🗽What “Notes Night” in NYC Teaches Me About Substack’s Future (and How to Win on Notes in 2026)

Inside the event at Substack’s new Manhattan office. 2 new features, and a sneak peek into where Notes is headed and how to future-proof your writing strategy

photo credit: made in canva with photos from Xinran Ma, Hamish McKenzie. Substack. Samantha Dion Baker, Carolyn Yoo

So… I wasn’t in New York.

I was here in Germany, where the wind was smacking against my attic windows while I scrolled through post after post on Notes to find this photo of an analog note just as in the old days from Hamish McKenzie, co-founder of Substack and Chief Writing Officer.

Some scrolls later I found out, it was from the Notes Night on October 22nd, 2025, a big Substack (launch) event at their brand-new NYC office in Flatiron (ahhhh, been there when I visited NYC on my honeymoon!).

photo credit: Substack

The event was packed with Substack bestselling writers and creators as cartoonist Jason Chatfield who wrote vividly about the event and even shared a transcript (thanks!).

Since I couldn’t be there in person (and wasn’t invited 🤣 nudge.. nudge.. I know Germany is not a market Substack invests in, but I would have come to NYC… next time then!), I did go on a deep dive, through Notes, posts, and recaps, to bring you what really happened that night and what it means for all of us heading into 2026.

100 Bestsellers Met Hamish in New York City

Substack’s co-founder Hamish McKenzie opened the evening in their new office, a small, spartan space in Midtown, just a block from the Empire State Building.

Or as Airmail wrote:

“Substack’s Manhattan office, located on the ninth floor of a nondescript Midtown building in the shadow of the Empire State Building, is small and spartan compared to many other media companies.”

Hamish looked out over a crowd of more than a hundred (!) Substack bestsellers and said:

“Most platforms don’t care about writers and creators. They keep you trapped in a closed garden where you don’t own your audience, your relationships, or your content.”

Then he added something that made the room go quiet:

“We only make money when you make money. You can leave anytime.”

That line hit hard.

Because let’s be real, every writer who’s been burned by an algorithm (me with Medium!) or shadowbanned (on Instagram) knows exactly what he meant.

Substack’s entire goal with Notes is to build a social layer that serves writers and readers, not ad buyers.