Substacks recommended by Naomi Kanakia

Recommended by Naomi Kanakia

A Substack about comedy, art, culture, and how it feels to follow your dreams...and fail.

I consider myself (most days) to be failed writer, and I resonate very deeply with Peters' takes here on life after failure

- Naomi Kanakia

Persona Non Propria

By Clancy Steadwell

Pseudonymous contemporary upmarket fiction. Bildungsromans, romance, humor and local color. Occasional essays on themes relating to the fiction.

A great story writer, and a key link in the Substack fiction community. If you want to know what the platform's native fiction writers are doing, he's a must-follow.

- Naomi Kanakia

A Book For Ants: Bite-Sized Reviews of Snack-Sized Books

By Bram Presser

All things novella from a tragic of the form

The books are short, and the reviews are short too. I love this format.

- Naomi Kanakia

Eminent Americans

By Daniel Oppenheimer

A newsletter and podcast about the contemporary American intellectual scene.

An intellectual history of right now! Great way of getting insight into the best currently-practicing public intellectuals. Not a transphobe.

- Naomi Kanakia

The Republic of Letters

The Republic of Letters is a hub for literary and cultural writing; and a new, genuinely democratic type of digital publication.

Political Currents by Ross Barkan

This is Ross Barkan's newsletter - original essays on politics, society, and culture

Commentary on thoughts, letters, and art from Ross Barkan, a really nice and genuine guy. Not a transphobe.

- Naomi Kanakia

overlocked

wrong life cannot be lived rightly

Fictional portraits of the striver class. Out of all the fiction writers on Substack, overlocked’s work seems to work the best. Her tone and positioning are perfect for the newsletter format, and she will surely be a star someday.

- Naomi Kanakia

Mars Review of Books

By Noah Kumin

The Digital Home of the Mars Review of Books

Salieri Redemption

By Chris Jesu Lee

Cultural and literary essays. Flavour profile: hints of bitterness, notes of saltiness.

Cultural criticism from a male perspective!

- Naomi Kanakia

The Recovering Academic

By Joshua Doležal

Rebuilding a life and a writing practice after leaving academe.

Love Joshua Dolezal's perspective on the canon, which he views from a uniquely American perspective

- Naomi Kanakia

Astral Codex Ten

By Scott Alexander

P(A|B) = [P(A)*P(B|A)]/P(B), all the rest is commentary.

Castalia

By Sam Kahn

Intellectual Journal - essays, stories, reflections

Sam Kahn's humane and fascinating Substack on politics, letters, and the evolution of the modern intellectual

- Naomi Kanakia

Pitch Your Novel

By Karin Gillespie

Up-to-date publishing advice to help authors thrive and succeed

The best publishing Substack. She combs through the deal reports and tells you all the latest trends. Must-read if you're looking for a deal at a major publisher.

- Naomi Kanakia

The Booktender

By Abra McAndrew

Because reading alone is overrated. Curated lists and what to read now from the Executive Director, Tucson Festival of Books🌵. All views my own.

I like Abra's taste--she reads mainstream literary and commercial books mostly, and she writes about them in a thoughtful way

- Naomi Kanakia

Eight by Seven

By Timothy Burke

Organized distractedness: regular doses of history, politics, cooking, academia and geek culture.

Love Timothy Burke's thoughtful explications of what's going on in his field, history

- Naomi Kanakia

Amateur Criticism

By Isaac

I write about literature and how it feels to read and write it

Marvelously lucid writing that demystifies English literature academia, from a PhD student in American literature.

- Naomi Kanakia

The Intrinsic Perspective

By Erik Hoel

Natural philosophy, belles-lettres, polemics.

Have been reading Erik for years--great writings about the science of consciousness, education, and sundry other topics. He's a novelist as well!

- Naomi Kanakia

The Common Reader

By Henry Oliver

Nerdy literature newsletter. Helping you make the most of your reading.

The best Great Books blog I've come across. Very thoughtful takes on both classic and contemporary literature.

- Naomi Kanakia

TRAVELS TO DISTANT CITIES

By Blake Nelson

travel writing and other things

Blake seems to have an endless supply of stories about traveling and meeting writers in different cities. Basically very high-quality gossip.

- Naomi Kanakia

Famous and Beloved Newsletter

By Clare

This is a Substack about culture called the Famous and Beloved Newsletter.

Clare is excellent at explaining pop cultural trends I had never heard of before.

