Welcome to The Hyphen 🗞️
a newsletter from Sunday Times Bestselling author Emma Gannon. A cosy space for 70k+ curious readers.
Welcome, welcome! I am Emma Gannon, a Sunday Times bestselling and award-winning author. I’ve written eight books to date, most recently The Success Myth, OLIVE and A Year of Nothing. My second novel TABLE FOR ONE, published by Harper Collins, will be out in 2025. I am currently a judge for the 2025 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction. In 2018, I was on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for my work in the media.
Before being a full-time author, I was once a columnist for The Sunday Times and social media editor at Condé Nast and I’ve written for the likes of New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, Vogue and The Guardian. My topics of choice are creativity, wellbeing and the future of work. I am a big fan of living a life on your own terms, reflected in my books (e.g. The Multi-Hyphen Life about having multiple income streams or my debut novel OLIVE about a child-free woman which was nominated for the Dublin Literary Prize). I ran a creative careers podcast Ctrl Alt Delete that attracted over 13 million downloads from 2016-2023 and was nominated for a Webby award. As much I love interviewing people, I shut it down to make more space for my novels and writing. I am a total bookworm, obsessed, and I share my book recommendations weekly via this newsletter which is the fifth most popular literature newsletter on the platform globally.
“If you’re British and of a certain age, Emma Gannon will need no introduction. She is the Elizabeth Gilbert of the millennial age.” — Farrah Storr, Head of Writer Partnerships, Substack
“Emma Gannon’s honesty, open mindedness, and willingness to be vulnerable lay out a path for her readers to follow.” Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way
“I love Emma Gannon's wise and refreshing perspective on work and building a meaningful life.” — Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks
“[Emma] was an early and pioneering adopter of this platform and her considered, insightful and always-interesting newsletter, The Hyphen. There’s a thoughtfulness and serenity to her writing that I find both comforting and enlightening. Also her fantastically well-curated twice-monthly Slow Sunday Scroll series is unmissable” — India Knight, columnist at The Sunday Times
〰️ “One of the most popular novelists on Substack” — The Bookseller, 2024
〰️ A Substack Featured Publication in 2023
〰️ “One of Britain’s most prominent Substack bloggers” — The Times, 2023
〰️ Selected as 33 of the best Substack newsletters by The Guardian, 2023
Why sign up to The Hyphen?
Here you will find musings on work, wellbeing and creativity. I am a firm believer that you can create your own career path. I am also passionate about writing and words being paid for. You can read a round-up of all my 2023 posts here.
Here’s what some paid subscribers have said lately:
“I pay for The Hyphen by Emma Gannon because Gannon offers good insights into her writing life, navigating the publishing industry as an author, and managing her work and career as a multi-hyphenate. There’s a community vibe.” — Bri Lee, author
“I just binge read three months of
. There’s a reason she’s a best-seller on here, she’s a brilliant read and worth every penny of my paid subscription..” — Jessica Hepburn, authorSome other lovely Substackers have hosted interviews with about me too:
Why join the membership?
To get the most out of the Hyphen newsletter, it’s all about joining the membership community! Join as paying subscriber for £6.99 a month and unlock and read all posts. You’ll gain access to the full hub (200+ posts), receive any new writing in your inbox, weekly Sunday Scroll round-ups, plus Tuesday Threads, access to book giveaways and more. It’s a really wonderful community and only £6.99 — the price of a couple of lattés. I’m passionate about writers being paid for their work.
ps you can read my Substack ‘rules’ here.
Come and introduce yourself here! You’ll also be supporting all the work I do and allowing this newsletter to keep going. Here’s a 10% off code if you’d like to join the community today. See you there! Come and intro yourself here if you fancy it :)
Why did you start this newsletter?
I’ve been newsletter-ing since 2015. Now, I’m loving it more than ever. Social media used to be an exciting, joyful online space. Unfortunately, it is no longer that (for me). Instagram hides my posts, Twitter gets very dramatic, and Linkedin seems to be a lot of people in suits wishing me a slightly creepy happy birthday. I missed writing on the Internet. I missed the comment section on blogs. I missed the connection that can come from your own little corner of the Internet. Along came Substack, and this newsletter is a joy to write.
Why “The Hyphen”?
To me, ‘hyphens’ can symbolises that messy bit in the middle. The “in-between” bits of life, the hyphens that knit together all the different sides of ourselves. The bits between being a parent or being a worker or a next chapter or being [insert thing]. So, that’s why I called this newsletter The Hyphen. Anything goes here, but I will mainly be talking about books, wellbeing, creativity, joy, side-hustles and living life on your own terms. (Plus, it’s a little nod to my book The Multi-Hyphen Method.)
A bit more about me (the real stuff):
I am a reader as much as a writer. I love to travel. I like buying second-hand books. I don’t like big parties. I like wearing the colour yellow even though fashion magazines say you shouldn’t wear yellow if you’re blonde and pale. I’m an old-ish Millennial. I love living in a big city and escaping at the weekends, long walks, memoirs by women, working for myself, solo trips, reading in bed, buying new stationery, a good iced coffee, spiritual self-help, swimming, finding little trinkets in charity shops, organising my ridiculous bookshelves, city breaks with my husband, cooking easy things that look impressive, looking after other people’s dogs (a miniature dachshund has stolen my heart) and inviting friends over. Truthfully, I really love my life. I’m a Gemini, but just try and look past that.
— Follow my website here
— Follow me on Instagram here.
Here’s a 10% off code ICYMI:
