Not out of the woods yet. But there’s always hope.

This is probably one of my favourite stories from my time as a journalist. It led to a bit of a stir. www.heraldscotland.com/news/1239625...

Budding writers: we'll soon be announcing details of how to enter the Finchale Prize for Short Fiction 2026. It's for anyone living or working in the North of England, and we've got a couple of smashing judges lined up. £1000 and a rosey glow to the winner. newwritingnorth.com/northern-wri...

‘Miller is chilling and doom-laden in his furiously poetic depiction of a once great civilization going off the rails. Addressing this through the framework of crime fiction—laced with surreal doses of Old English and Celtic folklore—produces a fascinating hybrid that is Miller’s alone’ - Airmail.

‘Philip Miller hears England screaming. His version of post-Brexit, post-pandemic Great Britain, viewed through the investigative journalism of his heroine, Shona Sandison, is dark and apocalyptic.’

Thanks to @wsj.com for naming The Diary of Lies as a mystery book of the year alongside such fine writers including @damedenisemina.bsky.social www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

Our reviewers select the year’s outstanding books. Plus, 50 luminaries from politics, business and the arts share what they read in 2025. on.wsj.com/3Mzqeuj

Thank you to @airmail.news for including The Diary of Lies as a mystery book of the year…. airmail.news/books/2025/1...

John Powers of @npr.org on The Diary of Lies… www.npr.org/2025/08/13/n...

Jon Hotten writes beautifully about cricket. The Meaning of Cricket is a fine book.

The Diary of Lies is, according to @nytimes.com one of the best thrillers to read right now… www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Butch Kassidy are an excellent band.

Train Dreams…beautiful film.

Sonnet 66… a banger. www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45097/...

‘When Shona finally discovers Grendel's masterplan, it's so cruel and retrograde that, 10 years ago, I would have laughed at its hyperbolic preposterousness. It says something about our historical moment that the scheme no longer seems laughable.’ www.houstonpublicmedia.org/npr/2025/08/...

The Diary of Lies is, according to @nytimes.com one of the best thrillers to read right now… www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

‘One of the delights of this dark and well-twisted novel is the steady echo of Britain's older cultures beneath the action….the sense of ancient mythos and of a universe that's not automatically friendly is still throbbing in Miller's version of Edinburgh.’ kingdombks.blogspot.com/2025/08/scot...

Morning.

I received few reviews for my poetry collection, but this one left by a reader is reassuring… www.goodreads.com/book/show/21...

Thanks to Crime Fiction Review for this review… ‘The outline of the plot may sound like a political conspiracy thriller, but in Miller’s hands it’s something quite different. He weaves in acutely drawn characters who are as memorable and original as Dickens’ crimefictionreview.com/the-diary-of...

How lovely to have a review in the Philippines. Thanks to the Manila Bulletin… mb.com.ph/2025/11/01/t...

Ten years since my first novel was published… A story about a painting and the people it destroys.

#WritingCommunity! Submissions invited to NEW WRITING SCOTLAND 44! We want poetry & prose in English, #Gaelic, & #Scots from writers who are Scottish by residence, birth, or inclination. All successful contributors are paid – deadline 31 Oct! Submit free via Submittable 👇 nws.submittable.com/submit

Thanks to @heraldscotland.bsky.social for including The Diary of Lies in this list of books to read in Autumn… www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2...

Very much enjoying Andrew Miller’s The Land in Winter. But I still am very moved and think a lot about Now We Will Be Entirely Free. The closing chapters are extraordinary, the tone and temper.

‘Love Song’ from Blame Yourself.

‘If "political paranoia" is getting to you, racing against it with Shona Sandison may bring a sense of relief and capability, as well as the satisfaction of a soundly constructed and resonant crime novel.’ kingdombks.blogspot.com/2025/08/scot...

