Introducing country leaderboards and post translations

It can be hard to put your finger on what makes a Substack get-together so memorable. The depth of conversation? For sure. The variety of people in one space? Absolutely. But mainly I think it’s the fact that Substack writers and creators have the same shared notion that culture thrives when everyone is allowed to put their ideas out into the world.

This past month, we’ve seen this in action as Substack events popped off around the globe, bringing communities of otherwise unconnected creatives together in person. Hundreds of creators came together for our annual U.K. bestsellers drinks in London. In Paris, Substack’s burgeoning French scene gathered for an evening of drinks and conversation. In Madrid, Substack writers met for a one-of-a-kind writing workshop, complete with typewriters, to inspire their next posts. More and more, publishers are organizing their own meetups for their communities all over the world.

Bringing writers together, no matter where they live, is something we have always set out to do here at Substack. In April, we introduced the ability to translate all short-form content on Substack—one of our most-requested features—in order to bring creators closer to their global communities. Today we’re going one step further, announcing that longer-form posts on Substack can now be translated from English into 15 different languages, and from 100 different languages into English. This means language no longer has to be a barrier for the work you publish.

We’re also announcing new country leaderboards for users based in the U.K., France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain, which are among the five fastest-growing markets outside the U.S.

These leaderboards offer a valuable way for audiences to find both established bestsellers and up-and-coming publications in their countries, and we are excited about the opportunities this will bring for these publishers. (If you don’t see your country listed here yet, stay tuned.)

All of this is to say that we are building a truly global economic engine for culture; a place where geography or language should not inhibit your scale and ambition for your community, or how far your ideas can spread.

One in three paid creators now exist outside the U.S., and in Europe alone, Substack creators collectively make $90 million annually. What’s more, we are hearing directly from publishers that their audiences are not only growing; they’re growing across the globe. Take food writer Mara Grimm, whose Dutch-language publication De Tafel van Grimm already reaches readers in 95 countries. Or French film critic emmanuel burdeau, a top bestseller in our film and TV category for his fascinating take on cinema and culture, or Selvaggia Lucarelli, whose Italian publication Vale Tutto - di Selvaggia Lucarelli tops our global culture list.

Country leaderboards and post translations build on the work that we are already doing internationally, including the expansion of our legal Defender program and our events programming.

If you get time today, do explore the incredible bestselling work on Substack around the world, here. You won’t be disappointed.