Dear fellow writer,
Welcome to Swordswings, my monthly podcast series for writers in motion. These recordings are intended for you to listen to when you’re moving around — which is a great way to get your writing moving as well.
Today’s episode is all about Substack! In March 2024, I invited
— a best-selling writer, professional consultant, and the author of the popular Substack Writers @ Work newsletter — to join me for a conversation about scholarly writers and writing on Substack. In this 35-minute extract, you’ll hear about Sarah’s own scholarly and professional journey as well as her thoughts on why scholarly writers might choose to publish on Substack and how they can thrive there.The full 2-hour video of this event — which includes an interactive workshop and examples of successful Substack newsletters — is available to WriteSPACE members in the Videos section of their WriteSPACE or WS Studio Library.
ScholarStack!
Speaking of scholarly writers on Substack: my conversation with Sarah last year inspired me to launch ScholarStack, a compendium of scholarly writers and writing on Substack, which I’ve pinned to my Helen’s Word homepage so that it’s easy to find. There you’ll find a treasure trove of newsletters classified under the following headings:
📕 Academic Life & Career Development
📗 Research Communication & Analysis
📘 Discipline-Specific Scholarship
📙 Scholars at Large
I have a feeling that this list represents only a drop in the bucket of all the relevant publications out there in the Substackiverse, so if you’re a scholarly Substacker yourself or would like to recommend someone else’s newsletter, please let us know!!
Writing in Color in France in 2026
And finally, in case you missed my special announcement last week: I’m thrilled to announce that, together with my fabulous friend and fellow Substacker, best-selling novelist
, I’ll be holding a creative, color-drenched writing retreat for a handful of people on a spectacular private estate in the Dordogne region of southwest France, from 30 May to 6 June 2026. This will be my very first collaborative writing retreat, and also the first to focus on a topic dear to my heart: Writing in Color!Sophie and I have been fantasizing for years about bringing people together in a nurturing space for unpressured writing, creative play, delicious food, and animated conversation — and now it’s finally happening. We’d love to see you there!
If you appreciate hearing about resources like these — or just want to make my day — please take a moment to drop me a heart, leave a comment, and/or click Restack at the bottom of this message. Your enthusiasm and support mean so much to me.🩷
Kia pai tō koutou rā (have a great day) — and keep on writing!
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Books by WriteSPACE founder Helen Sword
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