week I always look at it and can't quite believe I wrote it and let it go. But I love doing it and I love the interaction I get, and I love that I've found Substack friends. Here it is https://junegirvin.substack.com
Sounds perfect! Thanks, June!
Thanks, Anne, for the opportunity to find community. It's the missing ingredient. I write The Long Middle, letters from the mess of midlife. After four kids and a peri/meno hellscape, I find myself tumbling deep into elder care. Writing helps me figure it all out and find my people. It also, sometimes, brings me joy! (Though sometimes it just enrages me, like so much else these days.) I talk about books and bodies, bad days and good. Find me here: https://longmiddle.substack.com. So much great stuff in this thread!
Thank you, Lisa. I love the title. I’m sure a lot of the readers here will be interested. We can relate!
Hello Anne and thank you for this opportunity to get to know each other. I've only recently started being active on Substack. As I write in my 'About' page, I enjoy stringing words together, changing them, moving them around and doing it all again until they tell a story. My inspiration is the people and things around me - so lots to choose from! I'm looking forward to discovering new writers here on Substack. I can be found at: https://substack.com/@lindathompson1.
Thank, Linda. Sounds like a lovely approach to writing on Substack. :)
Hello Anne and all these audacious women from a quiet corner of Southwest France.
My name is Kate Hill and I write The Camont Journals here on Substack.
https://katehillfrance.substack.com/
Last year I serialised a culinary memoir "Finding France: a Memoir in Small Bites" about my first 35 years in France learning to cook as canal barge chef to becoming a cooking school owner and cookbook author. Now at 72, I split my time between writing here, a contemporary journal subtitled "Champêtre: a Field Guide to French Country Life," while also welcoming other audacious writers and artists to my home as a creative residency- Relais de Camont. They all fit together and feed energy into each other.
I've love meeting many of the amazing people I read and discovering new writers on your Substack, Anne. Brava to you!
Hello audacious women 😊 I'm Vicki and I write The Therapy Room - musings of the mind, body, heart and soul from the world of psychology, yoga and life. I'm 51 and living in New Zealand, hoping to move into the next stage of life with grace, vitality and audacity... in fact this is the subject of my post that's coming tomorrow 😃
https://drvickiconnop.substack.com
Hello, Vicky! Thank you for sharing your Stack with us. Sounds wonderful!
Thank you, Anne; and hello, friends!
My Substack, The Austen Connection, looks at the ways the stories of Jane Austen connect to us today. It's a chance to chat about feminism, history, race, romance, and pop culture through the lens of our classic literature and the stories we tell. We've connected Jane Austen to pop culture topics like reality TV and The Bachelorette, romcoms like "You've Got Mail," the TV series "Fleabag," and the novels of Sally Rooney; and also to deeper topics like the philosophies of bell hooks and Adam Smith, democracy and misinformation, and the comedies of Shakespeare. We always take a diverse, inclusive, and fun approach to the conversations because Jane Austen is for everybody. I like to say I'm a public-radio producer who's assigned myself the Jane Austen beat.
Join us, friends - would love to see you there! 💮
I love how you describe The Austen Connection! I need to look up the Sally Rooney pieces and share them with my daughter. She’ll be all over that!
PS - wish me luck, after three and a half years on Substack I am currently writing a nonfiction book proposal for The Austen Connection. Anne's life and work is inspiration, as is this community. Advice and stories welcome!
YES - it's my cool daughters who introduced me to her and insisted I read :) :)
I'll link for everyone here and take it off the paywall - enjoy!
https://austenconnection.substack.com/p/sally-rooney-jane-austen-sexual-tension
What a great article. I’ve only read one of Sally Rooney’s novels, but I’ve read some interviews and heard her give a (really good) talk at a literature festival, and consider her a serious thinker. This goes into context and content and literary tradition in a wonderful way. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for engaging with it - so glad you found it meaningful! You're making me realize I should probably share out this post, given so many people who are celebrating Sally Rooney Day with the new novel (which I also need to rush out and get!) Thank you again for your kind comments!
If you don't find an agent (you probably will), I can offer help with self-publishing (more nicely known as independent publishing). I have published with the best, but have chosen to take all my books back and publish them independently. I am a big fan. Good luck.