- Naomi Kanakia

sympathetic opposition

essays, stories, and poems largely about books, cooking, & people

Interesting, very short stories, often parable-like in nature, and good commentary on the literary world

- Naomi Kanakia

Occasional Review

By Jessica

occasional writing on whatever I feel like writing about; extremely miscellaneous

One of the most entertaining literary Substacks--best known for its audacious (and politically ambiguous) readings of Trumpworld memoirs and related phenomena

- Naomi Kanakia

Virginia's Newsletter

By Virginia Postrel

Commerce, culture, and curiosity; progress & abundance

Smart center-right political and social commentator. Not a transphobe

- Naomi Kanakia

Listening Sessions

By David Sessions

Ideas, politics, and gay nonsense.

David is a smart critic, good reviewer. He's investing in Substack more, so am finally recommending him =]

- Naomi Kanakia

The Lillian Review of Books

By Lillian Wang Selonick

A former science publisher with a Classics BA reads classic literature and science fiction.

The Life of a Femcel

Bitchy 24-year-old in LA overshares about sex, religion, gossip.

One of the better humor writers on Substack, a gen Z writer who blogs about (lesbian) sex, unemployment, and wild LA shit.

- Naomi Kanakia

Going Awol

By Amos Wollen

"The funniest philosopher on Substack" - Henry Oliver | "Sharp and witty, with great humor always underlain by an earnest desire to figure things out." - Justin Smith-Ruiu

This Substack is by, I think, a PhD in Philosophy. It is absolutely wild--uses very silly thought experiments to explicate philosophical principles.

- Naomi Kanakia

SerioComics

By Dave Cowen

Enthusiasms for the best in graphic literature + Q&As with their makers + SHOULD WE BUY A GUN? a graphic novel about a couple, their country, and the gun debate aimed to help heal our polarized divide & now ENNEAGRAM SUPERHEROES comics and coaching.

Reviews backlist graphic novels that have a particular seriocomic sensibility that I, personally, really find matches my own taste

- Naomi Kanakia

Gnocchic Codices

By Gnocchic Apocryphon

Political philosophy, psychoanalysis, spirituality. literature. Not necessarily in that order.

Another trans writer on substack who loves classic literature and has fascinating heterodox opinions!

- Naomi Kanakia

Grand Hotel Abyss

By John Pistelli

literature & culture

A true man of letters, who focuses more on books and culture than punditry. Provocative and thoughtful takes on literary topics. Center-right, I think, but not a transphobe (as I'd define the term).

- Naomi Kanakia

Notebook

By B.D. McClay

One third Books, one third Observations, one third Who Knows.

Thoughtful commentary on music, art, movies, and taylor swift. Not a transphobe

- Naomi Kanakia

The Metropolitan Review

The Metropolitan Review is a books and culture review magazine founded in 2025.

Commonplace Philosophy

By Jared Henderson

Philosophy for everyday life.

The Decade Project

By Skipper

I am reading and reflecting on ten years' worth of the greatest literature from around the world, one book at a time, one week at a time, but in no particular order.

Former professor is reading through the classics. Including the Mahabharata! One of the better Substacks of this type.

- Naomi Kanakia

Life and Letters

By Julianne Werlin

Reflections on Literature in Demographic History

There's really nothing else quite like Julianne Werlin's incredible Substack on the intersection between economics, demography, sociology, and literature

- Naomi Kanakia

personal canon

By Celine Nguyen

finding meaning in life through literature, art, design, and culture ✦✧ through weekly posts and enthusiastic conversations

Very cool, sophisticated literary blog. I've never even heard of most of the books Celine writes about!

- Naomi Kanakia

Let's Talk Books

By Ryan

Philosophy, history, literature. First Tuesday of every month. Bonus posts for paid subscribers.

Great book review blog that frequently reviews new translations of the classics

- Naomi Kanakia

Very Distant Lands Newsletter

By Adam Fleming Petty

Books, culture, and other fun stuff.

Modern culture from an "exvangelical" perspective. Also doesn't give transphobe vibes

- Naomi Kanakia

A Good Hard Stare

By Henry Begler

"IN A TRUE DEMOCRACY, EVERY MAN IS AN ARISTOCRAT"

Holy Pop Culture, Batman!

By JR. Forasteros

Creating Conversations at the Intersection of Faith and Pop Culture

I think JR Forasteros is an actual pastor or something? Writes about Christianity, the modern church, and pop culture! Fairly certain he's not a transphobe

- Naomi Kanakia

big reader bad grades

By Alexander Sorondo

Snapshots about writers and writing, books and reading them, culture in general and the retail job that stifles it all.

Some of the most honest book reviews in the Substack scene

- Naomi Kanakia

The Craft Lab for Writers

By Courtney Sender

Weekly craft readings and discussions of the greats, selected by New York Times writer and former Yale creative writing professor Courtney Sender. Readable & listenable.

Excellent craft advice from one of my best writers friends

- Naomi Kanakia

Woman of Letters

Recommended by Naomi Kanakia