This is 3!
Tomorrow Oldster Magazine celebrates its third birthday. PLUS: What has been your favorite Oldster piece so far? A Friday open thread.
Readers,
It’s hard to believe it’s now been three whole years since I dreamt I started a magazine called Oldster, joked about it on social media, then…got out of bed and started a magazine called Oldster.
Here we are three years later, and this is a real magazine with a wonderful variety of contributors, and now over *50,000 subscribers1. I’m so grateful for everyone’s enthusiasm and support. 🙏
I’m still busy following my curiosity about how others are experiencing getting older, and pursuing my mission to destigmatize and normalize aging by showing that everyone—of all ages, genders, and backgrounds—is going through it: “Exploring what it means to travel through time in a human body, at every phase of life.”
Check out this Substack Originals video, made by Cash Studios:
I thought this might be a good occasion to ask you all about your favorite Oldster Questionnaires, personal essays, and blog posts. (← I’ve linked here to the archives of each kind of post, so you can easily sift through to find your favorites.) In the comments please tell me:
What has been your favorite Oldster Magazine post to date? What made it stand out for you?
Last Saturday night I threw Oldster a proper birthday party in my backyard in Kingston, NY. Many friends came out to celebrate, including some Oldster contributors—Jay Blotcher, Laurie Stone, Richard Toon, Joyce Wadler, Martha Frankel, Beverly Donofrio, Sara Eckel, Jen Doll, Jacinta Bunnell, and of course, my husband, Brian Macaluso.
Tomorrow I’ll get to celebrate with family, including my Uncle, who played a part in sparking my obsession with getting older, back when I was 10.
🎂🎂🎂
It’s been an incredible year here at Oldster. I added an occasional column by bestselling novelist Laura Lippman, and launched my Ask The East Village Yenta advice column. (Laurie Stone’s “Notes on Another New Life” column is still going strong.) Former music exec Cliff Chenfeld put lots of new music into our old ears, plus he did video interviews with Dar Williams and Judy Collins. (More of those musician interviews to come.) I continued to collaborate on the monthly Sober Oldster series with A.J. Daulerio and Edith Zimmerman at The Small Bow, one of my favorite newsletters.
I got to feature so many interesting people this year, including Susan Orlean, Elizabeth Gilbert, Carvell Wallace, Lou Reed biographer Will Hermes, Go-Gos bassist Kathy Valentine, Shalom Auslander, Karen Walrond, Claire Dederer, Jerry Stahl, Joan Wasserman, aka Joan As Police Woman, Elizabeth Crane, Kim Wozencraft, Griffin Hansbury (aka Jeremiah Moss), Chris Wells, and so many others.
It’s been great to add their voices to the those I’ve featured before, such as: Neko Case, Hilma Wolitzer, Cheryl Strayed, Lucy Sante, Abigail Thomas, Joy Castro, Michael Imperioli, Deesha Philyaw, Laurie Stone, Celeste Lecesne, Elissa Altman, Jerry Saltz, Kimberly Harrington, Beverly Donofrio, Michael Musto, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Kim France, Jennifer Romolini, Dante Stewart, Laura Lippman, A.J. Daulerio, Dani Shapiro, Michael Maren, Chloe Caldwell, Mari Naomi, Meredith Maran, Maggie Smith, Carolita Johnson, Ann Friedman, Dionne Ford, Martha Frankel, Mary Pipher, Michael A. Gonzales, Michelle Dowd…
Other exciting developments this past year… An Oldster essay by Joy Castro received notable mention in The Best American Essays 2023, edited by Vivan Gornick. Another essay by Judith Hannah Weiss was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by an editor there. And Michael A. Gonzales’ essay about Hip-Hop turning 50 was featured in Don Van Natta Jr’s The Sunday Longread newsletter.
I was quoted about aging in The New York Times, on two different occasions. Oldster was also featured in Canada’s National Post. I was on a number of podcasts, including Melissa Ceria’s The Loss Encounters with Melissa Ceria, in an episode you all helped me prepare for.
For the third year in a row, Oldster magazine was chosen as a Featured Publication on Substack.
Alright, back to the question at hand:
What has been your favorite Oldster Magazine post to date? What made it stand out for you?
I’ve got big plans for Oldster in the year ahead. On my birthday in early October, I’ll add (and answer!) four new questions to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire. I’m also scheming a book, a podcast, live events, and maybe (BIG MAYBE) a publishing arm. I hope you’ll stick around for what’s next.
Okay, once more with feeling:
What has been your favorite Oldster Magazine post to date? What made it stand out for you?
Happy third birthday to Oldster Magazine! I couldn’t have gotten here without all of you. Thank you, as always, for reading, commenting thoughtfully, helping to make Oldster a welcoming community, and for all your support! 🙏💝
Have a great weekend.
-Sari
Every questionnaire to me reveals something I hadn't thought about and needed to read that day.
There's no way to choose a favorite! Like my children, I love them all the same. ;-)
I will add, though, I got a chuckle from today's post, "This is 3!" I assumed you were interviewing a 3-year-old and thought, hmmm, this will be interesting! LOL!