Goodness, thank you so much, Ann! Your Substack is awesome. I'll let you know it all goes!
This is awesome news! Best of luck!
Thank you, Anne!
Hello! We are two adventurous best friends writing about our year-long backpacking trip around the world (with sub-themes surrounding organic farming, authentic human connection, and a few existential thoughts). We are new to writing/Substack but have found so much joy in this outlet.
https://katieandleah.substack.com/
Looking forward to connecting!
<3
Sounds like fun! I love seeing all the ways people are using Substack. Writing with a friend is such a great idea!
I'm Courtney, and I write about life through the lens of the books I'm reading in "Survival by Book" which is at my Substack courtneycook.substack.com
What a great idea! I’m sure that is right up a lot of people’s alleys in this community. :)
Hi everyone 👋 I'm Sophie, originally from Belgium and now living in New Zealand.
I write about living the off-grid life in a tiny house, while holding down my busy 9 to 5 job. I write about my journey to rewild and reconnect with nature. My substack is https://thisissophietoday.substack.com
Sounds like a lovely journey! I’d love to make it to New Zealand one day.
It's well worth a visit!
Hi everyone! Thank you Anne for this opportunity to share and connect with others! I’m Alexandra, I currently live in the Washington DC area, and I’m very new to this space. I recently started my Substack called The Lively Word as a place to share my thoughts about writing and creativity. I write all day for my job, and I aspire to publish a book (currently querying my first novel!), but I found myself missing the joy of writing just for fun. That’s what The Lively Word is for 😊 While I mostly focus on topics related to writing, there’s also tidbits about modern dating (I’m a single 27 year-old in DC, it’s rough out here), the pressures of daily life, and poetry. I can’t wait to connect!
https://substack.com/@alexandrablanck?r=3049ax&utm_medium=ios
I just wrote this to someone else, but if you don't find an agent (you probably will), I can offer help with self-publishing (more nicely known as independent publishing). I have published with the best, but have chosen to take all my books back and publish them independently. I am a big fan. Good luck.
Hi Ann, thanks for reaching out! I’ve been hearing more and more about indie publishing and I’m definitely not opposed. I will keep this in mind :)
Well, it's easy and quick and you make more money (but NOT a lot unless you're very lucky), but if you want to know more than that, I can answer questions to the best of my ability.
Hi Alexandra! This sounds like such a lovely way to use your Substack. I hope writing it and connecting with readers brings you much joy!
Thank you, Anne!
Thank you! I write about Mexico and the Maya. My latest is on Maya Warrior Queens—Unstoppable woman warriors. Today's theme in your post seems to echo the same sentiment!
.https://mexicosoul.substack.com/p/maya-warrior-queens-of-the-yucatan
Fascinating! Thank you for sharing!
This is SENSATIONAL! I can imagine hanging out with everyone in this thread. Such a broad variety of topics and locations. I'm going to set a reminder to come back in a few days to see who else shares their Substack.
I'm an ex-journo - now a comms writer. Mid-pandemic we moved from Melbourne to central Victoria, Australia. I set up Tuesday Trash Talk after my primary/high school BFF asked "what are you going to do for the next couple of decades of work-life?". It was a bit of a wake-up call. The Substack for me is about building knowledge, a bit of play and experimentation, finding the good people in the local waste, recycling, reuse, circular economy, etc industries.
Great idea, Jackie, to check back in. I love the local view you are taking in your Substack!
What a true Heroine: sharing talents of all and creating networks of women. 🙏🙏 to you, Anne. This is my substack- where I unpick gender disparity in writing - a trojan horse for The Heroines Journey. https://open.substack.com/pub/storybetweenlines?r=1von53&utm_medium=ios
Thank you for sharing, Kimberley! I love the topic!
Hello! I'm a funeral celebrant, a death doula, and an end-of life consultant. I help people get their heads around who and what matters, and how they want to plan for their future death. I want to normalize having conversations about death, dying, living our best life, and dying our best death. Excited to check out all these amazing newsletters! https://deathready.substack.com
I share your interest in death and dying and am probably closer to it than many people on Substack (I am 82), but I wouldn't say I am really ready for it. Have you seen my book, Life in a Hospice? You might like it, as it allows a series of people working in hospice care to talk to the reader about their work. It is even funny in places.
