diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/admin/+page.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/admin/+page.svelte
index 5b8453c..7bd1e14 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/admin/+page.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/admin/+page.svelte
@@ -136,13 +136,41 @@
     }
   }
 
-  // In-site reply (plain text, sent via SMTP; only stored on successful send).
+  // In-site reply (Markdown-ish: textarea + toolbar; server renders sanitized HTML).
   let replyingId = $state(null);
   let replyText = $state('');
   let replyBusy = $state(false);
   let replyErr = $state('');
+  let replyTextarea = $state(null);
   function openReply(f) { replyingId = f.id; replyText = ''; replyErr = ''; }
   function cancelReply() { replyingId = null; replyText = ''; replyErr = ''; }
+
+  // Wrap the current selection (e.g. **bold**), restoring focus + selection.
+  function mdWrap(token) {
+    const el = replyTextarea;
+    if (!el) return;
+    const s = el.selectionStart, e = el.selectionEnd;
+    const sel = replyText.slice(s, e) || 'text';
+    replyText = replyText.slice(0, s) + token + sel + token + replyText.slice(e);
+    queueMicrotask(() => {
+      el.focus();
+      el.selectionStart = s + token.length;
+      el.selectionEnd = s + token.length + sel.length;
+    });
+  }
+  // Prefix each selected line (e.g. "- " or "## ").
+  function mdPrefix(prefix) {
+    const el = replyTextarea;
+    if (!el) return;
+    const s = el.selectionStart, e = el.selectionEnd;
+    const start = replyText.lastIndexOf('\n', s - 1) + 1;
+    let end = replyText.indexOf('\n', e);
+    if (end === -1) end = replyText.length;
+    const block = replyText.slice(start, end) || 'item';
+    const prefixed = block.split('\n').map((ln) => prefix + ln).join('\n');
+    replyText = replyText.slice(0, start) + prefixed + replyText.slice(end);
+    queueMicrotask(() => el.focus());
+  }
   async function sendReply(f) {
     const msg = replyText.trim();
     if (!msg || replyBusy) return;
@@ -434,7 +462,12 @@
                     {#each f.replies as r (r.id)}
                       <div class="rep">
                         <span class="rl">↪ Replied · {fwhen(r.sent_at)}</span>
-                        <p class="repmsg">{r.message}</p>
+                        {#if r.message_html}
+                          <!-- server-sanitized HTML (tiny Markdown subset) -->
+                          <div class="repmsg">{@html r.message_html}</div>
+                        {:else}
+                          <p class="repmsg">{r.message}</p>
+                        {/if}
                       </div>
                     {/each}
                   </div>
@@ -442,7 +475,12 @@
 
                 {#if replyingId === f.id}
                   <div class="composer">
-                    <textarea bind:value={replyText} rows="4" placeholder="Write a reply…"></textarea>
+                    <div class="mdbar">
+                      <button type="button" class="mdbtn" title="Bold (**…**)" onclick={() => mdWrap('**')}><b>B</b></button>
+                      <button type="button" class="mdbtn" title="Bullet list" onclick={() => mdPrefix('- ')}>• List</button>
+                      <button type="button" class="mdbtn" title="Heading" onclick={() => mdPrefix('## ')}>H</button>
+                    </div>
+                    <textarea bind:this={replyTextarea} bind:value={replyText} rows="4" placeholder="Write a reply… **bold**, - bullets, ## heading"></textarea>
                     {#if replyErr}<p class="cerr">{replyErr}</p>{/if}
                     <div class="cbtns">
                       <button class="csend" onclick={() => sendReply(f)} disabled={replyBusy || !replyText.trim()}>
@@ -624,8 +662,19 @@
   .thread { margin: 10px 0 0; display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 8px; }
   .rep { border-left: 2px solid var(--accent-soft); padding: 2px 0 2px 12px; }
   .rep .rl { font-size: 0.72rem; color: var(--muted); }
-  .rep .repmsg { margin: 2px 0 0; font-size: 0.9rem; color: var(--ink); white-space: pre-wrap; }
+  .rep .repmsg { margin: 2px 0 0; font-size: 0.9rem; color: var(--ink); }
+  .rep .repmsg :global(p) { margin: 0 0 6px; white-space: pre-wrap; }
+  .rep .repmsg :global(ul) { margin: 4px 0; padding-left: 20px; }
+  .rep .repmsg :global(h3),
+  .rep .repmsg :global(h4),
+  .rep .repmsg :global(h5) { margin: 6px 0 4px; font-size: 0.95rem; }
