Move over Instagram, 2024 is the year of the Substack.
Short-form media reigns supreme these days – whether it's a TikTok video or an Instagram caption – it's all about those bite-sized morsels of content that can be digested in a instant. Gone are the days when we'd spend 30 minutes watching YouTube vlogs, and newsletter updates... or at least that's what we thought.
Perhaps we're feeling a bit fatigued by the fast pace of media these days, but one of the unlikely new places we're turning to for updates from our favourite online creators and brands is none other than Substack. The newsletter platform is simple: you enter an email address, you receive updates from the creator direct to your inbox on a weekly, fortnightly, monthly or just sporadic basis.
If you're new to the idea of Substacks, or you simply just want some inspiration on who to subscribe to, we've got you covered with some personal recommendations from the RUSSH editors below.
1. Many Such Cases (Magdalene J. Taylor)
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Magdalene Taylor is a writer and critic of culture and sex, and her Substack newsletter Many Such Cases is a dissection of sexuality and culture that covers tongue-in-cheek topics like "Death by Situationship" and "Do These People F*ck". If you've ever wanted to theorise about online dating, fetishes, lust, loneliness and sexual culture – Magdalene's musings are a MUST.
2. Crème de la Crème (Aminatou Sow)
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You might recognise some of Aminatou's other endeavours – like her podcast Call Your Girlfriend and best-selling book Big Friendship, both of which she completed with her friend and journalist Ann Friedman. Sow's newsletter is an insight into her more personal thoughts and insights, where she can opine over everything from what's making her laugh to what's taking up space in her brain and reading pile.
3. No one asked (Jordan Santos)
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Jordan Santos (the founder of the Seen Library, a community for readers to connect and share stories in person) uses her Substack as a place to store her innermost thoughts – those she jokes "no one asked for". Whether covering Seen Library events, or just talking through her feelings about Instagram, she's an abundant source of book reviews, fashion recommendations and travel inspiration.
4. Electric Blue (Halleta Alemu)
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LA-based artist, writer and actor Halleta Alemu has a way with words – and her shared writings on Substack are both emotive and erudite. A confluence of diary-like essays, prose, and her candid takes on everything from pop culture to her experiences between cultures. We'll read with vigour pretty much anything Halleta writes.
5. The Review of Beauty (Jessica DeFino)
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Beauty culture critic and advice columnist Jessica DeFino takes to her own platform on Substack to tackle the big questions when it comes to the beauty industry – unpacking how it interweaves with capitalism, misogyny and feminism with brilliant wit and a razor-sharp mind.
6. Gut Feelings (Sarah Jin Li)
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Writer, essayist and founder of the Heretics Club literary salon, Sarah Jin Li's Substack is an anthology of emotions and lived experiences. "Gut Feelings is political, but it is also extremely personal. Though for me, as an artist, there is no real separation of the two," she says, reiterating that it's a marketing and editing-free space – just the "purest and rawest iteration of my subconscious".
7. Infinite Jaz (Jasper Diamond Nathaniel)
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Writer Jasper Diamond Nathaniel launched his Substack newsletter to help readers to better understand the staggering cruelty of Israel's occupation of the West Bank – from the frontlines. Unravelling the complex political history of the region whilst simultaneously capturing the stories fo those living in Gaza, Nathaniel's writings are as significant as they are compelling.
8. Mon Review (Monica Ainley)
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Resident Paris fashion girl of the internet, Monica Ainley, has now joined the Substack ranks with weekly takes on fashion, culture and France. From Fashion Proust Questionnaires to Girl Crushes, no topic is left unturned by Mon in her posts.
9. Add to Wishlist (Otegha Uwagba)
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Journalist and author Otegha Uwagba gives you a peep into her monthly shopping lists in newsletter format, curating gift lists and giving you fashion week run-downs (she'll even share a couple of discount codes if you're lucky). If you loved her books, you'll want to get in on this Substack.
10. Communion (Roro)
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If all you've ever wanted was to find someone who can write as well about the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season Four Finale as well as they can write an exegesis on rage, then Communion is the Substack for you. Interrogating just about everything from victimhood to cigarettes to myopia and desire, Roro is eloquent, intimate and inspiringly original.
11. Patti Smith (Patti Smith)
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Yes, would you believe that the Godmother of Punk herself, Patti Smith, has a Substack? If you're desperate for more morsels of Smith's writing after ploughing through Just Kids and M Train, then we'd highly recommend hitting the subscribe button on her newsletter for video messages, and poetic snippets from one of the greatest minds of our generation.
