Up now on my Publishing Peptalk substack including, What to put in your sessions, How to get work, How to control the kids (featuring a VERY funny story from the brilliant @sarahcrossan.bsky.social who does amazing school visits) open.substack.com/pub/abielong...

NEW: The British politician, his Russian intelligence handler & a Kremlin plot against the US & Ukraine. My new piece about Nathan Gill and Nigel Farage for @thenerve_news in which we ask: Why, even now, is no-one asking questions? t.co/BUTtpK9C4S

Two fun days at the North Cornwall Book Festival doing events to kids in a beautiful tent! Now in Bath (not in a bath) for an event tomorrow! Busy times 😁

BREAKING: A UN inquiry has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. All eyes are now on the UK Government who must stop indulging in genocide denial. It must fulfil its legal and moral responsibility by taking immediate, decisive steps to prevent and punish genocide.

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin

For anyone who needs respite from the news, I highly recommend Taskmaster, an extremely silly long-running UK show in which five comedians compete at absurd tasks. Low-stress, high-pleasure, lots of laughs, utterly disconnected from reality. As your doctor, I hereby prescribe one episode minimum.

This whole thread so clearly explains ONE aspect of why being trans is so hard at the moment. "Tell me what rights they don't have" - HERE YOU GO.

My inner musical nerd loves these!

This is the little sister of a child in my eldest's class. I don't normally do this, but if you can help, please do. www.gofundme.com/f/mylah-get-...

Bluesky asked me to verify that I am an adult so that I can access "adult content" and direct messaging. I think I'll stay an unverified non-adult, thanks.

There are ongoing discussions in various places about schemes to certify books have been written by actual people, as opposed to being AI slop. The Society of Authors is running a quick, simple survey to gauge opinion on this, open to members and non-members. societyofauthors.org/2025/07/11/h...

Phillipson is being an idiot. Let’s keep the squeeze on. This letter now has 700+ signatures. Shall we get it to 1,000 before the Tuesday deadline? Then I’ll print it all out—with every name—and post it to her, plus copy to every supportive MP I know. Sign here 🤗 docs.google.com/forms/d/180G...

This is appalling.

I’m hiring an editorial assistant! Position will report to me and the director of our Graphic Novel program. You will get to work on childrens and our New Adult imprint. Apply here: jobs.jobvite.com/hachette-boo...

I kinda think 23% is a decent number of people to identify the location of Iran. I'm willing to bet the UK population wouldn't do much better.

Our brains love the colour gradation in rainbows, maybe due to our ancestors searching for sources of water. Looking at plants helps us recover from stress & looking at something we think is beautiful causes dopamine release. I've posted this photo to alter your brain biochemistry for the better 🌿

If (like me) you’ve been lucky enough that access to the arts has always been possible in some form or another - please help others to enjoy the same. If you can.

Study on London 20 mph limits shows: - collisions ⬇️ 35% - casualties ⬇️ 36% - fatal/serious injuries ⬇️ 34% - child casualties ⬇️ 46% - child deaths ⬇️ 75% - walkers, cyclists, motorcyclists killed/seriously injured ⬇️ 28% etsc.eu/20mph-limits...

This. Ashamed of the public again.

We made The Bookseller! 🎉THIS IS WHO I AM, illustrated by the amazing Ruchi Mhasane, will publish in Sept 2025. It’s a second gen immigrant story and a love letter to identity, home and belonging to two worlds. Cover reveal coming soon! #KidLitUK www.thebookseller.com/rights/ander...

We're blown away by how much love and support there's been for the Genre Creators for Trans Rights in SA and UK auction. We've got awesome donations from SF, fantasy, romance, horror and crime writers, artists, creators and one neuroscientist. Please share! Please bid! bit.ly/genrefortrans.

Just a reminder: -I'm closed to unagented submissions UNLESS you're a trans or nb writer in UK. Send me your mss until the END OF APRIL! -AGENTS! literary mysteries; lush prose; folk horror; upending genre, du Maurier-inflected, spin on the locked room, mash up w something like gothic, etc 💗

Thinking about running some mock writers’ rooms, just a one-day thing where six writers get together and try to build a new show from scratch. No pressure, just a way to see what it’s like to be in a room. Would anyone be up for that?