Thanks to Tom Nolan @wsj.com for this review. ‘Symbolism aside, what makes "The Diary of Lies" so engrossing is the author's accomplished prose, which evokes a dark and dangerous world.’ www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

Grendel.

Look at this talented (and photogenic) bunch! Presenting our 2025 authors, expertly photographed by @paulandrewreich.bsky.social once more.

‘If "political paranoia" is getting to you, racing against it with Shona Sandison may bring a sense of relief and capability, as well as the satisfaction of a soundly constructed and resonant crime novel.’ kingdombks.blogspot.com/2025/08/scot...

Banhus by Smote (the colossal live version) is my writing music at the moment. Also enjoying brilliant Blood Orange, Chartreuse, Wolf Alice, These New Puritans, Rival Consoles, Burial’s beautiful new one, 1973 Black Sabbath. And hoping Butch Kassidy release another song.

Thank you to @bloodyscotland.bsky.social for having me along. What a great festival it is.

Thanks to Tom Nolan @wsj.com for this review. ‘Symbolism aside, what makes "The Diary of Lies" so engrossing is the author's accomplished prose, which evokes a dark and dangerous world.’ www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

On my way to @bloodyscotland.bsky.social which starts today…

‘Philip Miller has a lot on his mind. Over the course of three books, he’s built a view of post-Brexit, post-coronavirus Great Britain …that’s gotten darker and more apocalyptic each time. They’ve all been prescient, but his latest is the most full-throated warning yet.’ airmail.news/issues/2025-...

Australia, also, being the only place my second book All The Galaxies is currently published. In it, Shona is a junior reporter in Glasgow and meets a mystic who will change her life…

Thanks to @heraldscotland.bsky.social for this review. ‘It captures the sense of fatigue and powerlessness that pervades the country and underlines how much we need the decency and tenacity of the Shona Sandisons, who can still triumph against all the odds.’ www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2...

Thank you to Thrilling Detective for this roundup on Shona Sandison… thrillingdetective.com/2025/05/06/s...

Happy to have two poems published in the new @ausauthora.bsky.social www.authora.net/issue9

Looking forward to @bloodyscotland.bsky.social next week…

A CHAOS OF LIGHT New Writing Scotland 43 Ed. Kirstin Innes, Chris Powici & Niall O’Gallagher “writing that unsettles and challenges, that questions assumptions…A rich, boisterous, tender, charming, angry, sorrowful, gleeful mix” Available now from all good bookshops! 💙📚 asls.org.uk/publications...

Lovely to get a copy of this fine book from @asls.org.uk. Pleased to have a poem included…

‘Philip Miller has a lot on his mind. Over the course of three books, he’s built a view of post-Brexit, post-coronavirus Great Britain …that’s gotten darker and more apocalyptic each time. They’ve all been prescient, but his latest is the most full-throated warning yet.’ airmail.news/issues/2025-...

The Diary of Lies in @nytimes.com book review section.

The Diary of Lies reviewed in @nytimes.com today… ‘This is the third installment in Miller’s excellent series featuring Shona Sandison, an investigative journalist whose specialty is uncovering perfidy in high places.’ www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/b...

‘The outline of the plot may sound like many a political conspiracy thriller, but in Miller’s hands it’s something quite different. He weaves in acutely drawn characters who are as memorable and original as Dickens….A beautifully written, thrilling novel.’ crimefictionreview.com/the-diary-of...

#WritingCommunity! Submissions invited to NEW WRITING SCOTLAND 44! We want poetry & prose in English, #Gaelic, & #Scots from writers who are Scottish by residence, birth, or inclination. All successful contributors are paid – deadline 31 Oct! Submit free via Submittable 👇 nws.submittable.com/submit

Wolf Alice are just brilliant. Their new album will be very good…

‘"Far from being one of those cozy British crime stories, this novel offers a lament….[Shona's] sheer doggedness is why, despite all its premonitions of tyranny, The Diary of Lies isn't a bummer. She still has faith that the truth will make a difference."