hi all,

I’m happy to announce that the first issue of Happiness Quarterly will be dropping tomorrow. It will take the form of a zine PDF accompanied by a mixtape.

I’m announcing this now because it will not be coming to you via Substack but instead from the email happiness0journal@gmail.com

I’m choosing to migrate away from Substack (at least for the time being) because they’ve gotten into some creepy territory by directly funding several high-profile and pointedly anti-trans public figures to publish on the platform via their new Substack Pro program.

In at least one instance this has amounted to a public figure (who has been previously banned from Twitter for libel and inflammatory speech) being paid by Substack itself to use the platform to harass, willfully misgender, and spread rumors about a well-known theorist and academic as well as publicly out and harass numerous other members of the trans and broader queer community.

Today the platform released a disappointing statement in which they hid behind notions of free speech and anti-censorship to sidestep the fact that they are directly funding and supporting this hate on their platform.

I’ve chosen to take this as an opportunity to shift formats and experiment. If you are already subscribed here, thank you! You will automatically receive the first issue in your inbox. Anyone else will be able to receive it via friend or by reaching out to me directly.

With this shift, I’m interested in connecting with others more meaningfully. I’m interested in creating a more static record and capsule through this zine format. Most of all, I’m interested in what happens when we begin to lead our online lives more intentionally: free of toxic and highly addictive apps and interfaces, no longer subject to the will of our recommendation algorithms, and no longer intertwined with platforms that are ambivalent to our well-being.

with love,
~ Leah B. ~
see ya tomorrow