12. News and Reviews (Bri Lee)
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Get Bri's whip-smart takes on the news, books and culture each week, like the risks of revisiting childhood classic novels, or rants about posthumous publishing. Paid subscribers are also treated to a monthly special long edition of her newsletter, full of musings from some of her creative peers.
13. In The Details With Molly (Molly Blutstein)
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A personal favourite of mine is the sweetest little Substack of Molly Blutstein (also known on the internet as @accidentalinfluencer). I've long followed Molly and her twin sister Reese for their indefatigable fashion sense, but it turns out their taste extends beyond the realm of outfitting and into just about every facet of life. From homeware recommendations to poetic musings on the summertime, Blutstein is never short of original recommendations and unique points of view.
14. What I Put On Today (Megan Strachan)
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For fashion girlies, this is a must-subscribe. Stachan's industry intel is divulged in her Substack about all things fashion – and how it fits into the bigger picture of our lives. Strachan opines on what it means to be human, but also on the linen suits she's loving. It's varied, but authentic, which we absolutely adore.
15. a newsletter (Alison Roman)
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Alison describes her Substack as "recipes, stories and unsolicited advice" which is a pretty apt summary of her musings (though we'd her advice complies with our implied solicitation). "Gatekeeping" isn't a word in Roman's vocabulary on Substack – she'll feed you her Paris food recommendations, original recipes (we WILL be making that Lemon Pepper Pasta with Browned Butter), and Q&As for your holiday cook-up.
16. The Cereal Aisle (Leandra Medine)
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"A newsletter about how to get dressed" is how Medine self-describes her Substack. And there's not many people we'd trust more than the OG founder of Man Repeller. Medine discusses the merits of piece-led fashion versus vibe-led fashion, 'personality hats' and has some of her very cool friends pop on for dressing how-to guides.
17. Screenshot This (Zara Wong)
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Former fashion journo and ultimate industry cool girl Zara Wong's newsletter, born from the Melbourne lockdowns of 2021, has been a long-time favourite on the platform for us, Wong being described by Substack as the "clever, stylish friend you always needed" (we'd agree). Her impeccably curated newsletters feature personal recommendations of things to read, watch, listen, shop and just generally pay attention to in the fashion industry.
18. Christie’s Substack (Christie Tyler)
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Perhaps better known as her blogging alias NYCBambi, Tyler gained her following on Instagram in the blogging days of the 2010s, writing down her thoughts on everything from the mundane to the cerebral. Eight years later, she's back at it on Substack, journeying us through her thoughts on fashion, interiors, design, and "the occasional vent".
19. Jane on Jeans (Jane Herman)
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Writer and designer of LA-based clothing label The Only Jane, Herman uses this weekly newsletter as "an expression of my love for all things denim". From menswear, to upcycled denim to selvedge, belts, barrel denim and more – she really covers all bases. She'll even dissect which jeans your favourite style icons donned – from Georgia O'Keefe to Jane Birkin.
20. Lucy Williams
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Eclectic and sophisticated; Lucy Williams is someone we simply want to imitate in all facets of our lives. Her Substack is part moodboard part blog – tracing her journey to renovate her home office, what she wore on her recent vacation, the shows she's been watching and a comprehensive guide to every paint colour she used in her home (if you've seen her house, you know just how significant this one is to bookmark).
21. Laz's List (Laz Wood)
Self-titled 'Chief recommender', Wood's Substack is a hodgepodge treasure trove of pop culture takes from the latest Netflix series to that Timothée Chalamet look-alike competition. Think of her like an older, cooler sister whose dishing out in-a-nutshell wrap ups of everything you need to know to keep up at the water cooler.
22. Tori’s Substack (Tori Watts)
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A RUSSH Literary Showcase alumni no less, Watts now has her own outlet for her writing online that has been a favourite of ours of late. Exploring, in her own words "matrilineal bonds, perpetual singledom, faulty brain wiring, tv shows, and all that comes before the ripe age of 30", she's as witty and relatable as her writing is heart-rendingly beautiful.
23. "It's Ottessa, bitch." (Ottessa Moshfegh)
Despite not having any social media, the award-winning author of My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Lapnova and Eileen has fallen down the Substack rabbit hole. Offering fans a far more candid insight into her interests, advice and general school of thought, she's penning pieces from writing advice columns to the more tongue-in-cheek: "My Year of Books and De-Netflix-ication".
