“This looks so wonderful! (In fact, breaking my vow not to sign up for new newsletters for this one!) Everything Emily writes is stellar.” —Abby Seiff
Hi! I’m Emily Ding, an independent writer-photographer and editor based in Kuala Lumpur and Berlin.
My stories—which circle the themes of place, culture, and justice—have been published in both news and literary media.
As a former columnist for Virginia Quarterly Review, I contributed a series of narrative nonfiction as braided Instagram posts. I have also written personal, travel, and critical essays for The Mekong Review.
My news features have been published in Al Jazeera, The Washington Post, The Guardian, CNN, Public Radio International, South China Morning Post, Foreign Policy, Slate, Roads & Kingdoms, Wired UK, Esquire Singapore/Malaysia, etc.
Presently, I am turning more of my attention to personal projects: sharpening what I can already do, experimenting with forms new to me. For the first time in a long time, I’m trying to focus on process, not so much results.
Meanwhile, this newsletter is my notebook, where I keep some track of what I’m doing and thinking about and what I’m interested in exploring. It’s also my way of being in conversation with the world.
What’s in this “notebook”?
I write here most often about the things I care about in the world (and the parts of my life that intersect with it), the places I go to or the places I’ve been (real places, literary places, places that exist only in the past), and my discovered affinities in books and culture.
Occasionally, I talk to other people about their relationships to places and how their passions propel them through the world—which may sometimes be informed by my own relationships to places.
I hope for this newsletter to be a continuous discovery, each letter building on the one before, always open to changing my mind. In times of rapid change, when old certainties are giving way, nothing can be the last word on anything.
Why “Movable Worlds”?
It’s born of a curiosity about all the different worlds that are possible inside the one we know. As Suzanne Joinson wrote, “Stories of human nature are linked with pathologies of places.”
I also hope for it to convey the idea of a world in flux and how we meet it with the worlds we carry inside ourselves.
And it alludes to my lifelong love for stories: both the real and fictional worlds that illuminate, and sometimes unsettle, our own.
What readers are saying
“A lovely writer who offers beautiful insights into this strange world we occupy.” —Kevin McSpadden
“How to describe Emily Ding’s newsletter? I forgot to have lunch yesterday so I’m going to go with food—it is my nasi campur of newsletters. There’s a bit of everything and depending on my mood this or that will be delicious. The newsletter is about having a sense of place and storytelling, but there’s something else to it.” —Stuart McDonald
“It feels personal, insightful, on the ground.” —P.C.
“A good thing to read while waiting in line, or anywhere really, is @emilydingwrites’ newsletter.” —Florentyna Leow
“I want to thank you for your contribution to some really interesting articles. I’ve been enjoying your newsletter; the subject matter is capacious and your writing style is succinct and unique. When I’m reading your webpages, it’s like going down another rabbit hole, but one filled with intrigue and relevance.” —Jan Setter
“I love welcoming new newsletters into my inbox and this one looks like it’ll be a ripper!” —Erin Cook
“Emily is a fellow Malaysian who writes well-researched long form essays about important topics like climate. She also shares about her life, writing and reading.” —Rachel Ooi
“For experiences of and insights on travel, for interesting things to read, and to feel your world expand again a little bit, check her newsletter out.” —Cristabel Tan
“Really enjoyed the newsletter, love the range of content on there, especially the article recommendations, and the quotes you picked out! It made me feel like I was reading an actual newsletter, and I was back in the early 00s, travelling around Asia, when Internet cafes were still a thing, and smartphones were not to be seen.” —Lu-Hai Liang
“We need to hear more of Asian solo female travellers! Keep those letters coming, Emily. Thank you for evoking once again the fernweh in me.” —Ying Reinhardt
“Plugging old internet friend @emilydingwrites’ newsletter of curiosities and musings. I look forward to receiving it every time she publishes.” —Jasmin Wong
“Yassssssssss pls follow, for amazing and introspective travel writing, one of my fav travel writers. I am immediately transported to another place reading her things.” —Yaner Lim
So, subscribe?
By doing so, you’ll be receiving my upcoming letters in your inbox.
