This is a newsletter about trying to make sense of a changing world and our place in it—by reading, walking, writing.
I’m Emily Ding, a writer-photographer based in Berlin and Kuala Lumpur.
My stories have been published in both news and literary media: the Virginia Quarterly Review, Mekong Review, Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, South China Morning Post, to name a few. (More here.)
Presently, I am experimenting with my writing on personal projects: sharpening what I can already do, trying out forms new to me.
I also write this newsletter.
What you’ll read here
This is a newsletter about trying to make sense of a changing world and our place in it—by reading, walking, and writing.
Broadly, if you like books and you like exploring places and cultures, if you have a deep curiosity about the world, I think you’ll enjoy this newsletter.
I tend to make notes here about:
My ‘environment’—which, these days, is mostly Berlin or Kuala Lumpur, and occasionally places I travel to.
Some of the big (depressing, wonderful, and unprecedented) things happening in the world and how our lives intersect with it.
Books, films, and art on themes I’m interested in, which often have to do with people and places.
Because I’m trying to dedicate deeper work elsewhere, this newsletter may lean increasingly into its more diaristic iterations—spontaneous, incomplete, irregular.
I hope this newsletter will be a tool of continuous discovery, each letter building on the one before. In times of rapid change, when old certainties are giving way, nothing can be the last word on anything.
Why “Movable Worlds”?
It describes all the different worlds that also exist inside the one we know.
It conveys the idea of a world in flux and how we meet it with the worlds we carry with us, wherever we go.
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
“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
“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 receive new letters from me in your inbox.
You’ll be supporting my writing and curiosity, sending me a little encouragement—in the face of our collective attention crisis—that you want my writing, even in this most casual of forms, to exist in the world. It means a lot.
When a letter makes its way to you, I hope that it arrives as a mixed parcel of small delights, drawing on the delicate interconnectedness of all things, heightening the texture of ordinary days ✨
I don’t send out every single letter. Sometimes, I just prefer blogging, so do bookmark movableworlds.co and check back from time to time. In any case, I’ll send out a digest now and then to remind you to catch up.
What about paid subscriptions?
I’ve decided to put older letters which lean more personal—I tend to flip-flop on how much of my thoughts and life I like to put out online and for long: for privacy reasons, for AI scraping avoidance reasons—and which contain material I may want to rework in the future for publication behind the paywall. Other letters remain free to read.
A paid subscription just lets you read all paywalled letters in the archive. It costs USD$5 a month, or $30 a year (the minimum Substack allows).
As of October 2024 (since I stopped publishing guest essays), any money received goes to my book-hoarding fund.
After you subscribe, you can change or cancel your subscription at any time. No questions asked, even if we know each other in person :)
If you would prefer to make a one-off contribution of support instead (you’ll still get access to the archive):
Recurring characters in my letters
For years, when I travelled, I often did so 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 Kuala Lumpur sometimes make an appearance, too. Let’s call the beagle “Miss Marple” because she always has her nose to the ground, sniffing; and the big shepherd “Ducky”, because she had disproportionately large, almost webbed-looking feet, as a puppy. (And yes, it’s ridiculous, but I am reluctant to name them publicly, even if it wouldn’t implicate any passwords!)
How else can I show my support?
In no particular order:
Invite your friends to subscribe to Movable Worlds.
Follow along on Instagram @emilydingwrites.
Commission me to write, research, or edit.
Some housekeeping notes
You can ignore this section if you want to just stick to reading my letters in your inbox. That’s the main thing!
If, however, you mainly read on Substack, whether on its website or app, here are some tips on usage:
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, as well as other Substack newsletters you subscribe to. As I would prefer to meet you directly in your inbox for all time (no pressure), I recommend opting for “In email and app” or “Only in email”.
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 had leftover from assignments, 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, aiming for a measure of eclecticism and capaciousness. At the end of 2022, I discontinued it. I hesitated on calling it a day on it, since I had a feeling that was what many subscribers had signed up for—but it was taking too much time.
In 2024, I phased out guest letters. Q&As will pop up from time to time.
Those who stay and continue to read throughout this newsletter’s iterations and reiterations, thank you! It’ll probably continue to change shape…