   .composer { margin: 10px 0 0; }
+  .mdbar { display: flex; gap: 6px; margin-bottom: 6px; }
+  .mdbtn {
+    font: inherit; font-size: 0.78rem; background: var(--surface); border: 1px solid var(--line);
+    color: var(--ink); border-radius: 7px; padding: 3px 9px; cursor: pointer; line-height: 1.4;
+  }
+  .mdbtn:hover { border-color: var(--accent); color: var(--accent-deep); }
   .composer textarea {
     width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; font: inherit; font-size: 0.9rem;
     padding: 10px 12px; border: 1px solid var(--line); border-radius: 10px;
diff --git a/goodnews/api.py b/goodnews/api.py
index 72d9f21..616db78 100644
--- a/goodnews/api.py
+++ b/goodnews/api.py
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ from fastapi.staticfiles import StaticFiles
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 
 from . import auth, email_send, feeds, oauth_google, queries, share, summarize
+from .markup import render_reply_html
 from .db import connect
 from .filters import filter_articles, prefs_from_json
 from .hero import safe_to_lead
@@ -808,7 +809,7 @@ def create_app() -> FastAPI:
                 ids = [it["id"] for it in items]
                 ph = ",".join("?" * len(ids))
                 reps = conn.execute(
-                    f"SELECT id, feedback_id, message, sent_to, sent_at FROM feedback_replies "
+                    f"SELECT id, feedback_id, message, message_html, sent_to, sent_at FROM feedback_replies "
                     f"WHERE feedback_id IN ({ph}) ORDER BY sent_at",
                     ids,
                 ).fetchall()
@@ -855,24 +856,26 @@ def create_app() -> FastAPI:
             if not fb["contact_email"]:
                 raise HTTPException(status_code=400, detail="No reply address for this feedback.")
             admin_id, to, original = admin["id"], fb["contact_email"], fb["message"]
+        reply_html = render_reply_html(message)  # tiny safe Markdown subset
         # 2. Send with no DB connection held; only record a reply that actually
         #    went out, so the UI can keep the draft on failure.
         try:
-            email_send.send_feedback_reply(to, message, original)
+            email_send.send_feedback_reply(to, message, reply_html, original)
         except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001 — surface any SMTP failure to the admin
             raise HTTPException(status_code=502, detail=f"Could not send the reply: {exc}")
         # 3. Record the sent reply + mark the item read.
         with get_conn() as conn:
             cur = conn.execute(
-                "INSERT INTO feedback_replies (feedback_id, user_id, message, sent_to) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?)",
-                (fid, admin_id, message, to),
+                "INSERT INTO feedback_replies (feedback_id, user_id, message, message_html, sent_to) "
+                "VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?)",
+                (fid, admin_id, message, reply_html, to),
             )
             conn.execute(
                 "UPDATE feedback SET read_at = COALESCE(read_at, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP) WHERE id = ?", (fid,)
             )
             conn.commit()
             reply = conn.execute(
-                "SELECT id, feedback_id, message, sent_to, sent_at FROM feedback_replies WHERE id = ?",
+                "SELECT id, feedback_id, message, message_html, sent_to, sent_at FROM feedback_replies WHERE id = ?",
                 (cur.lastrowid,),
             ).fetchone()
         return {"ok": True, "reply": dict(reply)}
diff --git a/goodnews/db.py b/goodnews/db.py
index 01379c1..afb88a9 100644
--- a/goodnews/db.py
+++ b/goodnews/db.py
@@ -246,6 +246,7 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS feedback_replies (
     feedback_id INTEGER NOT NULL REFERENCES feedback(id) ON DELETE CASCADE,
     user_id INTEGER REFERENCES users(id) ON DELETE SET NULL,
     message TEXT NOT NULL,
+    message_html TEXT,
     sent_to TEXT NOT NULL,
     sent_at TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
 );
@@ -320,3 +321,8 @@ def _migrate(conn: sqlite3.Connection) -> None:
     fb_cols = {row["name"] for row in conn.execute("PRAGMA table_info(feedback)")}
     if fb_cols and "read_at" not in fb_cols:
         conn.execute("ALTER TABLE feedback ADD COLUMN read_at TEXT")
+
+    # feedback_replies.message_html (rendered Markdown subset) added later.
