Special Meander: On the 12th month of Substack, my true love gave to me...
The perfect excuse to celebrate all the flavours of fantastic writing I’ve enjoyed since my very first post exactly 1 year ago 🎉🥳🎂
Yes, folks, I've made it to the end of a whole year of writing at my favourite new online home (honestly, Mailchimp never stood a chance😄) Exactly one year ago today I plucked up the courage to hit publish on this:
It was emailed out to exactly three people (and one of those was myself!) But it was the beginning of a journey to figuring out a lot of things about this particular moment in my life, through writing and sharing my words on a pretty regular basis. It's been enormous fun - as well as a great discipline and learning curve.
Don't worry, I’m not going to be telling you all my ‘tips and tricks’ so you too can emulate my rip-roaring Substack success (mainly cos there hasn't been very much rip-roaring going on😜). Instead, I want to use this anniversary to celebrate some of the amazing writers I've enjoyed on the platform these past 12 months.
But first I do think I should allow myself at least a small pat on the back and high five (a la Liz Lemon) whilst I take a moment to look back over what I've achieved.
Over this past year I've published 47 posts, so not quite one a week1.
I've written about my struggles with perimenopause; about uprooting my life for a couple of weeks to go and look after my niece and nephew whilst both their parents were in another country; about navigating school & nursery runs in my hilly city (with no car) and later the transition from nursery to primary school for one child and impending transition from primary to secondary for the other; about the long road to, and ultimate arrival at, my son's autism diagnosis.
On the work front, I've written about booking and attending various screenings of my first feature documentary 'The Atom: A Love Affair' ; about the early stages of thinking about and researching new documentary ideas; and about my – at current time of writing at least – abortive attempts at starting a new online business helping people record and preserve their families' life stories and precious memories.
I've also started writing an A to Z series on my favourite documentary films. And most recently I've returned to the preoccupation that saw me through a decade of making The Atom film – nuclear culture and history.
I've realised this is definitely something I want to focus on more in 2025 – and I'm encouraged to see the post views are telling me that you, my esteemed readers, share that enthusiasm too (my most read posts to date, both topping out with over a thousand views, are my deep dive into nuclear war film Threads and my most recent one talking to nuclear industry insider Adrian Bull).
So stay tuned for more news coming soon on how I see this publication advancing and evolving into next year, including embryonic plans for an exciting paid offering to build and deepen the community currently reading here. I really want to create something for everyone with a passion for, or curiosity about, nuclear issues and I’m excited to get to work on manifesting what exactly this could and should be.
Whilst also continuing the more personal blog-style writing which has been something of an unanticipated pleasure for me, having never previously talked about myself that personally online before. It’s an exciting adventure ahead that’s for sure.
But before all that good stuff yet to come, let's get down to the main business for today – celebrating fantastic writers I've discovered this past year.
With the festive vibes bubbling up nicely ahead of the Big Day (just a fortnight away now – what?!) and for no other reason than that the phrase 'On the twelfth month of Substack' popped into my head when I started thinking about this post, I'm picking 12 categories of writing in this (admittedly tenuous) tribute to the 12 Days of Christmas.
I’m subscribed to over 200 Substacks now (not to mention many other writers I follow or whose work I see via Notes or in the Substack Reads emails) which means there’s a positive cornucopia for me to draw from.
So this is a BUMPER POST, chock full of some of my personal favourites.
To keep it within readable bounds, I’m just namechecking the writers and/or publications here. But I might also do a bonus post in that liminal Twixtmas time with some of my ‘top pick’ pieces from the writers I’m featuring here. No small task to select favourites with these talented folks, but with enough Christmas pudding in my belly, I’m sure I’ll be up to it.
Hopefully you'll find someone new here who will inspire, move, entertain or inform you just as much as they do me. And so, with the caveat that of course writers don’t sit neatly in narrowly defined boxes but can and do range magnificently across and between topics (hence some overlapping), here we go…
Let’s Go to the Movies
Predictably, some of the first Substacks I sought out were about films, both making and watching. On the making side,
, , , and the recently-transfered to Substack & have all enriched my understanding of the nuts-and-bolts, behind-the-scenes business of creating and selling film & TV.On the watching side, there are far too many to mention but a couple I’ll highlight are
, delving into the movies, screen icons and picture palaces of yesteryear and where a former US Federal Prison inmate reviews movies he missed whilst incarcerated. And I can't miss a shout out to my first ever Substack collaborator2 of -with whom I've got a couple more exciting collaborations coming up very soon.
