Literature on Substack
The top 100 Literature writers on Substack's Bestsellers and Rising boards, with moves between my reads, follower counts, who's gaining recommendations and who recommends them. Boards read once a day.
Board read · moves compare with the read at Oct 31 13:00 UTC
- Writers on the two boards
- 176
- Median followers, Bestsellers
- 38,935
- Smallest on the board
- 741
- Cassie Alexander, #65
- New recommendations, 30 days
- 768
- to writers whose main category this is
Rising in Literature: new recommendations
Writers in this category who picked up the most new recommenders in the last 30 days. A new recommendation puts a writer in front of another publication's readers.
Tara Kruyt
52k followers · #24 Literature Rising
Suleika Jaouad
378k followers · #1 Literature Bestsellers
Thee Book Club
451k followers · #77 Literature Bestsellers
Margaret Atwood
404k followers · #20 Literature Bestsellers
chicgirlmoment
95k followers
Reese's Book Club
567k followers · #46 Literature Bestsellers
Pandora Sykes
149k followers · #6 Literature BestsellersNew recommenders per week, last 12 weeks; the orange bar is this week to date. Same scale in every panel. Dated by Substack; only recommendations still live. Outlined weeks are incomplete: Substack lists only a publication's 50 newest recommenders, so for busy writers older weeks can't be counted, and a 30-day count marked + is a floor.
Bestsellers
Substack ranks Bestsellers by paid subscribers. Followers are my daily reading.
Climbed most since Oct 31: Becca Freeman #38 to #37, Elle #64 to #63, J. F. Riordan #65 to #64, Leigh Stein #73 to #72, Megha Lillywhite #95 to #94.
| # | Move | Writer | Followers | Recommended by | Paid | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 |  Suleika JaouadThe Isolation Journals with Suleika Jaouad |
377,846 | 98 +23 | Tens of thousands | |
| 2 | 0 |  George SaundersStory Club with George Saunders |
449,409 | 113 +12 | Tens of thousands | |
| 3 | 0 |  Ron Charles@roncharles |
43,188 | 58 +2 | Thousands | |
| 4 | 0 |  Simon HaisellFootnotes and Tangents |
56,063 | 60 +4 | Thousands | |
| 5 | 0 |  Athenaeum Book Club@athenaeumbookclub |
71,356 | 53 +11 | Thousands | |
| 6 | 0 |  Pandora SykesBooks + Bits |
149,043 | 83 +17 | Thousands | |
| 7 | 0 |  Andrius TapinasAndrius Tapinas |
38,065 | 53 +3 | Thousands | |
| 8 | 0 |  Two Sylvias PressTwo Sylvias Press' Weekly Muse |
21,591 | 53 +1 | Thousands | |
| 9 | 0 |  Sarah Fay, PhDSubstack Writers at Work with Sarah Fay |
91,870 | 76 +5 | Thousands | |
| 10 | 0 |  Miranda July@mirandajuly |
109,129 | 72 +2 | Thousands | |
| 11 | 0 |  David Whyte@davidwhyte |
72,255 | 63 +8 | Thousands | |
| 12 | 0 |  Kaitlin PhillipsGift Guide |
24,020 | 58 | Thousands | |
| 13 | 0 |  Astro Poets@astropoets |
89,976 | 55 +1 | Thousands | |
| 14 | 0 |  Kelly OxfordPermanent Retrograde |
27,729 | 52 +1 | Thousands | |
| 15 | 0 |  Emma GannonThe Hyphen by Emma Gannon |
168,735 | 86 +9 | Thousands | |
| 16 | 0 |  George ~ FWNThe Freelance Writing Network |
44,055 | 55 +16 | Thousands | |
| 17 | 0 |  Tom Cox@tomcox |
37,916 | 43 +13 | Thousands | |
| 18 | 0 |  Jeannine OuelletteWriting in the Dark with Jeannine Ouellette |
46,524 | 58 +5 | Thousands | |
| 19 | 0 |  Poetry Unbound@poetryunbound |
162,929 | 68 +13 | Thousands | |
| 20 | 0 |  Margaret AtwoodIn the Writing Burrow |
403,704 | 69 +20 | Thousands | |
| 21 | 0 |  Jami AttenbergCRAFT TALK |
93,177 | 70 +3 | Thousands | |
| 22 | 0 |  Goldberry StudiosClose Reads Podcast HQ |
11,694 | 51 +3 | Thousands | |
| 23 | 0 |  Anthony EsolenWord & Song by Anthony Esolen |
20,283 | 52 +2 | Thousands | |
| 24 | 0 |  Katherine MayThe Clearing by Katherine May |
101,463 | 82 +6 | Thousands | |
| 25 | 0 |  Narratively@narratively |
93,746 | 60 +7 | Thousands | |
| 26 | 0 |  Elif BatumanThe Elif Life |
41,982 | 56 +4 | Thousands | |
| 27 | 0 |  Garth GreenwellTo a Green Thought |
32,582 | 57 +3 | Thousands | |
| 28 | 0 |  Katie of Beach Reads & BubblyClub Bubbly by Beach Reads & Bubbly |
31,258 | 51 +5 | Thousands | |
| 29 | 0 |  Ottessa Moshfegh"It's Ottessa, bitch." |