Compilation of Protests Against the Supreme Court whatthetrans.com/compilation-...

This also feels like a good time to remind folks that Tiffany Aching’s Guide to Being a Witch (co-written with the awesome @gabriellekent.bsky.social ) is still available in hardback for all your witchy wisdom needs.

Pretty sickened by UK's Supreme Court 🤮 So I'm opening my submission inbox to unagented trans authors in the UK until the END OF APRIL. I'm not currently open to general subs BUT if you're a trans author writing folk horror, weird, experimental, mystery, literary/upmkt fiction, take a look below 👇

My analysis of today's UK Supreme Court judgment. The UK Supreme Court Rules That Trans Women Aren't Women Under the Equality Act 2010 www.wearequeeraf.com/uk-supreme-c...

Sending love to the trans and NB community today ❤️❤️❤️ #ally

The more I ponder on generative AI and what it means for humanity, the more I realise: humans are designed to create. Life, art, music, buildings, whatever. If that very essence of us is replaced by a program, we are being sterilised. We must not give away our essence.

This really chimes with me. The short-form video reel is rewiring our brains.

Thank you to everyone who has signed our petition, 6,000+! Authors deserve to have a livelihood and compensation from their work, if you haven't signed do so now 👇

Please sign!

To mark #InternationalWomensDay, 10% of all book sales 8-9 March go to the Women's Prize Trust, supporting their work as a UK charity to improve access to and appreciation of women’s writing for all readers, and discover the experts, thought-leaders, and changemakers of tomorrow. bit.ly/wptrust2025

Happy International Women's Day, everyone!

Authors Aloud is probably the main reason I'm still writing - over the years they have booked me into many schools to do talks and workshops, which gives me essential income because publishing pays so little ❤️ if you're looking for an author to visit your school, check them out!

This evening I Zoomed a book club of over a hundred teachers in Turkey who had read my book "A Library of Lemons". An extraordinary experience that reminded me how we are really all just stories in the end. #Türkiye #stories

Today I finished the first draft of a brand new play. It needs a bit of work, but it exists and I'm dead chuffed about it. #playwriting #scriptskyuk

I don't suppose anyone heard the results of Five Seconds To Name today on Radio 2 (with Trevor Nelson)? I'm 100% sure it was Gabrielle but I had to switch off before they revealed the answer! #bbcradio2

PSA! Moving my batteries today...🤦‍♀️

This. Today in Oxfordshire UK the sun is shining and I can hear the birds loudly proclaiming their existence. Not everything on this planet is about us ❤️

"Why did you come to this time? To warn us?" The time traveler laughed. "Why would anyone listen to me?" "You're from our future-" "No, I'm from a different timeline, a different future. I'm a refugee." "To here? Now?" "It looks fucked right now, but this is the timeline that pulls through."

Tomorrow I'll be in London watching four actors performing a script I wrote in an evening of rehearsed readings of new writing. I am SO excited! It's only a 10-min piece but it's the first time professional actors will speak my lines. Thank you Page2Stage London for the opportunity! #scriptskyuk

Yes! Also: we have a weird blinkered view that eg a fiction writer MUST be an avid reader. Stories are everywhere. TV, YouTube, the corner shop, your nan - writers absorb the format and structure from all kinds of sources.

Fab book launch party last night for the final book in the stunning Scarlett & Browne series by Jonathan Stroud. Lovely to see so many author pals there including @kathrynevans1.bsky.social Sarwat Chadda and Laura Ellen Anderson.

Been wrestling with a screenplay today. I seem to have exactly the same problem with scripts as I do with novels: I get to the mid way point and suddenly the plan I had for the second half SIMPLY DOESN'T WORK ANY MORE. And then I have to STOP and re-plot and it's SO ANNOYING.

Dog in fog.

This man is such a force for good.

And breathe...

This is my plan for this year. I want to write more: new scripts, a whole new screenplay. Maybe some books, if someone pays me enough. But less social media, less absorption of global news, less worrying. Focus on creation.

Yessss! I'm so annoyed with the AI result! This gives the same search results without the AI-generated text at the top ✅