+    rep_cols = {row["name"] for row in conn.execute("PRAGMA table_info(feedback_replies)")}
+    if rep_cols and "message_html" not in rep_cols:
+        conn.execute("ALTER TABLE feedback_replies ADD COLUMN message_html TEXT")
diff --git a/goodnews/email_send.py b/goodnews/email_send.py
index 37e6318..58fd04e 100644
--- a/goodnews/email_send.py
+++ b/goodnews/email_send.py
@@ -63,19 +63,31 @@ def send_feedback(to: str, category: str, message: str, contact: str | None, who
     send_email(to, subject, text)
 
 
-def send_feedback_reply(to: str, reply_message: str, original_message: str) -> None:
-    """Reply to a reader's feedback from the admin inbox (plain text). Quotes
+def send_feedback_reply(to: str, reply_text: str, reply_html: str | None, original_message: str) -> None:
+    """Reply to a reader's feedback from the admin inbox. Sends multipart
+    text/plain + text/html (the HTML is the pre-sanitized Markdown render). Quotes
     their original note for context; exposes no analytics/account details."""
     subject = "Re: Your Upbeat Bytes feedback"
     quoted = "\n".join("> " + line for line in (original_message or "").splitlines())
     text = (
-        f"{reply_message}\n\n"
+        f"{reply_text}\n\n"
         "—\n"
         "In reply to your note to Upbeat Bytes:\n"
         f"{quoted}\n\n"
         "Thanks for reaching out.\n— Upbeat Bytes\n"
     )
-    send_email(to, subject, text)
+    body_html = None
+    if reply_html:
+        oq = escape(original_message or "").replace("\n", "<br>")
+        body_html = (
+            '<div style="font-family:-apple-system,Segoe UI,Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;'
+            'color:#16263a;font-size:15px;line-height:1.5">'
+            f"{reply_html}"
+            '<p style="color:#5d6b78;font-size:13px;margin-top:20px">In reply to your note to Upbeat Bytes:</p>'
+            f'<blockquote style="color:#5d6b78;border-left:3px solid #e8e3d8;margin:0;padding-left:12px">{oq}</blockquote>'
+            "<p>Thanks for reaching out.<br>— Upbeat Bytes</p></div>"
+        )
+    send_email(to, subject, text, html=body_html)
 
 
 def send_magic_link(to: str, link: str) -> None:
diff --git a/goodnews/markup.py b/goodnews/markup.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..db83382
--- /dev/null
+++ b/goodnews/markup.py
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+"""A tiny, safe Markdown subset → HTML, for admin feedback replies.
+
+Everything is HTML-escaped FIRST, then a small whitelist of structures is
+introduced: bold (**…**), bullet lists (- / *), headings (#/##/###),
+paragraphs, and line breaks. No links, no attributes, no inline styles, no raw
+HTML passthrough — so the output is safe to render and to email. Authored only
+by admins, but sanitized on principle regardless.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import html
+import re
+
+_BULLET_RE = re.compile(r"^\s*[-*]\s+")
+_HEADING_RE = re.compile(r"^\s*(#{1,3})\s+")
+_BOLD_RE = re.compile(r"\*\*(.+?)\*\*")
+_HEADING_TAG = {1: "h3", 2: "h4", 3: "h5"}
+
+
+def _inline(s: str) -> str:
+    """Escape, then apply the only inline transform we allow: **bold**."""
+    s = html.escape(s, quote=False)
+    return _BOLD_RE.sub(r"<strong>\1</strong>", s)
+
+
+def render_reply_html(text: str) -> str:
+    """Render the supported Markdown subset to sanitized HTML (or '' if empty)."""