95,511 | 63 +8 | 100+ badge | |
| 30 | 0 |  Miranda MillsSeasons of Story by Miranda Mills |
12,293 | 50 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 31 | 0 |  Breanne | CelebreabirdMany Meetings |
13,114 | 52 +3 | Thousands | |
| 32 | 0 |  Courtney MaumBefore and After the Book Deal |
70,961 | 78 +7 | Thousands | |
| 33 | 0 |  Laura McKowenLove Story |
59,555 | 60 +6 | Thousands | |
| 34 | 0 |  Ian CattanachWrite Conscious |
15,788 | 51 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 35 | 0 |  Sian Meades-WilliamsFreelance Writing Jobs |
50,883 | 54 +6 | 100+ badge | |
| 36 | 0 |  Haley StewartHaley Stewart's Newsletter |
13,125 | 52 | Thousands | |
| 37 | ▲1 |  Becca FreemanBook Enthusiast |
27,413 | 56 +3 | Thousands | |
| 38 | ▼1 |  Alisha RamosDowntime |
125,147 | 62 +4 | Thousands | |
| 39 | 0 |  Poetic OutlawsPoetic Outlaws |
122,412 | 62 +7 | Thousands | |
| 40 | 0 |  Sara HildrethFictionMatters |
18,116 | 55 +5 | Thousands | |
| 41 | 0 |  BlastBlast - Quotidiano di diritto economia fisco e tecnologia |
6,166 | 50 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 42 | 0 |  Kumo Kosmos@kumokosmos |
4,973 | 14 | 100+ badge | |
| 43 | 0 |  Jesús TerrésNada importa |
42,612 | 50 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 44 | 0 |  Henry EliotRead the Classics with Henry Eliot |
19,790 | 55 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 45 | 0 |  Elif ShafakUnmapped Storylands with Elif Shafak |
102,299 | 70 +6 | 100+ badge | |
| 46 | 0 |  Reese's Book ClubBookmarked by Reese's Book Club |
566,570 | 51 +19 | 100+ badge | |
| 47 | 0 |  Lauren HoughBadreads |
50,049 | 60 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 48 | 0 |  Memoir Land@memoirland |
38,703 | 67 +8 | 100+ badge | |
| 49 | 0 |  EstherThe Spike |
11,011 | 54 | 100+ badge | |
| 50 | 0 |  Narratively Academy@narrativelyacademy |
31,566 | 55 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 51 | 0 |  Bri LeeNews & Reviews by Bri Lee |
17,516 | 52 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 52 | 0 |  Becky TuchLit Mag News |
24,312 | 54 +4 | 100+ badge | |
| 53 | 0 |  Rebecca JonesBetween |
10,389 | 51 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 54 | 0 |  Suse KaloffSUSE IN YOUR POCKET |
2,574 | 33 | 100+ badge | |
| 55 | 0 |  Coordenadoras do Caos@coordenadorasdocaos |
13,571 | 51 | Thousands | |
| 56 | 0 |  Sarah Stewart HollandPantsuit Politics |
29,257 | 57 +2 | Thousands | |
| 57 | 0 |  Anna Sproul-LatimerHow to Glow in the Dark |
24,001 | 55 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 58 | 0 |  Alyssa MatesicChapter Break |
47,576 | 55 +12 | 100+ badge | |
| 59 | 0 |  Laurie StoneEverything is Personal |
43,887 | 64 +3 | Thousands | |
| 60 | 0 |  Kathleen SchmidtPublishing Confidential |
60,508 | 71 +6 | 100+ badge | |
| 61 | 0 |  Arts & Letters Daily@aldaily |
174,446 | 59 +15 | none shown | |
| 62 | 0 |  Traci ThomasUnstacked |
13,939 | 56 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 63 | 0 |  Ellepostcards by elle |
146,187 | 56 +4 | 100+ badge | |
| 64 | 0 |  J. F. RiordanJ.F. Riordan; Reflections on a Life in Exile |
15,132 | 52 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 65 | 0 |  Cassie AlexanderAI Marketing for Storytellers with Cassie & Novae! |
741 | 22 +3 | none shown | |
| 66 | 0 |  Catherine Shannon@catherineshannon |
81,154 | 57 +5 | 100+ badge | |
| 67 | 0 |  Molly WizenbergI've Got a Feeling |
21,147 | 56 | 100+ badge | |
| 68 | 0 |  Maya C. Popa@mayacpopa |
57,402 | 66 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 69 | 0 |  Steven ReeseRead Your Color |
220,669 | 50 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 70 | 0 |  Julia KerninonSur le fil |
9,125 | 50 +5 | 100+ badge | |
| 71 | 0 |  Chris La TrayAn Irritable Métis |
17,372 | 59 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 72 | 0 |  Leigh SteinAttention Economy |
33,728 | 64 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 73 | 0 |  Dawn O'PorterThe O'Portal |
18,596 | 21 | 100+ badge | |
| 74 | 0 |  Maggie SmithFor Dear Life with Maggie Smith |
