We are disappointed but not surprised that Meta has used millions of pirated books to develop its AI systems. As a matter of urgency, Meta needs to compensate the rightsholders of all the works it has been exploiting. But what can authors do? Read here: societyofauthors.org/2025/03/21/t...

Avalon goes to sleeps under a lilac sky. Taken at sunset tonight in Glastonbury.

Irish businesses will struggle to compete with Amazon ie, both online and in the high street. Shop direct with your Irish retailers, who already exist. Support local, not the billionaires.

reminder that @kennysbookshop.bsky.social is the longest-running online bookshop *on the entire internet* (!!!) they have FREE postage in ireland (and it's not so expensive to mainland europe, either) don't give any money to jeff bezos and his employee-abusing company, go straight to kennys.ie

I was offered some lovely writing gigs last year which necessitated sending an author photo so I decided to invest in professional ones. @ghollandphoto.bsky.social came to my house on Tuesday, and she made it so relaxed and easy. I highly recommend her if you're looking for professional photos.

62 days, 62 sunrises. Every morning from December through January, I was out chasing the light - sometimes golden, sometimes moody, sometimes totally WOW and always magical. A reminder that every day begins with a fresh start and a new perspective. 🌅 #sunrise #ireland #photography

Sarah talks about this all the time - we should all keep banging a drum on it. There are *so many* amazing books for children by Irish authors but they are still being flooded out of the market...

Things could always be worse, we could all be United fans #ArsenalFamily

On Friday, January 31st, Ruth Negga, Lisa Hannigan and I talk music and what it means to us with @sweetoblivion.bsky.social as part of Limerick festival All We Have Are Days. Join us at St. Mary’s Cathedral from 7.30pm. Lisa is also performing some songs. 🎟️: limetreebelltable.ie/events/ruth-...

Do join us at Books Upstairs for Writehawks 2 on January 30th @ 6.30pm, hosted by @rickoshea.bsky.social Kevin Curran, Eithne Shortall and I will be offering live, in-person book chat and reading recommendations. It's free but you need to book (link in Rick's post below). Do come!

Calling writers aged 18-26! Spend five days at Cúirt International Festival of Literature in Galway this April 📚🎪 Receive: 🎟️ Free entry to festival events 📝 Mentoring support from local writer 🎤 perform at a public showcase 🏠 Accommodation is provided irishwriterscentre.ie/opportunitie...

Good news. Ghost Mountain optioned for the screen. Really interesting people behind it, too.

Hello folks. A second hello, hi, how are you all. I've deleted my Instagram account which I've loved for years for interacting with lots of wonderful people but unfortunately, their new terms on hate speech are so regressive. My gut told me to leave. Bluesky is where I'll be for the foreseeable. ❤️

This is actually perfect. The funders, armers & arbiters of genocide rewarding the passive & silent acquiescence of genocide. When the empathy of ‘activists’ doesn’t extend to Palestinian children, and they are duly rewarded for not speaking up when inconvenient 🫡 🥾👅

Incredible symmetry earlier outside my kitchen window. ✈️

Looking for Dublin based artists/craftists of any art form to please fill this out. I'm trying to build a database of people available for work in the Dublin area. Please share widely! 🙏 docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Word of the day is a favourite for this time of year. To be ‘crambazzled’, in old Yorkshire dialect, is to be prematurely aged by excess drinking or partying.

An absolute honour to photograph the legendary Joan Baez for the @gutterbookshop.bsky.social on Friday last. 📸

Thank you @ghollandphoto.bsky.social for these lovely festive shots from Friday’s annual members’ Christmas party! 🎄🎉🍷 Thanks to all our members, writers, facilitators, partners and funders. We wouldn’t exist with you!

When the waves dance, Pippin dances. Take a moment, And watch the light of a new week. #ireland

Market Day! Lovely jingly Christmas vibe. And visitors! Hello @ghollandphoto.bsky.social ☺️👋 One Sunday to go. Come see us. 🙌

If you’re in Dublin and looking for something to do, I will be doing a Q&A with cinematographer Stefan Ciupek (who worked on Russian Ark, 28 Days/Years Later, Antichrist etc) about his work on Guy Maddin’s surreal, hilarious Rumours today at 4 in the Light House Cinema: youtu.be/xH8OqKozm5o?...