Humor is so valuable when we talk about death, I think! I just found your book and will order it. It looks great. And in terms of being "ready," I'm not sure all of us will or can be. But we can do so much to make it somewhat easier for those we leave behind.
You will see that I write posts about death and dying from time to time. At some point, I categorised all my posts so you will see them easily. I also wrote a book in the 1990s based on interviews with people dying from AIDS from all over the world. It is very moving but wasn’t well publicised at the time.
Yes, very important work! It’s a bit of an irony that we live our best life when we keep our eventual death in view. It puts everything in perspective.
Such necessary work!
Fascinating! I will have to check out your substack
Hello everyone! I’m a philosopher writing to expose how misogyny works behind the scenes and in the dark corners of my life. Part memoir, part analysis: https://open.substack.com/pub/nightvisiongoggles?r=lscq&utm_medium=ios
So many wonderful new people to get to know! My Substack, Escape to the Bookshop, chronicles my adventures as I open a bookshop in a little hill town in Italy called Narni. https://open.substack.com/pub/escapetothebookshop?r=mzu72&utm_medium=ios
Also, please comment if your Substack is in any way bookish or about moving abroad. I’d love to connect!
Oh fun! Thanks, Anne, for this opportunity! I'm Melissa, and my Substack focuses on how I'm creating a life I love on the cusp of 50. I write about my upcoming move halfway across the country, from Nebraska to Virginia, as well as thoughts on writing, classic movies, chronic illness, and anything else that comes to mind. Hope you'll join me! https://melissaamateis.substack.com/
Hi, everyone, and thanks to Anne for this invitation. I've enjoyed reading through the posts and learning about so many "audacious women" who are out there! My newsletter, All Things Italy (and a little bit more), began on another platform while I was in the midst of finishing up a book on 19th-century US women in Italy. I met Anne during that project, when she was finishing up her biography of Constance Fenimore Woolson (mentioned briefly in my book). As they say, the rest is history! I have learned so much from both reading her work and watching her journey. Her courage prompted me to to expand my writing voice and to not be shy about my love of travel and leading groups of smart adults. My newsletter is informed by my time in Italy, first as a student many years ago, and later as a professor. https://ettamadden.substack.com/
Lovely to explore all these comments. I am Catriona, I write Notes from Saving the World:
https://notesfromcatriona.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile
which offers visions, solace, heart and grit for those on unconventional paths and wild journeys. It is inspired by stories and experiences from 20 years in 10 countries, working in the aid sector.
Do join me if you are interested to travel along together :)
What a beautiful way to connect with others! I'm Jessica and I write "This Fever Called Writing." You can find it here: https://jessicaleibe.substack.com/
It is an intimate exploration of my writing journey, mindfulness tips, and growth (particularly for creative people). My goal in life is to live a balanced and creative life using the art of storytelling as my compass. I hope you'll join me and I look forward to see all the amazing work you release out into the world.
I write Monica's Musings here:
https://monicacmiller.substack.com/
When I was having trouble figuring out my next big writing project, I realized that I didn't need to have something big underway--and that I wanted to focus on writing for the pleasure of writing. I'm using my Substack for this purpose--as a place to post writing that's important to me.
What a great idea! I can't wait to check out all of the publications in these comments.
My publication is Dream Big. I write biweekly essays on finding writing in my 40s, writing my first novel, and the everyday moments that inspire me as I juggle a busy family life and my dream of becoming a published author.
Thank you for checking out my work.🙏
https://mariahanley.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile
I am a late-career academic who believes academic writing is creative, despite the fact that many folks say otherwise! In 2019, I started a newsletter for academic writers called Scholarly Writing as Creative Work. About a year ago I shifted the newsletter to Substack and renamed it Finnegan's Take to reflect that now I also coach academics who want to write fiction and memoir. https://carafinnegan.substack.com/
Hi everyone, I write about the power of story to lead and to step into our own power through the connections and relationships that result from them. I just started my Substack (I’ve been writing on my blog for many years) and will be adding stories about stories every two weeks. I’m based in Sandpoint, Idaho. Thank you, Anne for this opportunity to connect with you and others. https://open.substack.com/pub/lisagerber
I got my MFA at 65 and at 70 I’m a sculptor in a studio with a shop where I work and that features my art along with 12 other ceramic artists. I’m a retired art teacher who had happily reinvented my life, built a whole new, very supportive tribe and is living my dream.