100,045 | 76 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 75 | 0 |  Lit Club NYC@litclubnyc |
13,720 | 41 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 76 | 0 |  Remote Writing Jobs@rwjdirectory |
49,499 | 50 +14 | 100+ badge | |
| 77 | 0 |  Thee Book ClubLove letters to literature |
451,321 | 51 +23 | 100+ badge | |
| 78 | 0 |  Catherine LaceyUntitled Thought Project |
19,142 | 53 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 79 | 0 |  Jodi WilsonPractising Simplicity |
14,750 | 54 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 80 | 0 |  TarraHeavy Meta |
11,643 | 35 | 100+ badge | |
| 81 | 0 |  Gabriela GutierrezUnder a Fig Tree |
10,052 | 50 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 82 | 0 |  caitlynjouissance |
92,964 | 56 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 83 | 0 |  CAT MARNELLBEAUTYSHAMBLES by Cat Marnell |
9,048 | 52 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 84 | 0 |  Daniel PiperSerious Literary Author |
67,360 | 52 +4 | 100+ badge | |
| 85 | 0 |  Ladies Who LitLadies Who Lit |
1,330 | 14 | none shown | |
| 86 | 0 |  Zibby OwensZibby's Highlights |
60,517 | 56 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 87 | 0 |  Joy SullivanNecessary Salt by Joy Sullivan |
34,230 | 56 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 88 | 0 |  augmented manaugmented’s journey |
21,115 | 52 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 89 | 0 |  Junot DíazStoryWorlds with Junot Díaz |
46,105 | 60 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 90 | 0 |  Ross GayDIGRESSIONS |
38,935 | 57 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 91 | 0 |  emmaemmareadstoomuch |
31,590 | 53 +8 | 100+ badge | |
| 92 | 0 |  Summer BrennanA Writer's Notebook |
49,915 | 59 +1 | 100+ badge | |
| 93 | 0 |  Sherman Alexie@shermanalexie |
45,090 | 63 +2 | 100+ badge | |
| 94 | ▲1 |  Megha LillywhiteClassical Ideals |
21,048 | 53 +6 | 100+ badge | |
| 95 | ▼1 |  DraculaDailyDracula Daily |
230,588 | 53 +7 | 100+ badge | |
| 96 | 0 |  Brittany ViklundIn Joy with Brittany Viklund |
13,619 | 55 +3 | 100+ badge | |
| 97 | ▲1 |  Natasha StaggSelling Out |
14,318 | 54 | 100+ badge | |
| 98 | ▼1 |  Maggie StiefvaterTelltale Crumbs from Maggie Stiefvater |
17,425 | 51 +4 | 100+ badge | |
| 99 | 0 |  Panio Gianopoulos@panio |
98,194 | 10 | 100+ badge | |
| 100 | 0 |  kikistill becoming |
66,277 | 51 +26 | 100+ badge |
The top 20 on every read
Rank on each read of the Bestsellers board. Darker is higher. A gap means the writer was outside the top 100 on that read.
| Writer | Oct 3107:00 | Oct 3113:00 | Oct 3119:47 | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suleika Jaouad | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| George Saunders | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Ron Charles | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Simon Haisell | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Athenaeum Book Club | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Pandora Sykes | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Andrius Tapinas | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Two Sylvias Press | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Sarah Fay, PhD | 9 | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Miranda July | 10 | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| David Whyte | 11 | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| Kaitlin Phillips | 12 | 12 | 12 | 0 |
| Astro Poets | 13 | 13 | 13 | 0 |
| Kelly Oxford | 14 | 14 | 14 | 0 |
| Emma Gannon | 15 | 15 | 15 | 0 |
| George ~ FWN | 16 | 16 | 16 | 0 |
| Tom Cox | 17 | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| Jeannine Ouellette | 18 | 18 | 18 | 0 |
| Poetry Unbound | 19 | 19 | 19 | 0 |
| Margaret Atwood | 20 | 20 | 20 | 0 |
History starts on Oct 31, 2026. Each day adds a column.
Who recommends Literature writers
Publications with the most live recommendations pointing at writers whose main category is Literature. If you write in this category, these are the readers' lists worth being on.