Letter Writer of the Month - James

The London Letters Pen Pal Club began its life in 2019 with the hope of bringing together letter writing enthusiasts from across the globe to celebrate the joy of receiving letters and the power of the written word.

Over the years we've grown slowly but surely in numbers each week, and we're so proud to now be a 1700+ community of snail mailers! We have members from different countries, ages, religions, sexualities, political views, careers, disabilities, and genders - and whilst our differences vary dramatically, we are all united by a love of letters.

'Letter Writer of the Month' is a monthly journal entry where we invite one member from the club to give us an insight into their journey with letters. Some have always been letter writers from a young age, others only began when they signed up to the club. Our members all have a unique story to tell, and we hope you'll love getting to hear it. 

Our Letter Writer of the Month for January is Member No.1640 - James.

" I think the future of letter writing is growing and it'll play a big role in people finding community and connection in a divided world. Stepping away from the noise of the digital world sometimes and writing to someone of a different background has the possibility to show us that we all have more in common than we thought."

Name: James
Age: 33
Job Title: Graphic Designer and Musician
Location: Eastbourne, UK
Member since: December 2026

Tell us a little about yourself and how you became interested in letter writing?

What is it about letters that you think makes them special?

I think letter writing is special, more intentional than sending a text or Instagram comment, because it gives you the space to reflect and send something meaningful. Digital messaging is tailored for short conversing - have you ever been sent a long text message and thought, 'I'm not reading this' and then just forget to respond until days later, but now it's too awkward to respond? Or God forbid it's a voice memo, now I have to pause my music to listen to this. But receiving a thoughtful letter, postcard or whatever from a friend is undoubtedly warming. The fact that someone took a moment out of their day to sit, reflect and personally reach out means a lot. Letters are timeless. I remember skimming through the book Love Letters of Great Men by John C. Kirkland and being moved by the words I read from folks centuries ago. I don't know if we'll archive text messages like that in the future. 

What type of things do you write in letters compared to digital communications?

I tend to write more detailed about life in letters compared to digital messaging. Like I mentioned, it opens up that space for me to be honest with what I'd like to say. Sometimes I feel like I share too much over text. I have friends who will only respond with a 'thumbs up' emoji, so I feel a bit silly when sending more than one sentence. I've gotten into postcards too, I've found it to be a useful way to sneak in letter writing to family who might think it weird to get a full page letter from me. Folks like postcards. 

Do you have a favourite letter, either famous or one you have received personally?

My Grandmother sadly passed away recently. She was my best friend and kept every letter I wrote as a child - birthday cards, letters I wrote to her, even those I thought I was sending to Santa. I went back home and read through some of them; those are probably my favorite letters at the moment. Just reading through the memories I shared with her. My spelling may have gotten a tad bit better but I can still relate to the 6 year old version of me in some of those letters.  

Do you feel any positive benefits to your mental health when you write?

I do see the mental benefits from writing. It's very meditative for me. I enjoy putting on a nice vinyl record and decompressing -- being intentional with this time I've set aside to be present. It's an activity I look forward to. 

Describe your letter writing set up. Do you have a favourite pen or paper? Where are you when you're writing?

What made you sign up to our pen pal club and take a leap of faith by writing to a stranger?

I decided to join this pen pal club because I love to talk with people, I love learning about different cultures and walks of life. I've done loads of travel in the last few years and learned so much about people and made so many friends from all over the globe; I'd love to continue that through letter writing. In our busy lives, it's not so often that we get a chance to sit down and converse with someone in a long form way, discussing everything from how your day went to your love of pencils. Having pen pals gives me a chance to do so. 

Do you believe letters still have a place in modern society?

I believe letters are perfect for modern society. I saw there's a movement amongst the youth to step away from the screens and live a more analog lifestyle - I champion that. In a world of AI slop, I think it's great to reconnect with meaningful, human connections. You know, WhatsApp has an AI feature that'll respond to text message for you. Who wants that? I'm not saying text messaging doesn't have its place and it's amazing that we can communicate with anyone in the world in seconds - but having AI as a middleman is just bizarre to me.

What role do you think letters will play in the future?

I think the future of letter writing is growing and it'll play a big role in people finding community and connection in a divided world. Stepping away from the noise of the digital world sometimes and writing to someone of a different background has the possibility to show us that we all have more in common than we thought.

What would you say to someone to encourage them to give letter writing a try?

A huge thank you to our James for his time, and we hope you enjoyed getting to know him! Why not take that leap of faith and join our pen pal club too? We're always open to new members, and you can learn more about the club here.