Five Substack accounts to check out if you enjoy reading and art

Hi Everyone,

A slightly different post today as I wanted to share some of the accounts I have most enjoyed reading since I joined Substack. Whilst my own Substack is all about how to edit your novel and how to get published, I am a human being (I know, shocker!) and sometimes I just want to read about books that are not the books I’m working on, or read about tortured artists and their difficult lives.

With this in mind, I am recommending five accounts for those of you who also enjoy reading and art.

There is something about the lives of 20^th century artists that has always fascinated me and when I stumbled across Deborah’s Substack, I knew this was a writer I wanted to read more from. Deborah is an artist who writes about women whose lives have been shaped by the men around them - female artists, writers and illustrators who were prevented from forging their own path because of motherhood or domestic duty or who fortune didn’t favour and have largely been forgotten about. What I love most about Deborah’s Substack posts are how she is able to write in a way that appears effortlessly engaging and yet it is clear how much work and research has gone into writing each piece.

Read: The Vanishing of Krystyna Turska

Katie is someone I’ve followed for many years, first on other platforms and now on here. She co-owns an independent bookshop called Storytellers, Inc, in a UK seaside town and posts about her day-in-the-life at the bookshop. Her Substack is warm and bookish, with a brilliant weekend chat where readers can see what others’ are reading. And as someone who started her publishing career working in a bookshop, I find the commentary of who comes in and buys what endlessly fascinating. She has also (last week!) had a book published, Receipts from the Bookshop.

Read: Receipt from the Bookshop #147

Cool Stories About Art is exactly what the publication name describes – a prolific publication that brings to light 10 ‘captivating stories’ a month, plus multiple notes a day, about artists and their paintings. I love the focus on both famous artists and also lesser known artists, and the publication has brought many paintings to attention that I wouldn’t have otherwise known about. What is impressive is the sheer output – at any one time you can visit the Substack and learn something new. The Substack also brings to light the hidden stories behind some of history’s most famous art works.

Read: The Mafia and the Missing Carravagio

Like Katie, Elizabeth is also someone I’ve followed for a long time, since before the inception of her newsletter, Crib Notes. Crib Notes provides book recommendations ‘from the frontline of motherhood’ for time-strapped women, primarily, but usually she covers a real breadth of literary and upmarket fiction recommendations in each newsletter, often grouped around themes (e.g on desire, on if you have SAD, if you want something spooky). If I am ever unsure what to read next, I know that there will be at least one recommendation in her newsletter that captures – and holds – my attention. All the books she recommends are also on the Crib Notes virtual bookshop.

Read: 19 Books for Every Mood of Motherhood

This last entry is a bit of a sneaky one as I am biased, because Alice is a close friend of mine. But Alice writes about a mix of topics across the spectrum of art and writing - she is both a very talented pet portrait artist and an author. She’s also one of the most well read people I know! I love the way each of her longer Substack posts mix thoughts on art, writing, reading, nature, our seaside town of St Leonards-on-Sea and notes on everyday life.

Read: A Week in Watercolour: The Greenest Week

• Thank you to all my subscribers! I really appreciate you being here. If you found this post helpful, please do like, subscribe and share with anyone else who you think will find this post helpful.

• I have have had a longer project cancelled and therefore am available to take on some editorial work at the end of this month and into the first half of July. I also have some spots available for book coaching from September. If you are interested in working with me editorially, feel free to reach out via my website.

• I am holding a virtual workshop on writing a query letter on Thursday 9th July, from 1pm - 4pm. I haven’t sorted an invite yet, but you can register your interest here. Places will be limited.

• I have written an ebook on writing a standout query letter, which you can find here

• My next open window as an agent will be 1st-7th July and then I will be closing for August and possibly longer, depending on how long it takes me to go through my submissions.