You’ll be supporting my writing and curiosity, sending me a fist bump of encouragement—what with the media meltdown and all the things that demand our attention these days—that you want my work to exist in the world, which means a lot to me.
I try to write at least once a month, but intervals between letters could also be longer. Life, and other work, happens.
But when a letter does makes its way to you, it will hopefully land as a mixed parcel of delights, drawing on the delicate interconnectedness of all things, heightening the texture of ordinary days.
What about paid subscriptions?
You can make a paid subscription if:
you appreciate my work and would generally like to support it; and/or
you want to read paywalled letters in the archive.
A paid subscription costs USD$5 a month, or $30 a year.
If you would prefer, you can make a one-off gesture via Paypal instead. (I’ll then be in touch to set you up manually with a paid subscription, which might take me a couple of days.)
Any money received will go towards my book-hoarding fund. In Kuala Lumpur, I usually buy from Lit Books and Kinokuniya; in Berlin, Shakespeare & Sons, Saint George’s English Bookstore, Love Story of Berlin, Uslar & Rai Buchhandlung—and, I won’t lie, Amazon for books I can’t find in shops.
Once subscribed, you can change or cancel your subscription plan at anytime.
Recurring characters in my letters
For years, I mostly moved about on my own. These days, I usually go exploring with W.C., a concept artist for video games, so he gets an occasional mention. W.C., “Willing Companion”, is a nod to Martha Gellhorn’s U.C., “Unwilling Companion” (a.k.a Hemingway), in Travels with Myself and Another 😁
Two family dogs in Malaysia sometimes make an appearance, too. Let’s call the little one Miss Marple because she always has her nose to the ground, sniffing; and the big one Ducky, because she had disproportionately large, almost webbed-looking feet, as a puppy. (And yes, it’s ridiculous probably, but I am reluctant to name them publicly, even if it wouldn’t implicate any passwords! 😆)
How else can I show my support?
Follow me on Instagram and Threads.
Ask a friend to subscribe to Movable Worlds.
Write a recommendation, which I may share publicly.
If you’re a publisher, commission me to edit, report, write, or photograph.
Some housekeeping notes
You can ignore this if you want to just stick to reading my letters in your inbox. That’s the main thing!
If, however, you’d like to get more use out of Substack, on its website or app, here are some tips:
You have to be signed into Substack to like or comment on a letter, unless you’re doing it directly from inside your email client.
If you don’t remember ever signing up properly for a Substack account but have previously subscribed to a Substack newsletter, then you already have an account. On the login page, just enter your email address and a log-in link will be sent to you. If you know your password, click “Sign in with password”.
You can adjust your profile settings to determine how you receive newsletter notifications for Movable Worlds (and other Substack newsletters you subscribe to). As I would prefer to meet you directly in your inbox always, I recommend opting for “In email and app” or “Only in email” 🙏
Between letters, I sometimes use Substack Chat, a messaging tool where I post more private or casual updates, to connect with readers. Note that it’s only accessible by Movable Worlds subscribers, free or paid.
I also occasionally share things and recommend fellow newsletter writers on Substack Notes.
How this newsletter has evolved
It first began in 2019 as an ad-hoc reporting diary, in which I shared unpublished fragments of human stories I found while on assignment, as well as haphazard lists of reading and culture recommendations.
But amid the pandemic, I felt I wanted to be more intentional with the newsletter. I refined its mission statement and consolidated the archives, in separate categories, to better reflect the tweak in focus.
In November 2021, I changed the overarching name of the newsletter to Movable Worlds, to better encompass everything I might conceivably want to do with it, and gave the original name, “The Great Affair”, over to the guest section.
For a time, I put real effort into curation with the Landmarkings series. At the end of 2022, I discontinued it. I hesitated on calling it a day on it, since I had a feeling many subscribers had signed up for its eclectic, capacious pickings with which I hoped to offer a unique view on the world. But it was taking too much time, distracting me from the work I most want to do.
Those who have stayed and continue to read despite any changes from the outset, thank you! It’ll also probably continue to change its shape…
