"It was that kind of day, when one thing led to another, on and on. The dive of the kestrel had directed me to a long meandering line of pink and silver dust that was creeping across the field ... I walked down to meet it, and then followed alongside. The dust stream was a hand-span across.'

'The unarguable lucidity of genius.' That's what I thought, so that's what I said.

Following Chloe Hadjimatheou’s exposé of The Salt Path in the Observer, I will be in discussion with Chloe and Julian Baggini at Julian's Philosophy salon in Bristol on Sunday 22 Feb at 4:30pm. Does truth matter in this case and others? www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/whats-on/phi...

Aeon publishes hard-won knowledge from real people who have grappled deeply with their subjects. And everything is free to access – a commitment that we can make only because of the small percentage of our readers who donate. Will you join those generous supporters? Donate here: aeon.co/donate

I wrote about the Salt Path – and why it's a problem for authors, and publishing more widely – for the Sunday Times

Forgive me banging on about this story again - but should you wish to download it, today's the last day (from link below, or Spotify, Apple, etc) - then it's only available on BBC Sounds www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...

This is a brilliant reading of my piece in @aeon.co - and much more succinct.

'When Turing was deep in thought, according to his biographer Andrew Hodges, he used to scratch his side-parted hair and make a squelching noise with his mouth.' Some thoughts for @aeon.co on Alan Turing, and other creative artists.

Goldsmiths Prize 2015 shortlistee, @richbeard.bsky.social, on 'the miracle of human artistic selection' and much more in @aeon.co aeon.co/essays/sure-...

"Familiar word combinations are assembled into almost convincing sentences, a tired use of language formerly called out as cliché. LLMs are cliché machines, trained on a resilient human weakness for generating maximum content with minimum effort." aeon.co/essays/sure-... #llm #writing

@aeon.co asked me to write about the incursion of AI into the creative arts, and why my memoir project The Universal Turing Machine stands up for all that is good and right. I'll do what I can, I said. aeon.co/essays/sure-...

Can AI be creative? Machine learning mechanisms are based on predictability and following instructions – anathema to making truly great art, which at its core is ‘an affirmation of human existence’, as Richard Beard argues in this passionate Essay

I have a new story on BBC Radio 4 - Friday 23 Jan - and then on catchup Elevator pitch - a comedy about love, entropy and a ceremonial badger I’d love for you to give it a listen www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

'Eton Avenue from a Window' Belsize Park by William Ratcliffe (1870-1955) (Private collection)

Thanks so much to library book borrowers for borrowing my books especially Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths (taken out 2000 times) and Keep Dancing, Lizzie Chu (1000 times). PLR public lending rights is amazing! Please use your local libraries!

Looking to write a memoir in 2026? Look no further than 'Into being' by @lilydunn.bsky.social, a new book that shares the secrets of writing a new, transformative kind of memoir. Available from all good bookshops, and currently 40% off in our January Sale! #amwriting #writing #booksky

Or not on the flyer. RSVP: [email protected]

London, next Wednesday, will be discussing and demonstrating the Universal Turing Machine, then inventing a bingo/literary quiz using the squares. Unmissable. RSVP details on flyer.

Keith Ridgway’s ‘Dooneen’ is an engrossing queer-in-all-ways thriller, an insurgent near-future haunting of our present, a vivid reimagining of Dublin, and a love and a loss story. Published @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social and @ndbooks.bsky.social June 2026.

Catherine Fox on Ian Marchant.

A misty dawn at Diggers

keeping warm in the boat

I started reading _George Perec’s Geographies: Material, Performative and Textual Spaces_ — and it’s not working out right, I am highlighting or bookmarking every page.

Thirty years ago, in December 1995, I was reading Pig by Andrew Cowan which I remember being quite impressed by. I went on to read Common Ground but nothing since.

Anti AI writing project. universalturingmachine.co.uk

Decided instead of promoting my own crap today I’d like to help others instead. Feel free to share your newsletters and independent gigs or even some story you wrote and I’ll repost some

I wrote an obituary for my friend Ian Marchant, despite his resistance to ever being contained. I miss him. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...

I wrote an obituary for my friend Ian Marchant, despite his resistance to ever being contained. I miss him. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...

Just downloaded a video-making app, so here’s my first effort with it…

Tonight. Ten quid. Bargain. cockpitdirect.gn.apc.org/show/the_lur...

Get your tickets in advance for 'The Lure of Class' on November 10th (once again at London's Cockpit Theatre) here: tickets.thecockpit.org.uk/sales/shows/...

RIP to David Bellos, a great translator, teacher, scholar and popularizer. Here's a charming little essay about what he learned from his landmark translation of Georges Perec's 'Life: A User's Manual'. online.wsj.com/article/SB10...

Aside of course from his masterly Perec translations, what a marvellous biography this was. RIP David Bellos.

1920s vampiric shenanigans, if you're on the lookout for halloween reading: uk.bookshop.org/p/books/hoke...

Thanks Katie. Everyone welcome.

This will be really good.

Publishing today! Memoirist and teacher @lilydunn.bsky.social shares the secrets of writing a new, transformative kind of memoir. Inspired by her own experience, as well as interviews with fellow memoirists, she shows how you can turn writing memoir into a journey of discovery. ✍🏼 #booksky

This was a brilliant event and some special editions of The Breaking Wave by @mrmarchant.bsky.social are still available. Follow the link, catch the wave.

INTO BEING: A reading list We asked author @lilydunn.bsky.social to compile a list of books by the authors she interviewed for her new book, 'Into being'. Full list on our Blog now, and you can also shop the full list on @gloucesterroadbks.bsky.social' @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social page now.

In this piece there's an excellent summary of The Universal Turing Machine, and what it's for.

Cannot recommend these two books highly enough. Absolutely fascinating for anyone interested in politics, literature, art, resisting fascism, etc etc. Beautifully done.

The first results of my FIFA-funded project are out in the world! ⚽ Why the FA's takeover of women's football from the WFA in 1993 was a "Hobson's Choice" for the WFA, & a moment of disempowerment for #womensfootball ⚽ It's open access & available here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Lily Dunn's 'Into Being' is a milestone text in the art of life writing. I'm looking forward to chairing a discussion with her at @rilch-ljmu.bsky.social next month. It will be a great evening about how we raise raw personal material and make it powerfully universal.

Welcome! A home for anyone who wants to write a memoir and isn’t sure where to start. Full details of how to get involved: www.universalturingmachine.org

Reminder that my new poetry collection (my SEVENTH because I apparently cannot take a hint) is available from Picador www.panmacmillan.com/authors/luke...

In @thebookseller.com today, author @lilydunn.bsky.social on how writing memoir can be exposing, but Substack is a good place to experiment. Read it here: www.thebookseller.com/comment/a-sa... Lily's new book 'Into being: The radical craft of memoir and its power to transform' is out next month.

Novelist and memoirist Richard Beard (‪ @richbeard.bsky.social‬ ) is launching “the first-ever mass participation online memoir” on 8th September 👇 #BookSky

Ian Marchant's final novel The Breaking Wave exists now as a pre-publication special edition, for reasons too miserable to mention. Except by Ian himself, of course. imarchant.substack.com/p/breaking-w...

A most discerning reader. Thank you Steve, happy travels!