Advice from a small mouse. ‘If you are having a tough day and worrying, take a cuppa and sit outside a while and see the good things happening. Spring came, the birds are singing, the flowers say hello. Take a deep breath and plan for some kind action if needed’

Absolutely brilliant piece here by @karenmccombie.bsky.social about the year of reading. "we all agree that having to know about fronted adverbials is a killer to freely enjoying stories for their own sake." #ukkidlit www.rlf.org.uk/posts/doing-...

Ah, those quiet moments when you're looking out across the hills and wondering whether you're telling this story ALL ENTIRELY WRONG.

#PortfolioDay is once more upon us! 🎨 I'm an Eisner Award nominated comic book colorist who's worked for Dark Horse, IDW, Mad Cave, Image, and more. I'm actively looking for new projects! 🔹 comics.dianasousa.com 🔹 [email protected] #comics

Gender affirming care, but only for cis people I guess. 19thnews.org/2025/12/test...

(1/2) Ahorrent decision/policymaking from Girlguiding UK. Not just refusing new trans members from today, but claiming that this new-look GG will be striving to include those marginalised and most affected by the decision... www.girlguiding.org.uk/information-...

Meall Chuaich, Mayar and Driesh: done! Shared the hills with a herd of red stags, mountain hare in his winter coat, raven, peregrine, sheep. Bogs, waterfall crossings, autumn foliage; all absolutely stunning even with low cloud. Soul happy. More please. #munros #munrobagging #soulreplenishing

Well this exploration of the uncanny is a delightfully, joyously unsettling and brain-spark-ing bit of reading/ rabbit hole to fall down on a Wednesday night. Thanks @mimithebo.bsky.social!

Dusting off my account to share that SPLINTER & ASH 2: CITY OF SECRETS is out now! This series is my love letter to the fantasy adventures that I grew up on, but with a disabled princess and a nonbinary squire taking the lead in the fight to make their wartorn kingdom kinder and fairer. 💙

Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy: www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...

I need more artists and creatives to clock this for what it is and stop self identifying with this DEAD trope. It’s bad enough the rest of the world upholds this narrative, you don’t have to willingly do it to yourself.

“Only when readers of all ages become active, only when readers are willing to stand up to the censors, will the censors get the message that they cannot frighten us.” - Judy Blume #BannedBooksWeek #KidLit

Unexpected Research Question in the Bagging Area. (This is a PhD post) #rabbithole #polyphonicbrains

Stationery nerds, does this unicorn notebook/ exercise book exist: B5, lined or dotted, FP friendly, cream and with a little bite (ie: Paperblanks/ Midori, not Clairefontaine or Rhodia's shiny white composition book paper)?

The Independent: 'Long Covid causes effects similar to Parkinson’s or stroke, scientists find' "Researchers call for stronger efforts to support long Covid patients..." www.independent.co.uk/news/science...

"why aren't you visibly and vocally panicking" bc i need to keep functioning as a human being 😭

Friends with big, strong, headstrong doggos: does anyone either know of somewhere still stocking the old Ruffwear Webmaster harnesses (goes over the head, not the newer 3-clip variant) OR has an inescapable, properly solid alternative?

My kid is doing big hard independence and learning stuff today and taking their driving test, and I am SO PROUD of them whatever happens, and they're so anxious, and will I think of anything else but how it's going till they get home at about 5.30? NOPE.

Now that’s a transformation! What was once a neat lawn at Berrington Hall in Herefordshire is now a vibrant space for pollinators. Over 53,000 plants make up the new flower garden, which draws inspiration from a garden that was originally part of ‘Capability’ Brown’s design but lost over time.

It's 2025. You have no excuses anymore. If you promote, participate in, or consume anything related to Harry Potter, you are directly supporting genocidal efforts against transgender people and creating a police state for strict gender roles and presentations even for cisgender people.

Well, this is delightful! Kirrie Community Arts Centre is hosting their 1st (sold out!) community Cinema event, in the beautiful once-church building. Little cafe selling popcorn, sweets and soda, and someone playing film scores on the piano in the pre-show doors-open period. 🥰

Clues you are in a neurodivergent household: you just implemented a tiny A3 variant of the 'this is what today contains' whiteboard for while you're all away for the summer.

Home for a summer of mountains, wildlife, garden projects, conservation and community projects, and quality family time (and writing space). ^_^ But tonight's plan is simpler: whisky, book, track-walk with dog, bed.

