Bri Lee

Bri Lee is an Author & Writer living in Sydney

Crafting her niche audience on Substack and giving the perfect amount of fu*ks. 

It’s like 11 AM on a Monday, and I am still slightly hungover from Friday night. I wept as I tried to shower myself in Le Labo Shower Gel Hinoki and pull myself together in a somewhat concerningly slow manner to waddle my body of bones down to Potts Point to meet Bri Lee.

Unsurprisingly, I hated myself. I couldn’t flick the thought that I would be shit-chat, and I just knew I would be in the presence of literature royalty. For those of you who don’t know Bri, let me fill you right in. 

Bri’s an author, academic and activist. She’s 30, has already published three books (Who Gets to be Smart 2021, Eggshell Skull 2018 and Beauty 2019), and has garnered several accolades. She’s qualified to practice law (but doesn’t), is currently doing a PhD in law at the University of Sydney and lectures in media law. But wait, there’s more. Together with the Women’s Justice Network, she runs the Freadom Inside Project that works to get books into the hands of women incarcerated in NSW. Oh, and she’s also just casually a T Magazine, Australia columnist.

But none of this is how I heard about her or what brought me to beg her to spill her secrets. Bri’s got a fucking lit substack, News & Reviews - which you can subscribe to for free or as a paid member right here. News & Reviews is a weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox on Wednesdays at 5 PM AEST / 7 PM NZT. As the name suggests, her writing covers news (good and bad) spanning topics like law, feminism, inequality, transparency and education and reviews (good and bad) about points of interest like fashion, books, TV and film etc. It’s informative, detailed, entertaining and chew-worthy. It’s stopping what you’re doing, pouring yourself a glass of something light or lethal, and getting into it. It’s worth your time and short attention span.

I had to find out more.

Tell me about News & Reviews; what was its genesis?

Increasingly over the last 2-3 years, I've been getting more and more frustrated by how Instagram was working (or not working) for me. I'd built my audience there, but it was stressful, and it forced me to flatten myself or fit myself into a box. I do a lot of serious stuff, you know, but I also do silly and fun stuff. The platform doesn't like that. If I were trying to draw attention to an important advocacy campaign, I'd have to put my face in the post to get any traction. I hit 20k followers and started getting some trolls. When Meta started changing the algorithms all the time and prioritising video, I just... it was exhausting. I wanted a place where I could share life's highs and lows. A place where we could acknowledge the devastating news as well as the delightful art still being made. Newsletters have been huge overseas - particularly in the US - for ages now, but they definitely hadn't yet exploded in the same way in Australia. I thought I'd give it a shot.

What lights your fire? When do you feel most alive in your work?

I'm so lucky that most of the work I do genuinely satisfies, stimulates, and engages me. I've been self-employed as an author, academic, and activist for many years now. I love that in any given week; I have a dozen different jobs. I've been able to genuinely make a difference in society in specific, measurable ways. But increasingly, now I'm able to have fun and do more fun things. I work on News & Reviews on Wednesday of every week, and it's given me a real spring in my step on what used to be hump day.

Do you remember when you decided first to put pen to paper (if you will) and write your first column? What were you feeling then?

I don't remember! For me, writing was a gradual thing. In my early career, I thought I'd be a lawyer and didn't realise being a writer was even an option. I have always loved reading though. That's the most important thing for any writer.

How has your community evolved since August 2022? Have you been surprised by the response? If so, in what way?

I'm thrilled by the comments section, to be honest. There's a generosity of spirit there and a willingness for people to disagree in respectful and fun ways that I've really been missing. I'm also really heartened by the steady trickle of paying subscribers. A lot of Australians still just don't 'get' paying for a newsletter, but I'm hoping that slowly changes. Most of the people who pay for News & Reviews now do it to support me. I'm grateful for every single one, and I feel accountable to them for that faith.

What type of content will I be able to read on News & Review that I may not find across other renowned news websites?

The special editions that come out each once a month (Style on the first Wednesday of the month, then Nerd in the middle of the month) were both born directly out of my frustration with a lot of traditional media. I can't seem to find any fashion and beauty writing that isn't covert advertorial these days, so I've brought in Jordan Turner to run an interview and Elfy Scott to create an ethical report card. Because the special editions are paywalled, we can actually afford to be critical of brands and companies without fearing a loss of advertising revenue. It means when we do write positively, people can actually believe it. That trust takes a lot of time and transparency, and integrity to build. The Nerd special edition includes book reviews that are actually willing to be critical too, which is a huge problem in Australia. Astrid Edwards (who is a judge for The Stella Prize this year) and I have spent years complaining about the lack of critical and in-depth reviewing in traditional media here. Basically, I'm committed to a quality-over-quantity approach. I don't want News & Reviews to ever 'go viral' or get artificially large. All we need is a sustainable, ongoing subscriber base who are willing to pay for honesty they don't get elsewhere.

Obviously, this level of reporting takes a lot of resources. As someone who co-runs an editorial website, I am in a constant state of internal conflict about protecting our editorial integrity while being able to compensate myself for the time and love I let out here. How do you envision scaling News & Reviews, so it becomes a legitimate full-time job, or has that never been the goal from the outset?

This is a great question. I don't want or need this to be a sole (or even majority) part of my income because I do so many other things. But I do have certain subscribership and financial goals that are tied to longevity and predictability so that eventually, I might be able to pay my contributors more. I take occasional sponsors for the free weeks and keep the paywalled special editions ad-free. I am completely and totally transparent about when things are gifted or sponsored so people are informed. Right now, I feel the trust is definitely still there and the balance is good.   

You recently contracted three brilliant contributors on a fortnightly basis; has this been a big leap of faith for you? How will Saucettes be able to access each of their pieces, and what can we expect from each person?

Huge! Leap! Of! Faith! Subscribers will get News & Reviews in their inbox every Wednesday at 5 pm. That never changes. Paying subscribers to get all that juicy, ad-free, high-quality content every second week. The archive is also available online.

What will News & Reviews look like in five years?

Wow. I've never thought this far ahead, haha. I suppose I'm paying my contributors double what they get now, and it pays me two days of work each week, and the comments section is still this honest and well-intentioned, and... it still feels this fun. 

If News & Reviews was a snack, what would it be?

A really good cheddar cheese with a really crisp green apple. Life is salty and creamy and tangy and sweet. The mix is the best bit.  

What other substacks do you rate?

Back Row by Amy Odell (for fashion). Sweater Weather by Brandon Taylor (for literature). And Rick Morton's new one, Nervous Laughter (for life).

Photographer - Saskia Wilson
Interview - Liam Sharma