RIP to all the people with Michigan area codes like me who’ve gotten more election texts in the last 24 hours than I've gotten from real people in my entire life. I have no idea why, but they all address me as Vivian. At least these spammers have some taste and gave me a cute name! 

In today’s paid newsletter, I cover a very cool travel outlet launching soon that you can only get through snail mail. I talked with some of the women behind the project for our cover story this week.

Then, Apartment Therapy Media’s CEO gets unusually candid about laying off “a bunch of people” and the company’s business woes, a Vogue and Vanity Fair exec exits for a C-suite gig at a fashion brand, a former Vox editor announces a new culture mag, and more media intel in Seen and Heard. We’ve also got a few big media move announcements to share and another reader hot take in this week’s I Said What I Said.

We’ll be back on Thursday with a little debrief on how tonight’s election shakes out, plus conversations with some of the women covering everything on the ground. Happy voting, and see you Thursday.

xoxo,

Vivian

A group of women travel writers, tired of chasing keywords, top-10 lists and sponsor obligations, decided to go analog. And the fruit of their labor is Rewrite Travel, a monthly mail club where each issue is devoted to a destination that one of its writers has lived in or spent real time in — and no one knows where it is until it lands in their mailbox.

The mailer itself is made to feel like a gift from a dear pen pal catching you up on their intrepid excursions abroad. Inside is a smattering of personal short stories from writers who’ve been to the featured destination of the month, along with a letter, art prints, a fun creative activity, a food or drink-related story, and other little keepsakes like puzzles and stickers.

What I adore about this project is Rewrite’s commitment to being authentic and thoughtful with its mission. They rely solely on subscriptions for revenue that they split equally between the team, composed of Hana LaRock, Alice Nettleingham, Elen Turner, Amanda Finn, Emily DiFabio and Katie Lockhart. There are no sponsored placements or underwriting. They aren’t writing stories based on press trips, either. It’s all based on destinations and experiences they can personally vouch for. Right now, the club plans to ship its monthly issues to 190 countries, including the U.S., where I’m excited to get my first package in the mail soon. The first issue ships Nov. 15, and if this also sounds like something you might want to get your hands on, you’ve got until Nov. 8 to sign up.

The team runs as a co-op collective and its members are spread all over the world in places like New Zealand, the U.K. and Colombia. It was a little tricky getting everyone across time zones, but I was able to catch up with two team members, Hana and Alice, about how the idea came together, why being women-led matters to them, and the destinations they most love traveling to solo (which is also a personal hobby of mine).