So I just checked our sales - we're at 289 copies sold. We need 11 more to reach 300, which is our internal threshold to go ahead and start planning Issue #2 - let's do this!

End of year film polls should be published the following February so they can cover an entire theatrical year and also allow some crucial Christmas/January catch up time.

It was a fab party for a fab book. You can buy The Animation Atlas anywhere so please support your local indie bookshop or bookshop.org.uk - the online platform that lets a percentage from your purchases support your chosen bookshop.

Earlier this week... We launched a book! 📚 Such a treat to bring together a mezzanine full of pals and loved ones to mark the release of the new @ghibliotheque.bsky.social book, The Animation Atlas.

An intriguing trend I'm seeing on tiktok is a revival of the terms "forgotten", "ignored", "hidden", "underrated" while just preaching to the converted. Animation accounts getting huge engagement saying that The Tale of the Princess Kaguya or Wolfwalkers are overlooked gems. Overlooked... by who?

DO NOT MISS The Word for World: The Maps of @ursulakleguin.com, Architectural Association, Bedford Sq, London. It's truly beautiful. (I've never been involved w a project that's had massive banners before, it's v exciting). Spend time with the maps, inc my niche fave, The City Ansul from VOICES 💙

Off to London to interview Takeshi Koike

Publication date confirmed for my next book: 5th March 2026! helenmccarthy.net/the-manga-bi...

Been itching to go to the BFI Mediatheque for years, and I was thrilled to discover they had the Countdown episodes from 1989 featuring the infamous white and red tiles.

My colleagues at the BFI National Archive have acquired the Daily Star's infamous Liz Truss Lettuce livestream, leading to this cover story. All part of our project to preserve more onine video. Full story here: www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-...

Love this podcast anyway but it was particularly fun to hear @mrbasilpesto.bsky.social & @samuelwroberts.bsky.social talk about their routes to/through Japanese pop culture. Kore-eda, Ozu and Ghibli? Demon Slayer and anime blockbuster chat? Now we're talking.

Wrote my first review for @empiremagazine.bsky.social: www.empireonline.com/movies/revie...

If you're an animation head like me and you're as shocked as I am by the absence of Arco and A Magnificent Life in this year's #LFF programme, they'll actually be playing across the UK as part of the French Film Festival! Worth the trip to Ciné Lumière, so long as you can handle a rowdy audience...

Film in Print at BFI #LFF Day One: @tomhuddleston.bsky.social & @hannahstrong.co.uk on David Lynch, a panel on the art of the interview and an illustrated talk on the world's most important cinemas, plus a craft + career conversation between Kim Newman and Anna Bogutskaya!

The Secret of Kells is, if not the definitive colonial horror for kids then the third purest expression of folklore put to film, behind Tomm’s later films. Was not prepared for how hard Éiru would wreck me. A scrappy underdog story that transforms into a pained, beautiful cry for a peaceful world.

Don't miss The Time Masters, a cult animated film by visionary science-fiction animator René Laloux (La Planète sauvage) and Jean Giraud aka Mœbius. 12 & 18 Oct at Ciné Lumière + intro by @michaeljleader.bsky.social @ghibliotheque.bsky.social (18 Oct) 🎟️ www.institut-francais.org.uk/cinema/the-t...

📚 Our new book is out today! 📚 The Animation Atlas, our round-the-world trip through the global history of animation, is now available from all good bookshops!

📚 Our new book is out today! 📚 The Animation Atlas, our round-the-world trip through the global history of animation, is now available from all good bookshops!

@michaeljleader.bsky.social On proud display in the Ghibli section at Kyobo Books in Seoul (the biggest bookshop in the country)!

It’s taken a couple of years, but I have now watched every film in @ghibliotheque.bsky.social Anime Movie Guide. Some if seen before, some were first time watches. My favourites were Akira, Belle, Millennium Actress, Mind Game and Your Name, but really there’s no bad film on the list.

I went ahead and made a ranking of all thirty films featured in the book on Letterboxd! boxd.it/P5W0e

I received a DM on here and apparently I have to upload my passport and prove my age in order to read it.

Fun screening coming up in London! Love to continue our cheerleading of all things Cartoon Saloon a double bill of their brand new short film, plus the feature that started it all.

Fun screening coming up in London! Love to continue our cheerleading of all things Cartoon Saloon a double bill of their brand new short film, plus the feature that started it all.

In between our screenings of ÉIRU and THE SECRET OF KELLS, we're thrilled to welcome director Giovanna Ferrari and producer / studio co-founder Nora Twomey for a mid-screening Q&A! 🎟️👇 www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/202...

