About me
I’m Stephanie Wood, a journalist and writer who lives in inner-Sydney.
I love … my dog Lola … swimming in the sea … the colour blue, specifically, aqua … digging in the earth and growing things, especially potatoes … imagining history …restaurants, cooking, eating … beachcombing … torch singers, cabaret artists, chanteuses and sopranos …
I wrote a book called Fake: A Startling True Story of Love in a World of Liars, Cheats, Narcissists, Fantasists and Phonies – the true story of a devastating relationship I had with a man who turned out to be a most accomplished liar and fabulist. The Guardian nominated it as one of their “unmissable books”. That was a thrill. Fake the television series starring Asher Keddie and David Wenham, is on Paramount+ Australia. That may be an even bigger thrill!
But Fake is only a small part of my story. I also write feature articles on all sorts of topics for publications including Good Weekend magazine (published with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age each Saturday), The Guardian, Vogue and the QANTAS magazine. I love to tell important human stories, investigate issues relating to social justice and explore what it means to live in this crazy century. I’ve written on subjects including the complexity of personality disorders, mid-life unemployment and ageism, the TikTok generation, the epidemic of brain injuries among domestic violence victim-survivors, the gentrification of my neighbourhood, the perils of artificial intelligence, koalas facing extinction, dog parks, fierce women firefighters, pretty dancing spiders and a real estate assault on my mother.
In a former life, I was, briefly and badly, a cook for a countess at her Belgian country estate. I have been a food writer and restaurant reviewer. I’ve rafted down the Franklin River, done a couple of ocean swimming races (very slowly), grown excellent potatoes in my community garden, and climbed a mountain (very slowly and breathlessly) in the foothills of the Tibetan Himalayas in China’s Yunnan Province. I am a highly practised dog walker.
About Vamp*
In Vamp, I’ll:
share my reflections about life in all its glorious imperfection (I’m on a mission to embrace imperfection and adopt a leave the dishes philosophy).
inspire you with explorations into the infinite possibilities of individuality, creativity, curiosity, enthusiasm, authenticity, audacity and adventure.
introduce you to creative, wise, surprising, unconventional, authentic, fierce, decent, substantial human beings and important human stories.
offer insights into how you can navigate your way through this fragile, difficult world, build resilience, and find purpose and meaning.
“Your email arrives and my world becomes normal again – it’s my weekly therapy session”–Jen
Vamp will help you to look at things with new eyes, open new doors wide, and share new perspectives, ideas and information.
I won’t shirk from the difficult things, the troubles and strife of real life, especially mid-life, but, at the same time, I’ll share the humour, the precious moments, the joy. I hope I can help you to move forward a little if you’re stuck and distract and uplift you from slumps, setbacks, sadnesses, invisibility, loneliness.
“I feel I don’t need to look anywhere else to have a rounded view of life.”–Susie
An essential element of Vamp is my curated selection of links to Zeitgeist-ey reads to keep you up to date with the things that matter (and sometimes the things that don’t) in this complex world so you’re always one of the most interesting people in a room. My experience as a newspaper and magazine editor informs my curation of links to the essential stories from the week (especially those relevant to women and people in mid-life), the best journalism, and the most penetrating and insightful writing. That might mean, for example, a writer’s powerful painful story about her last days on earth, a New Yorker piece about getting rid of almost every material thing in your life in a Marie Kondo-esque way, or a brilliant Annabel Crabb column on the shamelessness of powerful men. Let’s face it, you don’t have the time to dig through the internet to find what you’re really interested in – so let me do it for you!
I also share stories about the good things in life including, but not limited to, food, film, homes, gardening, books, fashion/style, beautiful things, travel, nature, design, art, music, pursuits (perhaps a recipe for the ultimate spaghetti carbonara, a glimpse into a stunning home or a recommendation for a great audiobook).
“It’s lovely to be/feel part of the community you’re curating.”–Mike
Plus, you’ll be connected to a community of the most excellent people finding their way through life, falling and failing and flourishing.
