Derek Penwell
@derekpenwell · Heretic Adjacent · Substack profile · Faith & Spirituality
Derek Penwell has 7,522 followers on Substack as of Nov 1, 2026. On the latest board read, Oct 31, 2026, they were #92 on Substack's Faith & Spirituality Bestsellers board. 44 publications recommend them, and they recommend 14.
Last read Nov 1, 2026 (UTC). Followers are not email subscribers. Substack lists only the newest 50 recommendations for each publication, so a recommender count of 50 or more is a floor. History starts Oct 31, 2026; Substack publishes nothing earlier.
- Followers
- 7,522
- read Nov 1
- Last 7 days
- first number on Nov 7
- Last 30 days
- first number on Nov 30
- Subscribers
- 6.4K+
- rounded by Substack
- Paid subscribers
- 100+
- bestseller badge 100+
- Recommended by
- 44
- none new in 30 days
- Recommends
- 14
- Bestsellers rank
- #92
- Faith & Spirituality
Followers by day
Tracking since Oct 31, 2026. 2 days of readings. Substack doesn't publish past follower counts, so history starts the day I first read a writer and grows by one reading every 3 days (daily if it's on your watchlist). The 7-day change appears on Nov 7, the 30-day change on Nov 30. Recommendation dates below go further back: they're Substack's own.
Show as a table
| Date | Followers | Change | Subscribers | Paid band |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 1, 2026 | 7,522 | +1 | 6.4K+ | |
| Oct 31, 2026 | 7,521 | 6.4K+ |
Leaderboard positions
| Board | Rank now | Best on record | Reads on it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faith & Spirituality Bestsellers | #92 | #91 | 4 of 4 |
Rank on each read
| Writer | Oct 3107:00 | Oct 3113:00 | Oct 3119:47 | Nov 621:50 | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faith & Spirituality Bestsellers | 91 | 91 | 92 | 92 | ▼1 |
I read every board once a day.
Recommendations
44 publications recommend Derek Penwell. Derek Penwell recommends 14, and 7 of those recommend back. Lists read Oct 31.
When the recommendations started
Show as a table
| Month | Started |
|---|---|
| 2025-10 | 3 |
| 2025-11 | 1 |
| 2025-12 | 3 |
| 2026-01 | 9 |
| 2026-02 | 9 |
| 2026-03 | 4 |
| 2026-04 | 1 |
| 2026-05 | 5 |
| 2026-06 | 2 |
| 2026-07 | 5 |
| 2026-08 | 1 |
| 2026-09 | 1 |
Recommended by
Michael Spencer314k followers · started Jan 2, 2026- Larry's Substackstarted Sep 20, 2026
- The Intellectual Investorstarted Aug 23, 2026
- Ron Sinclairstarted Jul 23, 2026
- Elena’s Substackstarted Jul 22, 2026
- Curated Sermon Illustrationsstarted Jul 19, 2026
- Mr. James Winter’s Substackstarted Jul 14, 2026
- Reflections on the Sacred in the Ordinarystarted Jul 11, 2026
- littera scripta manet started Jun 20, 2026
- The Seminary Diariesstarted Jun 2, 2026
- Monica's Substackstarted May 22, 2026
- Geralyn Madiganstarted May 12, 2026
- BarbaraButtonstarted May 5, 2026
- Krow Fischerstarted May 4, 2026
- Eric's Substackstarted May 4, 2026
- Pat's Substackstarted Apr 25, 2026
- The Shoepebblestarted Mar 24, 2026
- The Devoted Movementstarted Mar 7, 2026 · mutual
- STUART SCADRON-WATTLESstarted Mar 4, 2026
- Encouragement Along the Journeystarted Mar 4, 2026 · mutual
- The Starfire Codes by Demi Pietchellstarted Feb 28, 2026
- The Kakistocracy Reportstarted Feb 27, 2026 · mutual
- Bob Filipczakstarted Feb 26, 2026
