Welcome to Bold Types!

Hiya 🤗

Bold Types: Adventures in journalism and solo travel, from a GenXy writer who walks*. Your weekly hit of optimism and grit.

*My productivity OS. Because my feet are wiser than my head.

The antidote to internet brain and being chronically online.

Why Bold Types?

Because the world is chaotic. Journalism is a struggling industry, and freelance rates have been stagnant for YEARS, so it’s about building something new and networked—through Substack and beyond—that empowers writers.

We’re seeing a massive shift in how media gets made and who controls it. No more gatekeepers—the audience decides.

Beyond pale, male and stale: legacy media learning from creators, worker-owned journo co-operatives, the rise of the Substack Motel, platform promiscuity…

It’s fast, messy and a bit Wild West—and also the most exciting and trusted area of journalism imo. People are paying for it! I’m here for it.

I’m fascinated by the shift towards creator-led media, the rise of entrepreneurship (the future of work) and solo travel.

My mission: celebrating culture, telling stories, and encouraging women to travel solo. It’s brilliant fun and the most empowering thing you can do for yourself!

Nika x

What you’ll get:

Be part of the gang growing and shaping Bold Types.

Free subscribers:

• Weekly letters and shared culture calendar

• Bold Types Q&A series with creative entrepreneurs

• Billy No Mates? Write with us! Writers’ Café in Hastings is open to all

Paid subscribers:

If you appreciate what I’m doing and want to go deeper and support my work.

Friends of Bold Types get everything above and community perks:

• Fun, friendship and collective solidarity

• Access to the subscriber-only chat and threads

• Monthly Office Hours call (1-2 pm on the last Thursday)

Founding Members:

You’re helping me pay it forward via gift subscriptions and fundraising for the King’s Trust, the UK’s leading youth charity. A true patron of the arts :)

However you support me THANK YOU - it means the world.

Founding Member: Nige Cook

☕️ Make a single payment

About me

I’m a freelance travel and culture writer with 25+ years in media, working across editorial and brand storytelling.

I write about solo travel for midlife women, exploring culture, walking, and the emotional freedom and independence that comes with travelling alone.

I’ve worked with local and global media brands, including BBC Masterchef, Travel Maps Australia, Country Walking, Here’s Health, Black Label Immobilien, Expedia, Courier and the Portfolio Collective.

Much of my work is shaped by slow and sustainable travel – walking, train journeys, small luxury hotels and housesitting for a deeper connection to people and place. I believe in the healing power of walking—the best vehicle to unleash your creativity.

Bold Types

Since 2020, I’ve been publishing and growing Bold Types, a newsletter about culture, solo travel and creative work.

Recommended by Hotflash Inc. as “a helpful newsletter for the intersection of writing, the digital world and entrepreneurship, which can be a lonely place for many of us.”

Alongside my own writing, I mentor journos through the NUJ and City St George’s, University of London and host a Writers’ Café in Hastings & St Leonards.

If you’d like to work or collaborate with me, you can:

👉 See my offerings
👉 Subscribe to Bold Types

Wall of Love

Nika has written 12 books relating to health and wellness. There is fun to be had as we make the Shift to work smarter and live better—recommended reading for Workforce Futurists! - Andy Spence, Founder, Workforce Futurist.

Nika Talbot is a hidden gem on Substack—writing about the business of writing in a way no one else is and the intersection of writing and AI. - Sarah Fay, Substack Writers At Work.

They should frame this newsletter in the Louvre—simply a joy to read! - Eoin Whyte, Chief Revenue Officer & co-founder, Savvy.

Here to help with your content gaps! 💎