So lovely to have this opportunity to connect and learn about each other, thank you!
I’m serialising a memoir about reclaiming sovereignty and creativity as an expression of spirituality after 30 years of devotional and tantra yoga practices.
https://substack.com/@margueriterosenfern/
Oh and the story starts in Bristol, goes to Biarritz, and ends in rural Ireland during Covid. Ultimately, it’s a love story :-)
Oh and the story starts in Bristol, goes to Biarritz, and ends in rural Ireland during Covid. Ultimately, it’s a love story :-)
I’ve come across so many like-minded folks in these comments! Grateful for your work. And thank you for the invitation to share.
My Substack is Joy on The Journey.
https://emilybrooke.substack.com
I revived my Substack newsletter this year, as I’m finishing seminary and writing memoir essays. I write about my long journey building a life and faith that nourishes me through challenges - raising my daughter with a rare disease, taking care of my father with dementia, living in two countries and finally seeking out the roots (and healing) of my own struggles with anxiety and depression.
Hi I'm Traci. My son passed 3 years ago and I found myself feeling lost. I needed a purpose. I always had a desire to write, but never pursued it. I'm working with a writing coach now and I'm just getting started. I hope to post more soon.
https://substack.com/@curlytee
I’m Rachel. I edit personal essay magazine Open Secrets, which
is a home for memorable, revealing personal essays about all the subjects we're taught to keep “secret.” We have a year and a half of powerful personal essays on the site and accept submissions from our free or paid subscribers (we pay $50/essay for 1,000-2,000 unpublished essays). See our writing guidelines section for details.
https://opensecretsmag.substack.com
Fabulous! Thank you for sharing, Rachel!
This is brilliant!!
So happy to know about this space, Rachel!
what a great concept Rachel.
This is such a great idea, thank you for this, Anne. I’m a writer, author, actor, and podcaster. I've been obsessed with relationships for as long as I can remember, but have remained single for most of my adult life. I’ve been writing about dating and relationships longer than any of my real relationships have lasted. In reality, I apply a “do what I say, not do what I do” approach to my articles, never following the sound advice I’ve bestowed to readers and love-seekers for over a decade.
But, now I’m in my 40s. I want to try love and life, differently.
Love, Brie is the sort of space I wish always existed, especially when I felt like I was the only one who showed up to weddings alone without a plus-one or felt like I was the only one doing things different from everyone else.
https://briannehogan.substack.com/
This sounds so interesting Brianne - looking forward to checking it out.
What a wonderful thread! I am 55 and live in Northwest Ohio, USA. I started my Substack last December. I have always written but it was not a career. It is part of who I am. Substack has been the most organic way to share my writing. I’ve tried to publish my work in more traditional ways, getting rejection letters, having editors completely change my work if it is accepted, etc. I hated it and it didn’t make me want to write more. It simply chipped a hunk of my soul away with every query. I will never go back! My newsletter is essays about life as well as a serialized novel about a young woman navigating in the paradox of being told she has no power but using it haphazardly and never realizing that she is hurting people as a result. Oh yeah and there’s a vampire in a non-traditional setting.
https://substack.com/@betsysaneholtz
What a lovely invitation! Thank you, Anne! I’m delighted to share and discover others. I am a former English professor/ poet turned holistic coach not intentionally, but by following a thread of breadcrumbs that led me to a fuller expression (for me) of working with others inclusive of but also beyond the realm of the intellectual. My Substack is a place where i explore creativity, integration, culture, coming into aliveness, wholeness, identity all through the lens of the Feminine Principle not as gendered expression, but as a dimension of reality.
Sometimes i essay, sometimes i poem.
https://open.substack.com/pub/simonachitescuweik?r=38xwr&utm_medium=ios
Thank you for the opportunity to introduce ourselves, Anne. Looking forward to exploring these comments from other Audacious Women!