- Rev. Kate Penney Howardstarted Feb 25, 2026 · mutual
All 44
- Imjusta Triggleto Uvamanstarted Feb 16, 2026
- ROB's Substackstarted Feb 13, 2026
- Max Pavlovskystarted Feb 7, 2026
- Jeanmarie Hill: What Remainsstarted Feb 3, 2026
- In Front of God and Everybodystarted Feb 2, 2026 · mutual
- Ron Luskstarted Jan 31, 2026
- Janet's Substackstarted Jan 29, 2026
- Filling in the Cracks - My Thoughts on the Flystarted Jan 27, 2026
- Theresa's Substackstarted Jan 19, 2026
- Janet DeVriesstarted Jan 17, 2026
- United Methodist Insightstarted Jan 16, 2026
- Friends with Wordsstarted Jan 7, 2026 · mutual
- Vernon Meyerstarted Jan 6, 2026
- Sandra McGrandlestarted Dec 17, 2025
- L Maristatterstarted Dec 16, 2025
- I'm Listeningstarted Dec 11, 2025 · mutual
- brian meadowsstarted Nov 7, 2025
- Diana Trautweinstarted Oct 2025
- Paul's Substackstarted Oct 2025
- Greg’s Substackstarted Oct 2025
Recommends
Robert P. Jones197k followers · started Nov 18, 2025
Kristin Du Mez89k followers · started Mar 3, 2026- The Devoted Movementstarted Jul 16, 2026 · mutual
- Encouragement Along the Journeystarted Jul 16, 2026 · mutual
- The Kakistocracy Reportstarted Jul 16, 2026 · mutual
- Friends with Wordsstarted Jul 16, 2026 · mutual
- Coming Down to Earth with Barbara Brown Taylorstarted Jun 11, 2026
- The Way Of The Foolstarted May 29, 2026
- Around An African Firestarted May 6, 2026
- Rebecca Bratten Weissstarted Apr 22, 2026
- In Front of God and Everybodystarted Mar 3, 2026 · mutual
- Rev. Kate Penney Howardstarted Mar 3, 2026 · mutual
- I'm Listeningstarted Jan 17, 2026 · mutual
- Fitch’s Provocationsstarted Dec 16, 2025
Substack lists the 50 newest recommenders of each publication. I add every recommendation found in the full lists of the 6,392 publications I read, so writers with many recommenders may still be missing a few small ones. "Started" is Substack's date.
Recommended by the same publications
Writers who share the most recommenders with Derek Penwell. Useful for finding peers, and for sponsors looking for similar audiences.
- 3 shared
The Grief Table - Jamie Herzog@thegrieftable
6.8k followers - 2 shared
Quico ToroOne Percent Brighter
133k followers - 2 shared
Bob ElliottNonconsensus
13k followers - 2 shared
Sarah Kleiner@sarahkleinerwellness
13k followers - 2 shared
Stephen RoachConflict
12k followers - 2 shared
StockTok 📈Timothy’s StockTok
12k followers - 2 shared
Kristof SchoenaertsJob Search Unlocked
10k followers - 2 shared
John DoeCollapse Intelligence Agency
9.9k followers
Who recommends writers like this one
Publications that recommend at least two other Faith & Spirituality writers with 5,000 to 10,000 followers (36 writers in that group), but not Derek Penwell.
- recommends 3 of them
Virgin Monk Boy@virginmonkboy - recommends 2 of themWatchman On The Tower
- recommends 2 of themTURBO GOTH UNIVERSE
- recommends 2 of themTracy Treloar
- recommends 2 of themMeagan Davenport | The Copyeditor's Desk
- recommends 2 of themLivin' the Dream With Cilla Travel!🥂
- recommends 2 of themBenefitHumanity
- recommends 2 of themEva Yaa Asantewaa
- recommends 2 of themFaith Among the Shadows of Doubt | Kelly O'Dell
- recommends 2 of themUnbelievable True Stories
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Card for a website
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