What I'm Reading On Substack

A summarized list of 5 awesome Substacks

Dear Reader,

It’s been 5 months since my last newsletter suggestion post. Substack has since added Recommendations to the platform, which I find really useful to discoverability. However, I just wanted to highlight a few folks that I’ve been following, and share why I like what they are doing in no particular order. There are many others I enjoy that aren’t on this list, but will share soon.

Feel free to share publications you like in the comments! ~ WM

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Lamp Post in the Marsh

Daniel W. Davison, a frequent contributor to The Storyletter and good friend of mine, has created his own Substack. If you’ve been following The Storyletter, you’ve probably read some of Daniel’s work already. He was kind enough to allow me to keep his previous stories on my Substack, but he will be posting new, amazing short fiction in the coming weeks over on “Lamp Post in the Marsh”. I’ve already had a chance to read over several of the first drafts and boy oh boy are they thought-provoking tales. I highly-recommend following Daniel and his work!

The Problematic Pen

J.M. Elliott’s Substack is one of my favorites right now. Jacquie’s historical fiction novel “Of Wind and Wolves” is really, really good. I’m a slow reader so I’m only on chapter 15 but the world feels so real and alive, while the characters are extremely believable despite the ancient fantasy-like time period. Other types of posts on “The Problematic Pen” include essays about the publishing industry/culture and historical deep-dives into ancient peoples or locations, which I find to be very enlightening. Go check it out!

Life in the Real World

I can’t get enough of “Life in the Real World”. Karen Davis posts very touching prose accompanied by beautiful shots of birds and nature, usually attached to a theme or message for the week. I find Karen’s Substack to be very peaceful and calming, a place to go and find meaning in the small things. I leave her posts feeling refreshed and always wanting more. If this sounds like something you’re interested in, go check it out! I can’t say enough great things about it.

Stories of the Future

Adam Sidwell has been a huge influence on me as a creator and publisher in the last few years. I discovered Future House Publishing in 2018 and I had a strong desire to submit my work, but hadn’t yet written the right novel. Life happened and I lost track of time. Then, in 2021, I started my Substack and my own company, only to find out that Adam Sidwell was making moves into the Metaverse, animation and gaming with Future House Studios. I reached out and connected via LinkedIn, then we met at one of his events and talked about Substack. I was so thrilled to see Adam create his own Substack and I’m excited to follow his journey. If you like being on the cutting-edge of the entertainment industry and read great stories, I recommend following “Stories of the Future”.

Sherman Alexie

To be frank, I don’t know a whole lot about Sherman Alexie. The one thing I do know is that I really enjoy his Substack. He publishes short fiction and poetry, among other things, and what I like most about his work is his style. He’s got a very palatable writing voice and I find his stories reflective of the real world, exposing the rawness of humanity. He also records his posts as voiceovers and this has really lowered the barrier to entry for me since I prefer audio most of the time. I think you’ll like Sherman Alexie if you enjoy literary fiction and like to ponder upon life long after reading a post.

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As some of you may have noticed, we’ve moved our community posts from Monday to Wednesday. Wednesdays will feature things such as recommendations, threads, interviews, and showcases. Next Wednesday will be a Storyletter Thoughts thread.

What are you reading these days? Hope to see you in the comments!