Atomic Insights
The second arena I explored on Substack was of course all things nuclear. There are a fair few newsletters out there advocating for and (to a lesser extent) against nuclear power. But I'm going to highlight instead two atomic-flavoured Substacks I’ve particularly enjoyed this year,
and . Plus I can't miss the giant in the field, , covering nuclear energy, industrial history, energy politics & more (mostly with a US bent) with an impressive subscriber count of over 6,000. Proving that I am definitely not the only who finds this stuff fascinating!
Placemaking
Another joy this year has been armchair travelling with writers who've opened a window for me into a host of different places, both familiar and unfamiliar. I've loved experiencing Scottish island life at
and getting under the skin of the city my brother called home for 20 years with . has shared magical writing from the South Downs, whilst (the first person from my 'real life' I've found writing on Substack) has a series of essays on his hometown of Harlow in Essex that will help you see this 'New Town' through new eyes. Ranging more widely, recently launched , exploring the changing forces shaping English towns & cities. And you MUST check out – a beguiling publication by former historic preservation architect conjuring with the many ways places shape and are shaped by us.
Books, books, books
I’m aware that any recommendations I make in this area are but the teensiest tip of an almighty iceberg given Substack’s beginnings as a platform primarily for professional writers but if you’re brand new, you should definitely make a beeline for writer and bookshop owner
whose weekly is both hilarious and a great source of reading inspo for the bookworms among us. Other favourites include and and I’ve really enjoyed going behind the scenes of (it’s not really that secret obviously since she’s writing a Substack about it and hint - it does involves writing books😁).
Embracing Nature
Another delight has been slowing down and dipping into some delightful writing about the natural world. Favourites include
. and by the wonderful (her ongoing letter exchange with is also a delight). I also love the magical seasonal flavour sprinkles across her beautiful Substack And if you’re into wild swimming the afore-mentioned will get you wanting a full-body immersion in the sea (and a sauna afterwards!)
Politics
This is an area of the Substack ecosystem I've barely scratched the surface of, purposely so as I've mostly wanted to keep it as space to retreat to away from the noise of constantly-updating news and relentless comment elsewhere on the internet. So I've kept to just a small handful that have been insightful without feeling like an assault on my nervous system.
has been an essential read for me throughout my time on Substack, while is also very good (I particularly appreciated it during the UK election campaign). And I always learn something about energy policy from .
Money
Like so many of us I'd say I've got a complicated relationship to money, bound up in issues of family, class & education, ambivalence around consumerism and my choice to work in a field where money is NOT abundant. So I've greatly appreciated getting new angles and insights into both my own financial situation and that of others, in particular from
at , at and .
Artists & Makers
Another embarrassment of riches here, but let’s just choose a few select goodies. If you love painting, photography, illustration or embroidery, why not check out
(again), , Jess Taylor aka and . All of them are creating beautiful things and sharing them - and the stories behind them - right here on Substack. It’s honestly a joy.
Historical Delights
History is a truly vast field but for me it's the forgotten stories and little unexpected or personal details that really pique my interest so in that vein I thoroughly recommend you check out
for amazing bygone curios from Britain's capital, for fascinating female history from that great bastion of learning and the inimitable for, quite simply, a peak into history's most interesting letters.
My Older Substack Sisters
There are of course women of all ages whose writing I'm excited to read. But I've very often felt especially inspired, surprised, tickled and challenged by the words of women who are further along the road of life than I am – whether by a few years or a few decades. Some of my favourite publications from awesome women up the path ahead of me are
, from , by , , by , and . Plus I can’t not mention the shining light that is (which does also feature older men, but don’t let that put you off eh!)Solace & comfort amidst grief and pain
One of the more unanticipated aspects for me of reading so widely and deeply here has been finding some of the painful aspects of my own personal experience reflected back at me in such a beautiful and tender way.
, , and all shared moving stories about baby loss, something I experienced myself very painfully 5 years ago. And beyond my own direct experience, I've been tremendously moved by words on bereavement, mental health struggles and chronic pain and illness by , , , and .
Laughing Out Loud
Of course, where there is shadow, there must also be light. And what better way to end this piece than with some of the writers who have brought dazzling rays of bright sunshine into my days with their utterly joyous and hilarious words.
, , , , - shine on you crazy diamonds and thanks for the giggles.Though looking back I was reminded that I actually only managed two more posts after that first one between 11th Dec and 25th Feb, when I started my weekly meandering updates so the cadence has probably been slightly more than one a week since then.
On this, the K post for his September Movie Challenge and my A-Z of Favourite Documentary films respectively https://vickilesley.substack.com/p/k-is-for-koyaanisqatsi
Thank you for the mention Vicki! So glad you enjoy my warblings - thank you. I'll be checking out some of your others recs! xx
Thanks for the mention! I will definitely be going back over this post to check out some more of your recommendations - what a great categorial round up! (You had me at Liz Lemon tbh 😁)