About Lisanne Swart

I’m a writer, blogger, and publisher of the Weekly newsletter. On April 1, 2022, the very first edition of The Weekly went out to just a handful of early subscribers. Today, it has grown to become a newsletter enjoyed by readers in over 15 countries around the world. It remains, however, a one-woman labour of love, written, created, and cared for by me.

Since the winter of 2020 I’ve been writing at Lisanneswart.com about my favourite books. I have been an avid book reader ever since I was a little girl, and I find much joy in reading a bunch of different things. The bookshelf includes 25 thought-provoking book recommendations, which I’ve shared to spark meaningful conversations. Along the way this blog has become my diary. My personal journey into what matters in the world and why. On this platform you’ll find me writing and speaking about the people I meet, the books I’m reading and what I’m learning. I hope you join the conversation.

I grew up watching women from all across the country sharing their personal stories at The Oprah Winfrey Show. I also spent a good amount of time watching CNN with Christiana Amanpour asking direct questions to controversial world leaders. I loved author James Baldwin always speaking truth to power, and Louis Theroux from the BBC during Weird Weekends. I’ve been greatly inspired by them and many others, but especially by the way television can be used as a medium to transform lives. It’s very refreshing and inspiring that an extremely powerful medium like that can be used in such a way that it can touch lives, inform us about something we didn’t know yet, or remind us that we might be more connected to one another than we might think sometimes. I believe great stories are powerful, and can inspire people to think and act differently.

Since the beginning of this online publication I’ve been dedicated to maintain this place advertisement-free – making it a platform solely focused on quality stories and readers’ support. The relationship between a writer and reader should, in my opinion, be personal and real. Ads intervene in that dialogue and disturb – as you will, the authenticity it needs and deserves. 

Therefore, I like The Weekly and this platform in general, to be a destination for people to share stories and ideas that matter. As the world keeps getting faster, there’s actually a shortage of thoughtful, timeless stories and ideas that are worth sharing an hour or even a week later.

While the web can be a crowded place of anonymity, clicks, self-exposure and sometimes bullying, it can also be a destination of unity, real conversations and bringing people together.