A New Year, A New Substack!

Here goes, this is an attempt at something new. It has been a while, and to be honest I am not sure what it will look like. But maybe that is part of it.

For the last few years, I haven’t written any blog posts or newsletters, as my previous posts were about wellness and that doesn’t feel like something I want to be writing about at present. I also work a 9-5 job that involves a lot of writing. Forty hours a week drafting, editing, reviewing, more drafting, so when it comes time to relax I don’t always feel like doing more writing.

In saying that, I have also been finishing my monograph, which has taken several years longer than it was meant to. But a lot has happened in that time: I got pregnant, had a baby, experienced a global pandemic and the longest lock down in Melbourne, moved countries, started a new job, had two miscarriages, had another baby, and in the last month I FINALLY finished it.

That’s why I thought this might be a good time to start this Substack. Going back to what I used to produce, through Mailchimp and my website This Simple Space didn’t feel right - it felt stale and like I was moving backwards rather than forwards.

I will still post some of my ideas on my website but I want to be able to use ideas I have in my academic writing - about imprisonment, masculinities, gender, and criminology - to generate content that is useful and doesn’t simply take up time and space. There is enough of that out there already.

This is my attempt at starting a community. One that is focused on criminal justice issues, imprisonment, reform, carceral geography, masculinities, gender and identity, and much more. All of these issues are found within the pages of my upcoming book, but they are also issues seen around us every day. In the rising imprisonment rates, especially for Māori (and wāhine even more so), in the lack of any forward thinking about reform, and in the growing divide in class, social justice, and health. I am inviting you to be part of this ongoing discussion.

My goal is to post every 1-2 weeks and to write something substantial. I will aim to bring together thinking from other journalists, academics, activists, reformers, practitioners, researchers on the issues mentioned above. At present, all you have to do is subscribe to my newsletter and you will receive it straight to your inbox. My aim eventually is to add a paid subscription option, but I will let you know about that when it happens.

That’s all you need to know for now! Thanks for reading my Substack. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.