Think of Vamp as a modern magazine, a lovely magic-carpet-ride of a surprise that will land in your inbox each week! (See past editions here.)
* Why the name Vamp? 1) It’s a great word, a fun, naughty, rebellious word encapsulating a certain authentic, passionate, individual spirit. 2) It has a back story. One day I’ll tell you about it.
What you’ll get with a Vamp subscription
Each week you'll receive in your inbox a thoughtful mini-magazine including:
Insightful personal reflections to get you thinking, inspire and lift your spirits.
Carefully curated links to the most essential stories of the week – I cut through the noise to help you become the most interesting person in the room.
Connection with a growing community of more than 2500 fabulous, like-minded people.
The media world is changing rapidly and, sadly, magazines and newspaper sections (or websites, for that matter) specialising in independent, high-quality and substantial feature stories about people, shifts in society, social justice issues, community, health, emotion, relationships, culture, nature, pursuits and, importantly, stories about women and the challenges they face – stories that help us understand the world at a human level and go beyond mere lifestyle content – are an increasingly endangered species.
Vamp is an attempt to go some way towards addressing that issue, to show that there’s an alternative way to deliver great writing and information, communicate with readers and build community.
Each week Vamp includes my own writing – deeply personal reflections, especially on the subjects of real life, imperfection, curiosity, audacity, creativity, beauty and joy. Readers have described it as “a therapy session”, “a little gift in my inbox”, “a beacon of beauty and hope”, “a treasure” and a “weekly highlight”.
Vamp also features a selection of my curated links to other essential AND trustworthy content drawn not just from traditional/mainstream media but cherry-picked from lesser-known websites and social media such as Threads and Instagram that you might not otherwise see. In a world awash with fake news, AI-generated guff and content of dubious provenance, I sort the wheat from the chaff, the stories and writers who can be trusted, from those who can’t. Plus, I’ll share links to the best I find in food, design, gardens, art, design, homes and offer film, podcast and book recommendations. I trawl the internet so you don’t have to!
I see a future where Vamp and the community of people growing around it dance together into our old age, laugh together, deal with stuff together and share information about the things that matter, the things that challenge us, the things that break our hearts, the things that make our hearts glow.
It takes me a day and a half, sometimes more, to put together this newsletter each week and unfortunately, that’s no longer sustainable as a free enterprise – rusted-on readers will know that I started the newsletter in 2022 and sent it out via Mailchimp for two years gratis.
Leaning on the idea of the (contested but nevertheless encouraging) 1000 True Fans concept, I want to prove that there is an alternative and sustainable way to have a career in writing and editing. With Substack, I want to create an independent, alternative, reader-funded product, a thriving, collaborative, community-minded mini-magazine. I’m hoping you can spare the price of a couple of cups of coffee a month to help me achieve that!
“How do we survive the media apocalypse?”, was the title of a recent podcast which interviewed American journalist Ezra Klein (super-interesting, super-alarming podcast if you want to better understand the challenges facing media). His conclusion: Subscribe to and pay for the media that matters to you.
Your subscription to Vamp will enable me to keep this newsletter and community going while working on other projects including, I hope, another book! And, blue-sky thinking, depending on the level of support I receive, I would love to expand what I can offer to include more heavily researched pieces, strong interviews with amazing people, other writers’ contributions, events and much more.
Choose a subscription plan
Vamp Monthly Membership
A$7 a month (equivalent to $84 a year)
Subscriber-only posts and full archive*
Post comments and join the community
Access to the community – twice-yearly, subscriber-only Zoom group chats
Access to the comments and discussion threads
Vamp Annual Membership
A$64/year (about A$5.30/month)
Subscriber-only posts and full archive*
Post comments and join the community
Access to the community – twice-yearly, subscriber-only Zoom group chats
Access to the comments and discussion threads
17% cheaper than subscribing monthly
My deep appreciation for making this enterprise financially sustainable
Vamp Founding Ambassador
A$110/year
Subscriber-only posts and full archive*
Post comments and join the community
Access to the community – twice-yearly, subscriber-only Zoom group chats
Access to the comments and discussion threads
Occasional exclusive and more personal posts
My deep, deep appreciation for making this enterprise financially sustainable
Free Subscription
Public posts.*
* I offer free access to Vamp’s full subscription offering for people facing financial hardship. If times are tough, please email me.
