Of Feasts & Fables

A fairytale residency via the Substack Community

Stillness at the Encouragement Farm. Photo by Augusta Sagnelli.

Celebrate Others

One of the beauties of actively engaging with fellow

Substack Writers

: sometimes, if we’re lucky, a digital connection turns into real-life human friendship.¹

I’m scouring my inbox trying to remember how I first met Jojo & Barrie of

Feasts and Fables

, but my coffee is tepid and I can’t recall.

What I do know is their Encouragement Manifesto has been a breath of fresh (and authentic) positivity ever since I discovered it, especially in this oh-so-noisy /virtue-signalled/ego-driven world:

@feastsandfables

Be Kind

I now realize we first met (albeit digitally) via a Substack comments section in December, 2023. I had written a Query Letter to the Substack Community about my latest novel, The Requisitions, encouraging readers to consider supporting an alternative equitable publishing model by subscribing to if not, Paris and/or purchasing 1 of 300 limited 1st editions.²

This is how they responded to my post:

Value, not Price

I only remember this now because, if you can believe it—after all, I am a fiction writer—I’m currently sitting on Barrie & Jojo’s sofa in western France, where I’ve spotted book #065/300 of The Requisitions on their bookshelf:

Once upon a time,

a novelist and a photographer living in a small Parisian apartment had just published their imprint’s flagship novel. Eager to embark upon another artistic adventure, they wondered how and when they might find the time/money/space for an artist retreat.

Meanwhile, precisely 389 kilometers to the southwest of Paris, a chef (Mrs. Feasts) and a poet (Mr. Fables) were sitting in their country home, tending the garden, sipping wine, admiring the sky, dreaming of ways to broaden their community.

Lo and behold, this is is not a fable.

Mrs. Feasts & Mr. Fables are real-life human beings—curious, generous, compassionate, adventurous.

So when they encouraged the young photographer and novelist to come enjoy their home, because in July—being the badasses Mrs. Feasts and Mr. Fables are—they’d be biking from Western France to Wales (yes, almost 1,000km), it didn’t take but a single Zoom Chat gathering to confirm the details.

Be Generous

For the past two weeks,

Augusta Sagnelli

and I have been living in

Feasts and Fables

’ lovely countryside home, all thanks to a comment on a Substack post back in December.

When we first met in April for a virtual glass of wine, it felt like reuniting with old friends. What struck me most about Barrie & Jojo’s character was not only their generosity, but their love for life (and for each other).

In this day and age, it’s rare to meet people who understand that love, like friendship, is a verb, not a noun.

This is perhaps why they wrote such a generous review of The Requisitions, or why they took a train to visit us in Paris when Augusta announced a gallery show for her photography in May.

Create Community

Cliché Sappy statements annoy us because they reveal truth, which is why I’m a big fan of them (it’s the metamodern in me), so let me go ahead and say it:

meeting Barrie & Jojo is what Substack life is all about.

After all, there was no logical reason why they should visit two random people in Paris, let alone invite them into their bucolic home without any knowledge of their childish ways …

towel-kite, photo by Augusta Sagnelli

Unless, of course, we believe that

some people really are kind;

that there’s inherent value to virtue;

that community is worth creating.

Stay Optimistic, Focus on Positives

Fast forward to right now, my last day at Encouragement Farm, and I’m so, so grateful and so, so thankful for Barrie & Jojo—and for a

Substack

community that, at its best, favors community and connection over the fleeting capital of little red hearts and influencer clicks.

Be the Pebble in the Pond

The world is in a strange way these days, and I suspect all of us need a bit more cliché in our lives—more love, more encouragement, more positive thinking, more inspiration—all of those un-paywalled virtues that breathe life back into this world.

And while we may not be anything more than microscopic pebbles in an intergalactic pond,³ this doesn’t mean our ripples don’t extend far beyond us.

So thank you, Jojo & Barrie, of

Feasts and Fables

for your home, for your generosity, and for the quiet wisdom of Encouragement Farm.

PS: Share Inspiration / Be Consistent

For my paying subscribers (free subs get a preview), here’s a poem / film / song called “Bird on Wire,” which I recorded yesterday morning when the songbirds were singing from the barn where they’ve built their home next to the inescapable electric wires that connect all of human civilization.

1. Shout out to

Amran Gowani

, who I met in Chicago back in January and who—thanks to his enthusiasm & grit—secured a Big 5 publishing deal, in large part due to his work on Substack;

Meg Oolders

, recent winner of a 2023 Watty Award, with whom I recently sat down for an interview and am proud to now call a bonafide friend;

david roberts

, whose lovely family I met and strolled with through Paris;

Evelyn Skye

, who has her very own Netflix show out now based on her work and with whom I had the pleasure of discussing the modernists over a glass of wine in Paris; and most recently

Eleanor Anstruther

, an inspiring author who’s also embarking upon her own badass independent publishing adventure.

2. Thanks to Barrie, Jojo & 299 others, the 1st edition of The Requisitions (300 copies) sold out. Not to fret, however: The Requisitions is now available wherever books are sold. Thank you in particular to

Feasts and Fables

,

Eleanor Anstruther

,

Janet Hulstrand

, and

Matthew Long

for their generous reviews.

Reviews / Purchase The Requisitions

3. Paris on acid