Some of my kid lit peers in Canada think I'm overreacting about Alberta's new guidelines, arguing (like Danielle Smith) that this is about protecting kids from porn. But this exact rhetoric has led to bans of many LGBTQ+ books in the US- and we can expect it here. This article explains so well.

I think what needs to happen is that people stop looking for mirrors and instead develop a simple eye/ear/nose/taste/feel for good narratives. They come in a great variety.

I don’t care if “AI will soon be the norm”, I don’t care if “we all have to adapt or die”, you won’t convince me to use it in any of my creative roles. Seeing writers use AI generated book and podcast covers, Artists using Chat GPT, creatives using AI voices. That’s an immediate blacklist from me

So I went to my second in-person Quaker Meeting today, this time a larger, more active gathering, and I think it might be home. Which is...a weird thing. But a nice one.

Signed. i signed this! thank you to the organizers 🫧 writers with published books & people who work in publishing, including agents, librarians, booksellers, illustrators, & more, y’all can also sign the letter here: lithub.com/against-ai-a...

One of JK Rowling's TERF friends was just arrested for assaulting a pregnant woman and a 10 year old child. She threatened to post pictures of them on Facebook calling them pedophiles for being at a LGBTQ event. We told you this would happen.

PUblic service reminder for authors: the PLR deadline is 30th June. Just got a nudge email from my agent so I am nudging you all. Do NOT leave it to the last minute cos then there's no chance to talk to anyone about any questions cos they're all flat out! #KidLItUK #AuthorSky

You can find my complete round-up post on the Cass Review here:

Writing for library journal @libraryleadpipe.bsky.social, Cat Lockmiller argues against "Evidence Based Practice" as the sole method for making value judgements about quality of evidence. For Cass, this involved starting "from the position that trans care is a problem which must be solved."

Ooh, I am ANGRY. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Last night, I had the privilege of delivering a keynote speech at the Locus awards. You can view the speech and read the full text here. stone-soup.ghost.io/hammer-speech/

It’s Pride Month! Use your super-gay voice and audacity to fight for your trans and non-binary siblings! Dance, of course, and slay, but the time for fighting is now.

You know how sometimes you just wish there were a road-map or journey instructions for *life* and how to get everyone where they're meant to be? Yeah. That's where we're at.

There's too much of this "you have to accept that some people have bigoted, beliefs, and you have to give those bigoted beliefs the same respect as the people being harmed by those bigoted beliefs" And not enough of this "We should have more justice in society"

Get yourself a group of friends who you can sit beside for hours and be excited for each other's company, but you don't need to talk, just write. 🥰

BTP Fridays on Tuesday and with additional Valour? Yessss! (Am the 1st one of the gang in, as is customary. Words time!)

@redbreastedbird.bsky.social @louiestowell.bsky.social nice to see you both in passing this eve! I'd have loved to stay and properly chat but the big kid was wigging at crowds/noise so we retreated.

If you're in the UK and you're annoyed that you don't know which AI companies are training on your copyrighted work without permission, the reason is now simple: the Labour party. This isn't a political statement - it's a fact. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

J.R.H. Lawless discusses the philosophy of Discworld, from absurdism to the importance of storytelling reactormag.com/the-tao-of-s...

Finally, we love this personal essay from @lishmcbride.bsky.social on remembering Terry Pratchett through his words and kindness: reactormag.com/remembering-...

@use-theforce-em.bsky.social talks about how the Discworld is no place for transphobia: reactormag.com/terry-pratch...

It's #PortfolioDay again! 🎨 I'm an Eisner Award nominated comic book colorist, and I have openings for projects later this year, and for most of 2026! 🔹 comics.dianasousa.com 🔹 [email protected]

Today is the first #WeNeedDiverseBooksDay! I'm going to be sharing some of the diverse books and graphic novels I've read and enjoyed lately! Please feel free to join in and share some of yours as well. More info: www.diversebooks.org/celebrate-we...

Happy #TransDayOfVisibility! What a good day to buy books and comics by trans creators, what do you think? I'll be sharing books/comics and links to buy them throughout the day, maybe links to shops as well. Feel free to share yours too!

Sometimes when grocery shopping online either the humans or the algorithm breaks. Tonight there was A Substitution. I ordered 3 trays of doggo food. What I got was this...

Spring is definitely springing!