Substacks recommended by Danyel Smith | DANYEL'S SHINE BRIGHT HQ

Recommended by Danyel Smith

The official hub for artist on Substack.

New music worth hearing. Old music worth remembering. Deep-dive playlists. Record reviews. Books. Concerts. New York City. Lou Reed. Genre-fluid.

to all the poems i never wrote.

By Joél Leon

a collection of poems and other musings over the days, weeks, months, minutes, and years...

this newsletter is a bright moment of any day.

- Danyel Smith

Unstacked

By Traci Thomas

Books and other stuff.

John Noire

Restoring the feeling in storytelling

Hey, More Kindness

By Melissa Kimble

A newsletter based reminder to treat your creativity like the gift it is. Less criticism of ourselves, our skills, and each other - add more kindness.

this newsletter focuses on the wellness of creative thinkers — it's amazing and necessary.

- Danyel Smith

Network Notes

By Darren Hemmings

A newsletter about the music industry, technology, marketing, and the intersection of all three, brought to you by the strategic marketing agency Motive Unknown.

i've been a subscriber since before this newsletter was on Substack. it's great for the trade/B2B, and for consumers. it's always on time, always on point.

- Danyel Smith

The British Ambassador Of Soul, David Nathan

By David Nathan: The British Ambassador of Soul

Do you like soul music, sweet soul music? David Nathan (aka The British Ambassador Of Soul) celebrates 60 years as a soulful scribe with reflections, reminiscences and ruminations...

The Pay Gap Report

By Patricia Escárcega

A free monthly newsletter about pay inequality in the U.S. and around the globe.

Annie’s Newsletter

By Annie Zaleski’s Newsletter

Music musings with a personal twist

Full Court Press Newsletter

By Sherrod Blakely

NBA news, notes and features

🏀 5x5 | Royce Webb

Fresh angles and insights in search of greater truths about basketball and a better version of the game — from Royce Webb, former ESPN NBA editor

Royce Webb delivers a slam-dunk newsletter, blending insight and experience. Elevate your basketball IQ with every issue. Don't just follow the game, understand it."

- Danyel Smith

Sip Mightily by Eddie Maisonet

An enthusiast's exploration into spirits and cocktail curation. Plus the life and times of a sports fan, sneakerhead and dad. Cheers and welcome.

Oldster Magazine

By Sari Botton

Exploring what it means to travel through time in a human body, at every phase of life.

this is where getting older means (thank goodness!) knowing yourself better.

- Danyel Smith

Publishing Confidential

By Kathleen Schmidt

News and analysis about the book publishing industry that you won't read anywhere else.

everything we writers need to know.

- Danyel Smith

God's Music Is My Life

By Tim Dillinger

Dedicated to exploring the histories of gospel and soul, contemporary Christian and Women’s music(s)—forms that contribute to the blurring of the lines between the sacred and the secular.

such a necessary stack. grateful for it. this music is under-discussed and under-celebrated.

- Danyel Smith

Time Travel Kitchen

By Jolene Handy

Food, History, Chicago, New York and Beyond.

come for the gruyere and ham. stay for delectable stories.

- Danyel Smith

escape the algorithm

By Elan Ullendorff

A newsletter about taking control of our attention and finding a more human side of the internet. Featured in Wired and Rolling Stone.

good stuff.

- Danyel Smith

Impersonal Foul

By Madeline Hill

If Bravo and ESPN had a baby.

What Is This Even—?

By Cynthia

A digital archive curated by Cynthia Francillon, a curious Black woman writer/filmmaker on a journey to engage with + marvel at the beauty life has to conjure.

The TueNight Social

By TueNight

A grab-bag of Gen-X goodies: midlife stories, pop culture, and a community for grown-ass women

a must-read for the wild-at-heart grown-up ladies.

- Danyel Smith

BASKETBALL FEELINGS

By Katie Heindl

Reconciling life with basketball, or else the other way around.

basketball functions on levels, and this Stack gets at all of them.

- Danyel Smith

Memoir Land

By Memoir Monday

Four verticals edited by Sari Botton: MEMOIR MONDAY, collab w/ Granta, Narratively, The Rumpus, Orion, The Walrus, Electric Lit, LitHub, Oldster; FIRST PERSON SINGULAR original essays; THE LIT LAB interviews + craft; GOODBYE TO ALL THAT, NYC stories.

Compelling, insightful, poignant — a journey into the heart of memoir.

- Danyel Smith

Men Yell at Me

By lyz

Written from a journalist in a red state, this newsletter is personal, political, sometimes funny and always raises hell.