The best personal newsletters by women for women

Subscribing to a personal newsletter is a great way to read about and stay updated on topics that interest you. That’s why from this week onward, we will share our favorites here on TNW.

This first edition, published the day before the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, is dedicated to all the remarkable women out there who write quality personal digests.

1. theSkimm

The story of how Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin became friends is just perfect. They were two girls from New York and Chicago who met on exchange while in Rome and then later re-connected back in the States. By becoming close friends and sharing the same burning passion for news, the idea for theSkimm was bound to happen, in their words.

After 5 years, theSkimm has turned itself into an actual media enterprise known for its daily newsletter, which informs readers about all sorts of news and trending stories. With the Daily Skimm you’re guaranteed to be enlightened about the most important things happening. You’re introduced to the stories, you get a detailed explanation in various sections as to what happened, who is involved or why is this event important. Their digest is written in an engaging, concise and frankly, amusingly cheeky manner. I particularly enjoy the quote of the day included in the beginning of every issue, which simply manages to make my day!

2. Lenny Letter

Lenny Letter, also known as just Lenny, is a phenomenon on its own. Started by actress Lena Dunham and writer & producer Jenni Konner in 2015, the feminist nature of the newsletter aims to provide a platform for young women to discuss feminism issues. Over time, the digest has become a revolutionary force that inspires women all over the globe by openly discussing various topics like feminism, politics, style, friendship, sexuality and much more.

Lenny arrives in your inbox twice a week and contains extensive thought pieces. What is really striking, is that some of those stories are about the struggles in the lives of the authors and the epiphanies that follow. Oftentimes these stories are so personal, intimate and touching on a deep emotional level, that it makes it very easy to resonate with the author and be inspired by the women behind Lenny Letter.

3. Brain Pickings

All the way back in 2006, an ambitious young woman used to send out a weekly email to her closest friends in which she included a list of articles and things she found interesting. This ‘newsletter’ became such an anticipated email by those same friends, that eventually Brain Pickings was born. Maria Popova is a skilled veteran when it comes to curation and her flair has brought her remarkable success. You can follow her newsletter to stay updated on the latest posts concerning everything from art and design through science all the way to philosophy and literature. This digest is bound to enrich your cultural capital and even make you contemplate life every now and then!

4. Clover

Clover is a space for girls created by girls. The digest was started by two former magazine editors Liza Darwin and Casey Lewis and is considered to be more of a platform. The newsletter aims to empower women by delivering relevant and interesting news to hundreds of thousand of girls, daily. Come to think of it, the newsletter can be read by any woman who wants to be in-the-know about what is trending, given the underlying feminist nature of the digest. Whether you want to know what’s happening right now in politics, business or you just want to learn more about a variety of topics, Clover just might be your daily dose of inspiration.

5. Stella Spoils

Stella Spoils has a different, yet exciting concept. It’s ‘daily inspiration for the cool kids’. The issues are full of beautiful images by people that the curators follow and recommend. The authors also include clothes they’re eyeing, things they’re reading and listening to and a lot more interesting suggestions. There are plenty of product and travel recommendations and it’s all told in an engaging narrative style that aims to enrich your day.

6. Well-Read Black Girl

This elegant newsletter curated on a regular basis by Glory Edim contains varying content on topics such as culture, history, events and other relevant themes. The goal of the email digest is to empower black women writers and celebrate black culture by engaging communities with its captivating stories. The whole platform, including the newsletter is dedicated to “the phenomenal Black women on our bookshelves–past, present, & the “beautyful” ones not yet born.

7. OMGLord

Berlin based curator, designer and art director Gabby Lord is the definition of a creative mind. Her newsletter is a compilation of inspirational thoughts and ideas mostly about but not limited to design. Every week you receive a super useful letter filled with helpful resources, interesting profiles and updates. But the best part is she makes sure that what you get in your inbox is different from what she posts on her blog. That way, every Sunday you get a special exclusive scoop of extra design goodness.

8. The Ann Friedman Weekly

Ann is a Los Angeles based journalist who writes about gender, media, technology, and culture. She contributes to multiple well-known publications and also sends out an amazing newsletter every Friday. She usually discusses interesting reads, includes real original GIFs and sometimes endorses stuff.

➤ And don’t forget to sign up for TNW’s newsletter! It’s pretty good too.

This personal newsletter digest is curated by Revue, a newsletter service that recently launched Discover, a highly curated directory of personal newsletters.