Hugo Novela is a Hugo blog theme that ports Narative's Gatsby-based Novela design into a Hugo module, giving Hugo users a minimal editorial blog with light and dark mode, author taxonomies, and one-click import into Forestry CMS.
What is Hugo Novela?
Hugo Novela is a port of Narative's Gatsby theme Novela, created by Forestry.io. It runs on Hugo, requiring Hugo extended version 0.65.0 or higher. As input it takes Hugo content files (posts and author pages); as output it produces a static blog with an editorial layout, social links, and a newsletter call-to-action shortcode. The theme is distributed as a Hugo module via GitHub and works with Forestry CMS for visual editing.
Key Features
- Hugo module install — Install the theme by adding
theme = "github.com/forestryio/hugo-theme-novela"to your config.toml and runninghugo mod init; no manual file copying. - Light and dark mode — The theme includes built-in light/dark theming; custom SVGs can respond to the mode by adding
class="change-fill"to path elements. - Author taxonomy — Register authors as a taxonomy (
taxonomies: author: authors) and create author pages undercontent/authorswith_index.mdfiles containing title, bio, avatar, featured flag, and social links. - Social media integration — Configure Twitter, GitHub, LinkedIn, Instagram, Dribbble, and YouTube links via the
[social]section in config.toml. - Newsletter CTA shortcode — Add a newsletter signup form anywhere with the
`{{< subscribe email="[email protected]" >}}`shortcode, which uses Formspree to process submissions; Formspree's free tier allows up to 1,000 submissions per month. - Forestry CMS one-click import — Use the provided quick-start link to import the theme into Forestry, or set up the starter repository for a guided Hugo and Forestry workflow.
- Pagination — The theme sets
paginate = 6by default, showing six posts per page.
Who is it for?
- Hugo bloggers — Anyone building a personal blog or publication on Hugo who wants a minimal, editorial design without writing a theme from scratch.
- Forestry CMS users — Content editors who prefer a visual CMS; the theme is built for one-click import into Forestry, and social/author config can be managed through Forestry's YAML files.
- Gatsby-to-Hugo migrators — Teams or individuals familiar with Narative's Novela design on Gatsby who want the same look on the Hugo static site generator.
What can you do with Hugo Novela?
- Launch a polished blog quickly — Start a new Hugo site, add the theme as a module, and publish your first post with
hugo new post/my-first-post.md. - Manage multiple authors — Create author profiles with bios, avatars, and social links, then assign one or more authors to each post via the
authorsfront matter field. - Collect email subscribers — Drop the newsletter CTA shortcode into any page to collect subscriber emails through Formspree, with no backend setup required.
- Customize the logo and socials — Override the theme's logo partial with your own SVG, and copy
config/_default/social.yamlinto your project to surface social settings in Forestry.
How does Hugo Novela work?
To install, create a new Hugo site, initialize it as a Hugo module with hugo mod init, then set the theme in config.toml. Add the authors taxonomy, create author pages, and write posts with hugo new. Preview locally with hugo server -D. The theme also supports one-click import into Forestry via the quick-start link, which sets up the starter repository.
FAQ
Does Hugo Novela require a specific Hugo version?
Yes, the theme requires Hugo extended version 0.65.0 or higher. If you use an older or standard (non-extended) Hugo build, the theme may not work correctly.
How do I add authors to a post?
Create author pages under content/authors/author-name/_index.md with the required front matter (title, bio, avatar, etc.), then reference the authors in a post by adding authors: ["Author Name"] to the post's front matter.
Is the newsletter CTA free to use?
The shortcode relies on Formspree. Formspree's free tier allows up to 1,000 email submissions per month; beyond that, Formspree offers paid plans. The theme itself does not limit usage.
Can I use this theme without Forestry?
Yes. Forestry is optional. You can install the theme directly from the command line using Hugo modules and manage content with any text editor or Git workflow.
Alternatives
- Narative's original Novela — The Gatsby-based theme this port is derived from; choose it if you prefer Gatsby over Hugo.
