Erika Veurink writes with the kind of ease that makes the ordinary feel cinematic. Originally from Iowa and now based in Brooklyn, she moves between personal essays, cultural commentary, and brand strategy, always tuned into the quiet, intimate details that shape a moment. Her work, found in Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, and New York Magazine, carries an effortless sophistication, sharp in its observations and reverent in its pursuit.
But it’s not just on the page where Erika Veurink cultivates her vision. On Instagram, she brings the same literary sensibility to life through her lo-fi, diaristic videos— part fashion journaling, part cultural nostalgia. Whether she’s using a green screen to break down a micro-trend like bag charms or waxing poetic about stylist Danielle Goldberg, her short-form clips feel like a mood board. Where there’s an effortlessness to it all, a kind of downtown intellectual meets vintage-obsessive aesthetic, where irony and sincerity blur. With a knowing nod to the Gen Z zeitgeist identity, folding nostalgia into fashion storytelling, treating thrifting culture and long-lost trends with wit.
Beyond her editorial work, she fosters creative connection as the founder of EV Salon, a space for conversation, and through Long Live, her Substack dedicated to literature, fashion, and the art of paying attention. Whether reflecting on the pleasure of a perfect outfit or the staying power of a beloved book, her words read like a conversation with an old friend; warm, considered, and just the right amount of wistful. Her reading list branches from the irreverence of Tom Yorke, to the storytelling of Coco Mellors. Reading widely, while revisiting childhood favourites, and finding meaning in both the familiar and the unexpected.
Below, Erika Veurink shares the books that have stayed with her, the Substack newsletters she returns to, and the voices she wants more people to hear
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1. The last Substack I read …
My friend Emma Moon is an expert in paid marketing and I read her recent interview on Who Do You Know?, an excellent letter by Jake Bell.
2. A book I am currently reading …
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors and Into the Woods: A Five-Act Journey Into Story by John Yorke. I like to have a fiction and nonfiction option going at all times.
3. The literary character I most identify with is …
Daisy Johnson's Sisters was the closest I've ever felt to seeing my own sister dynamic on the page. I tend to read as an observer. Identifying with characters makes me an unreliable narrator.
4. An article that changed my perspective is …
"I Want To Be Rich And I'm Not Sorry" by Jessica Knoll in the NYT Opinion section rocked my world when I was deep in the first draft of my first book. Her honesty around commercial success has been a beacon in the process.
5. My favourite Substack I subscribe to is …
Thank you, ok has to be my favourite subscribe. Katie Merchant is a Toronto-based art director with sublime taste and a world far from my own. It's refreshing to step inside of her tiny universe on Substack. Plus her reference images are always incredible. I'm evangelistic about her letter!
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6. A writer I wish more people knew about is …
I think Jennifer Cook's Mom Friend is a really refreshing take on a format I've seen a lot of people try on the platform. Her recommendations and essays all feel incredibly unique. I value that!
7. Growing up my favourite book was …
The Witch of Blackbird Pond, which I reread to my godsons who were a little less impressed by the whole premise than I was at their age.
8. A book everyone should read at least once is …
By The Iowa Sea by Joe Blair. I recommend this memoir all the time. I'm from Iowa, so maybe I'm biased, but the prose is crystal clear and unadorned—a rarity when writing about marriage and natural disasters.
9. The best advice I’ve read in a Substack is …
How to write better captions in Rachel Karten's essential letter, Link In Bio.
10. Someone I really want to do a Substack, would be …
Jenna Lyons. Don't worry, I've DMed her this request.
11. My first Substack I ever wrote was about …
12. The best thing about reading Substack newsletters is …
Not having to wait for an idea to be greenlit by an editor, my exceptionally kind and creative readers, friends who also write letters that I'm lucky enough to treat like colleagues.