How to get involved
Support my work with your subscription. You can click on the button below to do just that!
Be part of a community of people who share your interests and send feedback – I love it! Thoughts, comments, niggles, irritations, bouquets (peonies please 🌺 )
Tell me what you want me to write about.
Tell your friends about Vamp!
My promise to you
I aim to write about 45 newsletters a year, give or take a few, delivering them on Friday evening or Saturday (if my week has been nuts) and occasionally at other odd times. Also, I know your inbox is a busy place: I’ll do my best to deliver only the best content and most interesting links to important stories. It will be easy to unsubscribe at any time. And I’ll never share your email address or other data with anyone else.
My editorial policy
As a working journalist, I adhere to my professional organisation’s code of ethics – the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance's (MEAA) official Journalist Code of Ethics under which I commit myself to honesty, fairness, independence and respect for the rights of others. The code item perhaps most relevant to my work on this newsletter is number 4 which states, “Do not allow personal interest, or any belief, commitment, payment, gift or benefit, to undermine your accuracy, fairness or independence”. For example, that means I might, from time to time, receive review copies of books from publishers or be invited to film screenings. I will only write about something if I genuinely believe it deserves attention and I will declare I have received a review copy or screening invitation (or other). Publishers, I’m happy to see books (film distributors, happy for screening invites) but I cannot guarantee I will write about the book or film.
How you can read Vamp
Never miss an update—every new post is sent directly to your email inbox.
Via my home page on the Substack website.
For a spam-free, ad-free reading experience, plus audio and community features, get the Substack app.
More places to find me
If you’re interested in reading my other writing, head here.
If you’re interested in my book Fake, head here.
If you’re interested in the Paramount+ Australia television series dramatising Fake, you can see the trailer here. To subscribe to Paramount+ to watch the series, head here (It’s super-easy to subscribe and watch on your latop or tablet – or TV if you have a smart television – and you can unsubscribe easily anytime – the series drops on July 4, 2024).
If you’re interested in the ABC Australian Story episode in which I feature, head here.
You can also find me on email, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Threads.
What people say about Vamp
“I so appreciate the extraordinary and diverse knowledge I am gaining through your newsletter. I feel I don’t need to look anywhere else to have a rounded view of life.”
“I’ve subscribed to many newsletters over time but there are only two I keep subscribed to, and look forward to seeing in my inbox, Nick Cave’s The Red Hand Files and yours!”
“Loving your newsletter. You are a community builder, it’s been amazing watching it grow.”
“How good is @stephaniewoodsydney’s newsletter?! It’s like a little pop of thoughtful sunshine on a Friday.”
“Thanks for reminding me to appreciate the trees and for telling us about the wonder jocks that landed in your backyard – your newsletter always adds a bit of sparkle to my inbox.”
“There are millions of blogs and email newsletters on this planet and I often think – how could anyone possibly add another one that delivers any value? And you have! I giggle, I watch girls hanging washing in snow, I bookmark long-read articles and read in bed. Thank you!”
“I never know quite what to expect, but I know it’s going to be feisty, relevant and inspiring.”
“Yours is the only newsletter of the dozens I subscribe to that I open and read from top to bottom – it’s always interesting.”
“Beautifully written … love your imperfections.”
“God I love your writing! Thank you! You are the wittier, more charming version of my inner self that I never dare to give breath to. You remind me to be kind to myself.”
“When I read your stuff I feel like you would be absolutely fabulous to share a bottle of wine and cheese platter with.”
“Your newsletter is a beacon for those of us who constantly shift between the dark and the light.”
