#70 A Slow Sunday Scroll ☕️
not a gift guide in sight
Welcome to The Hyphen! I send out a 'Sunday Scroll’ email like this every other weekend. It’s a round-up of full of things I’m reading, loving, inspired by. For just £1.30 a week (you can read everything behind the paywall!) Over December and the holidays I’ll be slowing down my output — so here’s a BIG thank you so much for your support of The Hyphen this year. I’m very much looking forward to connecting with you more again in 2025! Lots to look forward to. <3
I had a lovely time in Folkestone at the book festival a few weeks ago. I spoke on a panel alongside the brilliant Anna K. Schaffner who is a burnout coach. I felt so calm in her company. She knows her shit. Did you know that the reason you can’t go back to certain aspects of your job post-burnout is because your body is traumatized and physically will not let you? Your body is saying: don’t go back. There is a new way. Onwards.
Anna and I were a great pairing I thought! I spoke openly about my personal experience and did a short (emotional) reading from A Year of Nothing — and Anna spoke more scientifically about burnout: the root cause, how some intense corporations have a ‘burnout exit plans’ baked in because it’s so common for people to drop like flies, and she shared real-time examples of her many clients plus the extensive research in her book Exhausted: An A–Z for the Weary.
The event was part of Creative Folkestone at the Quarterhouse, a sleek modern-looking venue that also looks slightly like a cheese-grater. I brought my husband along and it felt like a little literary holiday. We watched David Nicholls being interviewed on the night we arrived and he generously took the audience through this entire novel process (his latest You Are Here took four years and the audience audibly gasped). This made me feel less self-conscious about my own novel process taking so long (which I wrote about here — also four long years.)
Folkestone was cosy and blustery and delightful. I stayed at the London & Paris hotel by the harbour with a gold roll-top bath overlooking the boats. They did a delicious flatbread twist on Fish n Chips in their Harbour Inn restaurant. We enjoyed a Nutella hot chocolate at Steep Street Coffee House which has colourful bookshelves lining the walls and steamed up windows. Paul bought a new coat in a vintage shop called Bounce. I bought some creativity affirmation cards from a kooky little shop called Objectables. We ate delicious pizzas at Lubens. I enjoyed a nosy around a kooky gift shop called Moda Emporium. I bought a new book in the little Folkestone indie bookshop. We had a nice fancyish dinner at Rocksalt and then walked the three-minute walk back to bed. On the train home, I might have had a tiny little urge to google ‘Folkestone Rightmove’.
The festival line-up was incredible. I wish I’d had time to see Lucy Caldwell speak, she is one of my favourite authors. Her short story collections Intimacies and Openings are two of my favourite books.
A huge thank you to festival curator
(who also has a novel publishing next year called Madame Matisse). I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: I’ll always try and make the journey to any book festival I’m invited to. Invite me anytime! They are always such good vibes, run by great people. Thank you booksellers.
***Taps microphone: Today is the last day you can purchase A Year of Nothing from The Pound Project.***
Here is a free extract from the book below — and I hope you enjoy reading the full version.
The book comes as a twin package inside a beautiful sustainably-made case with free postcards designed by Georgia-Maia Illustrations and a foreword by The Artist’s Way legend Julia Cameron. Thanks for supporting and if you bought it as a gift, I hope they like it! It is definitely one of my favourite projects I did this year and I’m grateful to everyone who made it happen xoxo
Now for your reads and recommendations of the week: Your Slow Sunday Scroll ✨
I love pulling these round-ups together for you. Below are lots of juicy links, podcast recs and in general things I’m loving.
— Substack hit 4 million paid subscribers
— 25 Best Books by Irish Authors
— Miranda July is now on Substack
— How do authors and musicians actually make money?
— The world’s best hotels according to National Geographic
— Crying doesn’t mean I’m sad
— Writing in bed: the art of Prousting
— How to Show Up For Your Friends Without Kids and vice versa
— Why Ghostwriters Are Haunting The Publishing Industry Right Now
— Legendary memoirist Abigail Thomas doesn’t give a shit
— A deep dive into Colleen Hoover
— Rebranding the empty nest
— Why Writers Are Forced to Become Brands
— An Octogenarian’s Advice For Younger Writers
— The difference between writing and publishing
— Clare Vivier’s Charming Los Angeles Home
— Exploring ‘collective effervescence’
— I’m mostly deep into my Women’s Prize reading at the moment, but three novels I have on my list: The Names by Florence Knapp, Favourite Daughter by Morgan Dick and Happy by Celina Baljeet Basra.
— I’m really enjoying Wildcard by Jen Cownie and Fiona Lensvelt on Tarot card reading. I’m learning!
— My new novel Table For One that publishes next April has been included in Cosmopolitan’s ‘25 books we can't wait to read in 2025” — hurrah!