I'm Wendy and I write the Substack Wendy's World:
https://wendyvarley.substack.com/
I started as a journalist, but then for a long time focused on family and work that tapped into the more "admin" bit of my brain. After my parents died I realised that I wanted to start writing again, as I had lots of stories to tell. Substack is the right place to do that, full of encouragement and inspiration. I love reading as well as writing here. My Substack revolves around memoir, family, books and the arts.
Lovely to meet all the fellow Audacious Substackers here!
I’m Erin and I’m afraid my writing is not quite as deep and meaningful as everyone here, but, if you’re in the mood to throw a GREAT dinner party, my newsletter, Quaintrelle, is where it’s at.
I’m a sommelier by trade (by way of a journalism career mostly in politics and crime – 😴 ) and a frequent student at various cooking classes in Toronto but other parts of the world, too.
Basically, I drink and throw parties for a living.
By the way, Quaintrelle means “A woman who emphasizes a life of passion expressed through personal style, leisurely pastimes, charm, and cultivation of life’s pleasures.”
https://open.substack.com/pub/erinhenderson
Ha! Thanks! Toronto’s a great place. Easy to take for granted living here, but it’s a really good city. ❤️
I like your vibe! I lived in toronto for 8 years and this brings a lot back. I sent your Substack to my bf who lives in Toronto too. I feel like you both need to be friends. 🤣
Erin, being a quiet, monastic writer, I admire your life so much!
That is incredibly flattering, Patricia. Trust me, I am trying to get to a lone cottage in the woods...maybe one day.🙏
Quaintrelle speaks deeply to my heart as a Virgo, and whose primary passion in life is discover and create beauty in everything.
It's a great descriptor, Simona! I'm currently at a stage where I have an itch to do...something else, but not quite sure of the appropriate scratch. So Quaintrelle, and the cultivation of life's pleasures" is a nebulous enough directive to keep seeking.❤️
Hello. I’m Abra and I write The Booktender, where I post monthly reading lists around a theme and write about books. I started it in January when I really needed to snap myself out of a mid-life “is this all there is?” despair. Getting back to my love of reading and books was step one.
Then a few months later, I left my 19-year career at a university to become executive director of the Tucson Festival of Books. I’ve written myself happier here on Substack!
I keep making good changes— currently working on my physical strength and supportive routines (sleep, nutrition, mind, etc) so I will definitely be checking out some of the work of others who commented here on these topics. If you would like to connect, here’s my url https://open.substack.com/pub/thebooktender
So many amazing women and Substacks! I'm a mid-life writer and writing coach, and I write about the joys and challenges of the creative life as well as craft issues for writers at Set Your Muse on Fire: https://setyourmuseonfire.substack.com/. I have an MFA in Writing and worked for an MFA program for many years (still teach there occasionally) and also have an interest in more genre fiction. I'm particularly interested in the lives of "solo creatives" since they face different challenges than women who are enmeshed in raising a family. We may not have kids or spouses, but we may still have other responsibilities, jobs, etc. - and we still face the challenge of the blank page!
Oh this sounds so fun! My kids are raised and I'm divorced, so I guess I am a solo creative now!
Ah “solo creatives” resonates, Jana. My kiddos are all grown up, but raising 3 on my own was a creative challenge!
Thank you for sharing your back-to-school journey with and inviting us to connect here, Anne!
My name is Maya, and I am a 64-year-old artist, activist, change strategist, and storytelling futurist. I am a U.S. citizen living in Argentina but moving to Europe next year.
This is my fFIRST WEEK writing on Substack, where I will be doing a short weekly post as creative balm for your climate blues. My goal is to offer a mood-lifting musing and a creativity prompt to get folks to imagine a brighter future. (After all, we cannot create what we don't see as possible!)
Just five minutes a week for a mindset tweak. 😊
https://futureforeword@substack.com
Thanks for this opportunity to share! I’m a disabled Filipino-American writer and I write “Comedy, Tragedy,” which is about my bipolar journey. I also write lifestyle pieces and about writing. At the end of each month I list the books I read for that month.
Find me at: https://barbnatividad.Substack.com