Hello, I’m Elizabeth. I’m a bestselling author and chart-topping podcaster and I once got 47% in a school Chemistry exam. I am terrible at Excel spreadsheets and hand-eye coordination. But I can write and I love connecting with people, which is why I launched this Substack. I called it Daylight because if you have a surname that’s also a noun, you really need to make the most of it. And also because my newsletter aims to bring a little bit of sunshine into your life.

What to expect

I write a monthly column that is free to every subscriber in which I discuss what it means to be human on this unique, funny, beautiful, complicated (and occasionally infuriating) planet. I write about everything from friendship to fertility, failure to feminism via diversions into the semiotics of reality TV, style, culture and much, much more.

For paid subscribers (£5.99 a month or £50 annually), there are weekly Day’s Delights video posts where I recommend the books, podcasts, movies, clothes, beauty products, TV and cultural content that I’ve been loving. There’s also a regular ‘Top Five’ feature where I compile ranked lists of everything from Real Housewives to varieties of cheese. Feel free to disagree vociferously in the comments! 

For founding members (£100 annually) there is all of the above PLUS the opportunity to join two Ask Me Anything video calls with me every year, attend VIP meet-and-greets, as well as getting priority booking to podcast tours and book launches and discounts on merchandise. 

All paid subscribers get full access to the archive.

I’m passionate about writers being paid for their work - but only if it’s worth it for you. I promise always to give you considered creative content that I’ve put my heart and soul into. And I promise always to show up as myself here, in the hopes that you will feel safe to do the same.

A bit more about me

You might have read some of my work in the past - for over 20 years I was a staff writer on various newspapers before taking the leap and going freelance in 2015. At the time, I was in the midst of a divorce and re-evaluating a lot of key relationships in my life - both personal and professional. If I’m honest, I was terrified. But it turned out better than I ever could have imagined and it’s why I often say now, when people are scared of taking a risk that sometimes fear can elicit the same feelings as excitement. Sometimes that knotty feeling in the pit of your stomach can actually be butterflies signalling an opportunity for growth. I am incredibly lucky that I now have a career I find endlessly stimulating, a husband I met on Hinge (there is hope) and a ginger cat called Huxley who I’m worryingly obsessed with. I live in Vauxhall, South London.

Even more about me

Podcaster

In 2018, I launched a podcast called How To Fail. It came from my own experiences of failure - in relationships but also in my attempts to have a baby. I had recurrent miscarriages and several rounds of unsuccessful fertility treatment, including egg donation. I’m now at peace with the knowledge that it won’t happen for me and I’m passionate about speaking for the women (and men) whose life hasn’t turned out the way they thought they wanted. If you’re currently on a fertility journey, you’re so welcome here. This is a space where I hope you - your pain and your strength - feel seen. 

How To Fail, asks interviewees about three times things went wrong in their lives and what they learned along the way. It launched in 2018 and past guests include Dan Levy, Bernie Sanders, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Greta Thunberg, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Sir Salman Rushdie, Jamie Dornan, Ncuti Gatwa, Kazuo Ishiguro, Shania Twain, Marian Keyes, Nigel Slater and Rick Astley to name but a few.

I’ve presented programmes on the BBC too, including a stint co-hosting Radio 4’s Open Book where my personal highlight was getting to interview the late, great Martin Amis and ask him why he called all Scorpios crazy in his memoir, Experience.*

CEO

In 2024, I launched a podcast production company called - serendipitously enough - Daylight Productions. It seeks to elevate female and diverse voices and has introduced an entirely new idea to podcasting the Podclass (TM). Podclasses are limited series masterclasses in podcast form designed to help you acquire a new life skill. The first of these, How To Write A Book, launched in July 2024. Hosted by a publisher, agent and author (and executive produced by me) it reached the top 10 of the UK podcast charts - believed to be the first time a podcast fronted by three Black women broke into the uppermost reaches of the podcast charts. I’m really proud of it.

Author

I’ve written nine books, both fiction and non-fiction. My latest book, Friendaholic, is a meditation on platonic love. It was a Number 1 Sunday Times bestseller. My novels include the bestsellers Magpie and The Party, as well as Scissors, Paper, Stone which won a Betty Trask Award for debut authors. I am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and have served on or chaired several notable literary awards, including the Sky Arts Awards, the BBC National Short Story Award and the UK Women’s Prize for Fiction.

I’ve also written for newspapers and magazines including the Guardian, New York Magazine, Vogue, The Times and many more. For eight years, I was a staff feature writer on The Observer and I used to have a weekly column in You magazine, part of the Mail on Sunday. 

If you want to get in touch with me, please email elizabeth.day@fane.co.uk

*Oh yes…and I’m a Scorpio.