+    text = (text or "").replace("\r\n", "\n").replace("\r", "\n").strip()
+    if not text:
+        return ""
+    out: list[str] = []
+    for block in re.split(r"\n\s*\n", text):
+        lines = [ln for ln in block.split("\n")]
+        nonempty = [ln for ln in lines if ln.strip()]
+        if not nonempty:
+            continue
+        if all(_BULLET_RE.match(ln) for ln in nonempty):
+            items = "".join("<li>" + _inline(_BULLET_RE.sub("", ln)) + "</li>" for ln in nonempty)
+            out.append("<ul>" + items + "</ul>")
+        elif len(nonempty) == 1 and _HEADING_RE.match(nonempty[0]):
+            level = len(_HEADING_RE.match(nonempty[0]).group(1))
+            content = _HEADING_RE.sub("", nonempty[0])
+            tag = _HEADING_TAG[level]
+            out.append(f"<{tag}>" + _inline(content) + f"</{tag}>")
+        else:
+            out.append("<p>" + "<br>".join(_inline(ln) for ln in nonempty) + "</p>")
+    return "".join(out)
diff --git a/tests/test_feedback.py b/tests/test_feedback.py
index 7c6a4ae..5b4621c 100644
--- a/tests/test_feedback.py
+++ b/tests/test_feedback.py
@@ -102,19 +102,22 @@ def test_feedback_reply_sends_stores_marks_read(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
     monkeypatch.setattr(api.email_send, "send_feedback", lambda *a, **k: None)
     sent = {}
     monkeypatch.setattr(api.email_send, "send_feedback_reply",
-                        lambda to, msg, orig: sent.update(to=to, msg=msg, orig=orig))
+                        lambda to, msg, html, orig: sent.update(to=to, msg=msg, html=html, orig=orig))
     TestClient(app).post("/api/feedback", json={"message": "is there an app?", "email": "reader@x.com", "visitor": "v"})
     tc = TestClient(app); link = {}
     monkeypatch.setattr(api.email_send, "send_magic_link", lambda to, l: link.update(l=l))
     tc.post("/api/auth/email/start", json={"email": "boss@x.com"})
     tc.post("/api/auth/email/verify", json={"token": link["l"].split("token=")[1]})
     fid = tc.get("/api/admin/feedback").json()[0]["id"]
-    r = tc.post(f"/api/admin/feedback/{fid}/reply", json={"message": "Yes — a companion app is coming."})
+    r = tc.post(f"/api/admin/feedback/{fid}/reply", json={"message": "Yes — a **companion app** is coming."})
     assert r.status_code == 200
     assert sent["to"] == "reader@x.com" and "companion app" in sent["msg"] and "is there an app?" in sent["orig"]
+    assert "<strong>companion app</strong>" in sent["html"]   # rendered markdown sent as HTML
     fb = tc.get("/api/admin/feedback").json()[0]
     assert fb["read_at"] is not None                       # marked read on reply
-    assert len(fb["replies"]) == 1 and fb["replies"][0]["sent_to"] == "reader@x.com"
+    rep = fb["replies"][0]
+    assert len(fb["replies"]) == 1 and rep["sent_to"] == "reader@x.com"
+    assert "<strong>companion app</strong>" in rep["message_html"]  # stored HTML
 
 
 def test_feedback_reply_requires_address_and_message(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
diff --git a/tests/test_markup.py b/tests/test_markup.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4f74a8f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_markup.py
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+from goodnews.markup import render_reply_html as r
+
+
+def test_escapes_before_formatting():
+    out = r("<script>alert(1)</script> and **bold**")
+    assert "<script>" not in out and "&lt;script&gt;" in out
+    assert "<strong>bold</strong>" in out
+
+
+def test_bullets_and_heading_and_paragraphs():
+    assert r("- one\n- two") == "<ul><li>one</li><li>two</li></ul>"
+    assert r("## Update") == "<h4>Update</h4>"
+    assert r("a\nb\n\nc") == "<p>a<br>b</p><p>c</p>"
+
+
+def test_no_links_or_attrs_pass_through():
+    out = r('[click](http://x) <a href="x" onclick="y">hi</a>')
+    assert "<a" not in out      # no anchor tag produced or passed through (escaped to &lt;a)
+    assert "[click]" in out     # markdown links unsupported → left as literal text
+
+
+def test_empty():
+    assert r("   ") == "" and r(None) == ""