Referential
Michael Colbert, anna dornWriters, artists, and other creatives chat about their work and artistic process
| Platform |  | Pricing | Freemium | Publishes | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 99 | Founded | 4 years ago | Last Issue | 6 days ago |
| Active | |||||
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referential.substack.comLatest Issues
My lifeline is the mountains
One of the best meals I had last year was at Stages. Located inside a mill in Dover, New Hampshire, the restaurant puts a spin on its regular tasting menu a few times every year with its staging—a culinary mentorship program for up-and-comi...
You can decide the structure of how you live
Who: , editor of the anthology, Living Together: Reimagining Community in the Age of Disconnection
Why: Sam and I have been online, freelancer friends for years. We connected when she was working on an essay about And Just Like That for El...
Backrooms, Maddie's Secret, Pen15
July 2026 MASH ft. Tom Perrotta, hot seat with Anna Konkle, what's so over
At my parents’ house over the Fourth, I dug up one of my old journals. My aughts adolescent angst had me in stitches almost immediately. There’s really so much a ga...
Why do we need third places?
When I got a call for pitches and an assignment for a first-person essay about Maine’s saunas for Boston Globe Magazine, I was quick to say yes. This was one of those no-brainer assignments—I knew who I wanted to talk to, and the essay wrot...
Referential's 2026 Queer Book Club
Last year, I asked 10 queer writers and artists about their favorite books: the books that shaped them, that they can’t get out of their minds, and that helped lead them to the work they do today. We’re so back with 10 more for 2026—I check...
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| Subscribers | Engagement | 69 | Monthly Web Visits | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accepts Sponsors | Estimated Cost per Ad | ||||
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Writers, artists, and other creatives chat about their work and process
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