What is this?
I am a journalist and novelist called Justin (or The Guyliner, long story), and my newsletter is a series of content formats, or strands if you like, so I’m writing something different every time. It’s a Substack featured publication which may well mean that it’s… good? I don’t know.
I think one email a week is more than enough for anybody, so that’s all I send. These content strands take it in turns to be the featured email of the week – there’s no fixed order or rota so some may come round more often than others. Here’s what I’m writing:
The truth about everything*
My original newsletter format, running since summer 2017. It’s an essay on… whatever. Perhaps inspired by something happening in the world right now, or a sparked memory. Just a new, fresh bit of writing from me.
Highlights: Cherry blossom | Routines | Connections | Losing Paul O’Grady
See all The truth about everything* essays
Ejector Seat
I used to struggle to make it past the pilot of any TV show, but I’m getting better. In Ejector seat, I watch the pilot episode of a TV show old or new, and ask myself (literally) whether it’s worth carrying on.
Mood Ring
A set of 3–5 waspish, yet very tongue-in-cheek, mini essays on the world at large.
Word Count
Word Count picks out popular columnists, columns, or regular features in the media and has a closer look at them. Not in a horrible way. Just… in a way.
I will happily take nominations for future reviews from readers.
The Madonna Diaries
A series of personal essays about Madonna’s back catalogue, looking at the artwork and video (if it’s a single) and my own memories of that period and the song itself.
Flashbulb
According to the dictionary, a flashbulb memory is ‘an unusually vivid, richly detailed, and long-lasting memory for the circumstances surrounding a dramatic event’. Like a JFK/Princess Diana moment, I guess, but my Flashbulbs are pop culture highlights that got us talking way back when, reappraised with hindsight and better skincare.