📽️ NEW SCREENING! 📽️ ÉIRU + THE SECRET OF KELLS + Q&A ⌚ 6.10pm 🗓️ 8th October 🍿 Barbican Centre, London We're delighted to present a special screening of Cartoon Saloon's brand new short film in a double bill with the studio's Oscar-nominated debut feature!

Transatlantic Ghibli book chat!

Transatlantic Ghibli book chat!

🎙️📚 New Episode! 📚🎙️ @michaeljleader.bsky.social speaks with critic @nicolasrapold.bsky.social about his new book, The Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki, which examines the films of our favourite grumpy Japanese master through a spectrum of influences and inspiration. Find it wherever you find your podcasts!

Come and see/hear me wang on about David Lynch in the august company of @hannahstrong.co.uk! ITS TOTALLY FREE!!

Thanks to the writers, critics, editors and hosts who are sharing their time, insights and expertise with us across the Film in Print weekend at the LFF. All these events are free and going on "sale" on 2nd October. See you there! 📚

Film in Print is returning to the London Film Festival!! I'm back in curator mode and we've put together a stellar weekend of events celebrating books, magazines and the art and craft of writing about cinema. Coming to the BFI Reuben Library, 11th-12th October! 📚

Has anyone read any of Richard Ayoade's books? Are they any good? I find it so intriguing (/troubling) that he has pivoted towards parody film criticism / public intellectualism at a time when those roles are critically endangered, or already extinct.

Film in Print is returning to the London Film Festival!! I'm back in curator mode and we've put together a stellar weekend of events celebrating books, magazines and the art and craft of writing about cinema. Coming to the BFI Reuben Library, 11th-12th October! 📚

US/Canada cover reveal for The Manga Bible, out in March 2026 - check it out on my website, and please share! helenmccarthy.net/the-manga-bi...

Despite being a big Mamoru Hosoda fan and having interviewed the man, I somehow hadn’t seen the terrific SUMMER WARS until @ghibliotheque.bsky.social’s IMAX screening today

Off to London to introduce The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars at the BFI IMAX!

I'll be discussing the life and work of David Lynch (and my new book on same) with the mighty @hannahstrong.co.uk at the BFI on Sat Oct 11 as part of their Film in Print weekender. Tickets are free so sign up fast! whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/a...

Delighted to be moderating this chat with @tomhuddleston.bsky.social about his gorgeous new book on David Lynch as part of Film in Print at LFF! Grab a ticket on the 2nd whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/d...

So we're two months out from the launch date of Anime Herald Magazine #1 - I'm spending the next week or so locking down images and the like, and editing our interview with Helen McCarthy for publication. To say I'm excited is an understatement. You do *not* want to miss this. 🥰

Last night: my massive face introducing Grave of the Fireflies at the Barbican's Outdoor Cinema. Watching this film with 600+ people under the night sky was something else.

The Animation Atlas is almost here! Animation is cinema, but it's also *world* cinema, and in our latest book, Jake and I take off and travel around the globe, celebrating great animation from 30 countries. 🌍 Landing in all good bookshops on 9th October! 📚

The Animation Atlas is almost here! Animation is cinema, but it's also *world* cinema, and in our latest book, Jake and I take off and travel around the globe, celebrating great animation from 30 countries. 🌍 Landing in all good bookshops on 9th October! 📚

Weekend reading, ahead of our sold out Animation at War screening at the Barbican on Wednesday...

My audience at last night's #SeedTalk had lots of ideas! There's big enthusiasm for bringing in new young directors and much love for the idea of doing a TV series/streamer of the Howl trilogy.

There's a big piece over at The Observer asking that billion-yen question: What next for Studio Ghibli? I had a couple of long chats with the journalist to share my thoughts... observer.co.uk/culture/film...

Excited to confirm that our Animation at War screening of UNICORN WARS at the Barbican next month will be preceded by a recorded introduction from director Alberto Vazquez! www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/202...

Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori.

Akiyuki Nosaka's Grave of the Fireflies, the story that inspired Isao Takahata's 1988 film, is being published in English by Penguin Classics on 4th September. An essential addition to every Ghibli bookshelf.

📽️ New screenings! 📽️ On September 6th, we're taking over the BFI IMAX for an afternoon celebrating the early work of Mamoru Hosoda! 💫 Come join us for special screenings of THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME and SUMMER WARS on the UK's biggest cinema screen! 🍿