If you're looking for gifts for a sea/wild swimmer

i used to say it every year on twitter but i’ll say it again here. if ONE of yous starts slagging kids on the toy show on the timeline i’m calling the priest and the cops and getting you thrown in a fuckin dungeon. don’t slag kids. adults, fair game. no slagging kids. don’t be a freak

Peeking at the books on the #LateLateToyShow and I spy @chrisjudge.bsky.social Evil Duck & The Feather of Fortune! #BookElves2024

Would you like a personal recommendation for the child in your life? Ask away! The #BookElves2024 are here to help.

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate the launch of The Stinging Fly Issue 51 Volume Two last week in Hen's Teeth. It was a great night and we were delighted to host readings from some of the brilliant writers featured in the issue — pictures (by @ghollandphoto.bsky.social) in the 🧵 below

@ghollandphoto.bsky.social so great to see you last night, Ger!! xx

Thanks so much to everyone who voted for A Stranger in the Family at the Irish Book Awards. You made a slightly out-of-breath writer have to do public speaking (but I'm very happy). Lovely @ghollandphoto.bsky.social worked her magic as usual with the pictures!

Omega sunrise on Dublin Bay this morning #sunrise #dublin #ireland

So, tomorrow I start a part time job in the Office of Academic + Student Affairs in IADT as Assistant Staff Officer. It's my first office job, first "proper" job but I'm looking forward to it. It's 17.5 hours a week & my main focus will still be photography outside of that role. Eek!

My @ghollandphoto.bsky.social 2025 calendar has arrived😍 Have already booked my accommodation and annual leave for @wcorklitfest.bsky.social next July so that's the first thing getting marked in. 2024 was an interesting year for me re. health & writing, and I'm excited to see what 2025 brings.

For those interested, I sell A4 and desk calendars featuring sunrise/landscape images I've taken! I have less than 10 left in my shop of each at www.gerhollandphotography.com/calendars but I have lots of prints for sale too! 😁

Trying to think of a collective noun for Irish Writers, as 30 of us - me, @louisekennedy.bsky.social @daraobriain.bsky.social @lucycaldwell.bsky.social - will be at @britishlibrary.bsky.social this weekend. If you can’t attend, many events will be live-streamed. www.seetickets.com/tour/irish-w...

Andrew Tate got banned from Bluesky in less than one day. Another reason things are so much better here than Twitter.

Hello!! I joined Bluesky last year but didn't use it much but it's great to see such an influx of lovely people now. ❤️ Here's some sunshine on a rather gloomy day here in Dublin!

Rainy days never get us down.

Few weeks ago, the Irish Tattler emailed me to say I'd won their media award, asking me to attend to accept it, I said I couldn't attend on the night, thanking them. I see that they gave the award to another person just because of that. Not that I care one bit, but still seems like bad practice.

Still can’t seem to upload the animation but here’s the cover! There Came a-Tapping out 27th March 2025 (Little, Brown UK) Proofs going out soon! Completely terrified…

Congratulations to Rónán Hession. His novel Leonard and Hungry Paul has been chosen by Irish Comedian Neil Delamere as his favourite book. He will be chatting about on BBC 2 - Between The Covers - Tuesday 26th November at 7pm. It is our bestselling book and now a bestselling book in Germany too

Do tune into RTÉ One at 10:35pm this evening for this. I think they're showing highlights from Awards night so with any luck, me pulling this face will be broadcast to the entire nation... www.rte.ie/player/onnow...

Another great shot by @ghollandphoto.bsky.social - This is what happens when the awards host says nice things about me down a microphone... Note: I'm available for comedy award faces worldwide...

When they ask you to present an award & you're your normal professional self... (Photo by fab Ger Holland for writing.ie) The winner of Popular Fiction Book of the Year went to Sophie White for 'My Hot Boyfriend' &, as you can probably tell, we're old friends... #APIBA

7pm tonight on Arena, RTÉ Radio 1. A smorgasbord of writers and artists from the fantastic new edition of Winter Papers, the annual lit journal edited by Kevin Barry and Olivia Smith.

Tonight, I captured the Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights, dancing in the skies above Howth, taken from Dún Laoghaire seafront. Pinching myself... a dream come true to witness it. 😍

New novel on the way, April 24. Seaborne, about Irish pirate Anne Bonny 💙 www.newisland.ie/blog/2023/10...

Anxiety is no joke. I've had low level anxiety for years, flaring up every so often. Tonight, it floored me. It's been a stressful few days & I just crashed after 4, went to bed after 5pm - crying, dizziness, aches & twitching muscles, waves of panic, freezing cold hands & feet. [1/3]

I’ve been nominated in three categories 😃 📚 My gob is truly smacked. Vote for all your favourite books here: www.irishbookawards.ie/vote/

Fully funded writer residencies in Dorset. Please share