The Author Shelf 📚 Issue #02|🌙 The Four Horsemen and Women of Substack
Four voices. No filters. Full impact.
The Author Shelf 📚 Issue #02 | Four voices. No filters. Full impact.
Published by StartUp Authors
The Four Horsemen of Substack
Every now and then, a story finds you in the quiet. In the ache of unsaid words. In the moments you realize someone else has carried a pain, a dream, or a joy strikingly similar to your own and written it down.
This is what The Author Shelf was built for: to spotlight those rare, arresting pieces of writing that stir something real. And this week, it’s back.
We’re honored to introduce the Four New Horsemen whose work doesn’t just deserve to be read, it deserves to be remembered!
Introducing: Our Four Horsemen of Substack
No, not the apocalypse—but something just as unforgettable. In this special edition, we’re handing the reins to four writers who don’t just tell stories, they leave marks. You’re about to step into four very different worlds: one where love doesn’t arrive, one where grief talks back, one where memory burns and beauty aches, and one where survival is quiet but stubborn.
These aren’t just pieces. They’re punches to the chest. They’re slow burns. They’re the kind of writing that demands a pause after the final line.
So take a breath, maybe a seat—and scroll slowly.
Let the horsemen ride.
(PS— stay tuned till the end for a poll!)
Vol. III launches May 2nd at noon!
🌙 "To My Unborn Daughter" by Gabriela
About the author: Gabriela is a scientist turned writer. Her curiosity and love of books started early, leading her into a lifelong journey of study. While she built her scientific career, her passion for literature and writing lingered quietly in the background. She has been writing poetry since her teenage years, finding that writing is how she makes sense of the world. Her mind is constantly in duality, moving between facts and dreams, science and story.
A poem that whispers regret and longing with haunting clarity. Gabriella delivers a devastatingly intimate reflection on loss and the things that never had the chance to become. Selected for its emotional gravity, lyrical precision, and a closing stanza that leaves the silence ringing.
https://substack.com/home/post/p-161561947
“Still, somewhere in the quiet, I stayed,
whispering your name
as a way to say goodbye.”
If you’ve ever wrestled with a something that still haunts you quietly in the background—yeah, you might need to sit down for this one.
Author’s Note: To my unborn daughter is a poem born from a song I heard about a lost love. As I listened, my heart went out to the singer, and I wondered what kind of love had been lost. When I began to write, my mind drifted to the choice of a life without children and the implications of that decision. From a place of empathy, I began, but as I poured my heart into the words, my own choices took the stage. My heart goes out to anyone who has lost love in any form. In community, we find strength. Please remember: you are never alone.
🚉 "Train Times" by Kate
About the author: British scribbler. It’s all about cups of tea, David Bowie and odd humour over here . Writing mildly humorous waffle and general claptrap from my notebooks on 'The Train to Titsville' and short fiction on 'The Flash Fiction Fairy'.
A one-act play in prose, heavy with tension and brilliantly alive with voice. Kate’s piece captures a friendship at the breaking point—sharp, gritty, and gutting. It’s a northern slice of realism that doesn’t blink. This dialogue-driven scene earns its spot for how seamlessly it pulls us into Kerry’s world and doesn’t let us out until we feel it all.
“I wanted her to shout back but she closed her case lid, all careful-like, like she was making a point.”
This one’s for anyone who’s ever packed a bag, picked a fight, or pushed love away because staying felt heavier than leaving.
Author’s note: I was inspired to write this short piece after reading James Joyce’ ‘Eveline’ from The Dubliners. I was moved by the complex power of family ties and place, to create such a fear of the unknown that it prevents a person from escaping, starting anew. I wanted to try to capture that complexity in a short punchy piece of writing that might resonate with readers.
🌊 "The Pull You’ve Known" by Richard
About the author: Poet and writer, exploring thoughts, emotions, and the full spectrum of the human experience. If something resonates with you, stay a while and let’s journey together through these words.
A poem that feels like a quiet walk through someone else’s weariness. Richard’s piece reads like survival on the edge of exhaustion—soft-spoken but brutally honest. For anyone who’s ever had to keep going when everything felt stalled, this one’s for you.
“No road map for treasure.
A heart beats—it’s enough.”
If you’ve been moving through life just trying to keep your head above water—this poem will meet you right there.
Author’s note: “I believe names and words have power and poetry is how I try to shape that and connect with people
Sijambo” means “I’m fine” in Swahili—a quiet declaration of survival. This poem is about the weight we carry, often alone. It reflects those silent weeks, the fears louder than hope, the invisible battles. But it’s also about grace, resilience, and returning to yourself. I write to explore the full spectrum of being human—grief, growth, doubt, joy. Words hold power. If something here resonates, stay awhile.
You are enough. Even when you fall. Especially then.”
“an argument for burning every photo in your home” by Josh
About the author: Twenty-three. Black and Gifted. I own forty-five rejection emails from the New Yorker. You can’t hurt me. I’m building my own home on my own terms. I will not stop until every person who doubted me regrets it for the rest of their life. I believe in letting my work speak for myself. I am grateful for this recognition. This is just the beginning. JOSH’S WORLD is handwritten by black hands every Sunday.
Social: INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/jauwshewuh?utm_source==qr
Equal parts chaotic and brilliant, Josh’s piece is a defiant eulogy for everything fleeting. It feels like overhearing someone mid-monologue in a diner at 2am, off-the-cuff but surgical in its precision. There’s a rotting sweetness to the style, as if the speaker has already accepted that memory will betray us and decided to light the match itself. It's nostalgia’s arsonist cousin. And it works.
“I fall asleep soundlessly in my hand-knit baby blue snowflake sweater before the three-minute mark.”
This one’s like a punchline that doesn’t ask for your laugh—it just knows your twenty-something crisis a little too well.
Author’s Note: “josh’s world AKA Joshua Edmunds is a self-described “furious writer” rallying against mediocrity in popular culture and prioritizing growth at all costs.
As an experienced journalist, certain public failures left him stunningly disciplined and immune to self-doubt.”
That’s the ride.
If something stirred in you—good. That’s what these writers do. Share it. Sit with it. Come back to it. And if you're still standing after all four? You’re exactly the kind of reader we want around.
We believe every one of these pieces deserves to be on your shelf, not just for how well they’re written, but for what they dare to say.
🧡 This Is What We’re About
StartUp Authors is more than just a newsletter, it’s a sanctuary for emerging brilliance.
Every week, we’ll unearth gems like these. Longform, poetic, strange, beautiful, maybe a little broken — but always alive.
To our four inaugural Horse riders: Thank you. You set the bar. You showed us what this can be. Keep writing. Keep submitting. You’ve got the voice—we’ve got the shelf.
To everyone else reading this:
There’s still room. The horse have more riders. If you have no-one else to write for write for us!
📝 Keep writing. Keep submitting. Keep unfolding.
We’re reading. We’re waiting. We’re building something here. Come be part of it.
With awe and gratitude,
— The StartUp Authors Team
(P.S. Let us know which piece hit you hardest.)
Thank you for helping us get our voices out.
Thank you so much for this space and the opportunity to have my work reach others. I hope they find it as impactful as you did❤️