Hi, Welcome to End Matters

Well, hello. Welcome to end matters. Why do I feel so terribly nervous about introducing you to my newest venture? Perhaps because I feel so excited about this, and I want you to love it as much as I hope to.

When I was around eleven, I made my own magazine (called Confessions…) using Microsoft publisher, which no longer exists. I bought actual shiny paper to print it on, spent hours agonising over articles and layout, and handed it out to my classmates at lunch break. Of course, this memory makes me cringe deeply now, but it reminds me how important writing was to me as a child. I wanted to be a journalist, I wrote short stories. Somehow over the years, apart from my academic work and my book reviews, I haven’t dedicated much time to the written word. To think that this space might provide me with the opportunity to write freely, to create another haven on the internet where we might discuss literature and culture and connect with each other (the first haven being, of course, the Patreon community), is very exciting to me.

To be able to make money writing, too, in a world that doesn’t much value writing any more, makes Substack as a whole a very interesting venture, and its popularity doesn’t surprise me. I don’t know about you, but I have found myself drawn more and more to this platform, to long form writing and the depth and nuance it can bring that other formats simply can’t.

What exactly are ‘end matters’? The end matter of a book is “the parts of a book that appear after the main portion of the body text, including the afterword, index and bibliography; the back matter.” And if you know me at all, you’ll already know that much of this newsletter will be dedicated to books. This, then, will be the end matter that comes after reading. But I’m also hoping to chat about my favourite TV and film too, and anything else that interests me.

If you don’t already know me, allow me to briefly introduce myself. I’m Jess, I’m from London, and I’ve been chronically online and posting to YouTube for almost fourteen years now. What I’ve produced has varied widely over that time, and of course I’ve expanded to other platforms, too. I did my undergrad at Edinburgh in English Literature, and then did my Master’s at King’s in Contemporary Theory, Culture and Literature after that. I have been a bookworm for as long as I can remember, it’s my main passion and driving force, and over time my online output has reflected that more and more. And, although it’s not something I allow myself to say too often, I kinda know my stuff. I’ve come to a point now where it’s time to fully lean into my status as a book nerd.

In terms of favoured genres, I lean toward literary and speculative fiction (i.e. sci-fi, fantasy and the weird), and most certainly crossover between the two. You’ll find I’m quite passionate about the speculative being recognised for its brilliance. I also love my classics, and generally like to root out and share my favourite backlist titles over new releases (though I can’t always resist the hype). I dabble in nonfiction and theory from time to time, too. You can read a full breakdown of what I look for in my books here.

I can already feel my latent perfectionism creeping up on me; it’s particularly intense when it comes to my writing. I’ve been meaning to write this post for weeks (let's be real… months) and yet couldn’t quite find the entry point. But I’m going to try not to expect perfection from myself here. I want it to be a place where I get writing out, rather than something I agonise over and never quite hit publish on. I hope you’ll come along for the ride. But what can you expect as a free or paid subscriber?

For free subscribers, you’ll be able to read my monthly reading wrap-ups. I have been writing these for quite a few years over on my blog and I still want them to be accessible for all.

For paid subscribers, there will be longer form posts. I have pages full of ideas already and I can’t wait to get started. Think everything from round-ups of the latest and best speculative fiction, to overviews of my favourite indie presses, to essays about contemporary fiction and culture.

And finally, how will this be different from Patreon? I consider Patreon to be a community-first sort of place. We have our Discord server, we hold book club meetings, we vote collectively on our picks. Let me tell you, the main attraction there is not me, our community is absolutely incredible, and I have found countless amazing books through it. It is fundamentally a book club. For a full rundown on what’s available on Patreon and on the different tiers, you can take a look at this post. By contrast, this newsletter will naturally be more writing and criticism focussed. I’m exploring the option to share a podcast over the two platforms, but more on that at a later date! As always with a new platform, it can take a while to work out the kinks, and for me to familiarise myself with it all.

With all that being said, welcome. I hope you like it here. I know I already do.