Every copy of Magpies: Sorrow or Joy? comes with a FREE Lucky Feather™ - endorsed by Professor Margaret Pye and plucked from the streets of Penge. To ensure great fortune forever*, grab the #zine for £4 at bit.ly/magpieszine *Please see the disclaimer from lawyers representing Doctor James Crowe

Party clothes, (1960) Artist: Harry Wingfield

One satisfied customer! Here's the gorgeous Esme with her Lucky Feather™, endorsed by Professor Margaret Pye. Get yours for FREE when you buy a copy of our new #zine, Magpies: Sorrow or Joy?, at colossive.com

NEW LAUNCH! Magpies: Sorrow or Joy? sees all your questions answered by celebrated folklorist corvidologists Professor Margaret Pye and Doctor James Crowe. Grab the #zine - including a FREE Lucky Feather™, endorsed by Professor Pye - for £4 at bit.ly/magpieszine (or just head to colossive.com).

Set your alarms for whatever time we roll out of bed tomorrow morning, folks. There's a brand new #zine on its way...

Hold up - what's this? It's a Lucky Feather™, endorsed by world-renowned folklorist corvidologist Professor Margaret Pye. We'll be giving these good luck charms* away for FREE with our upcoming #zine, Magpies: Sorrow or Joy, which we'll be launching later this week...

Join us at Cambridge Writers on Tuesday 2 Sept for an evening with local author Maud Blair. Her powerful memoir In Between reflects on a life across continents, cultures & generations — from childhood in Rhodesia to a career in UK education. Details: www.cambridgewriters.org?p=3629

Ah, AI

We’re making the leap! @womenwritersnet.bsky.social is officially migrating from Twitter/X to Bluesky on 1 September. We’re glad to start afresh in a space that feels better aligned with our mission to promote and support women writers. Glad to be here – and hope to see more of you soon!

Pssst... @vjs411.bsky.social and I (Jane) have begun work on a new #zine, which may - but probably won't - include one or both of these pictures. Still, I thought you'd like to see the kind of stuff that's been turning up during our hours and hours of painstaking research... Watch this space! 🪶

Crime Writers - Cambridge University Press is giving away free access to the following, which includes a section on writing crime fiction, for the next two weeks: www.cambridge.org/core/element...

James Blatch and Cara Clare at Cambridge Writers, Tuesday week! www.cambridgewriters.org?p=3643

Time to waste an evening with Tom Lehrer. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Places I could, theoretically, have got to in the four hours it took to get from King’s Cross to Cambridge today:

Cambridge Writers Summer Social takes place this Saturday. Confirm your attendance with Harry by Friday. There will be food/drink, a cabaret, and the Steve Hammond Fantasy Fiction prize-giving! See email for details.

We had a full-house for Holly’s visit to Cambridge Writers last October. Looking forward to this!

Last night was more than a little overwhelming - thank you so much to everyone who played a part in it ❤️ (Huge apologies to everyone I didn’t get chance to talk to or thank personally) And obviously it couldn’t have happened without @goshcomics.bsky.social Will, Tom and Greg are the best! 🙏🏻

CARTOGRAPHERS ASSEMBLE! Colossive love and thanks to everyone who joined us for last night's #ColossiveCartographies 5th Birthday Bash/Sauna @goshcomics.bsky.social - including all the creators pictured, who've contributed to the series so far. You're all marvellous. Here's to the next five years!

My flash has been published as part of National Flash Fiction day! Read it here.

FlashFlood starts at just after midnight BST. Watch this space!

Looking forward to seeing my flash, Thursday the Twelfth, in the flood for @natflashfictionday.bsky.social at 10:40 a.m. (BST) on 14 June 2025!

The #Cambridge #Poetry Festival returns in 2026. This year it's the 50th anniversary of the original 1975 festival, so under the CPF branding, we're helping to promote a whole load of Cambridge-based poetry events over the summer. bsky.app/profile/angl... bsky.app/profile/angl...

Congratulations to Alice, Victoria and Jane - 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the Cambridge Writers Flash Fiction competition. And thanks to Quintin for reading so beautifully.

Even if you’re out of the country, you can be at Cambridge Writers meetings, by joining on Zoom:

Last chance to submit your Steve Hammond Fantasy Fiction stories. Get your entry to the Chair by midnight tonight! www.cambridgewriters.org?page_id=2509

Less than 48 hours to submit your entry to the Steve Hammond Fantasy Fiction competition. £50, £30 and £20 for first, second and third place, as voted for by the membership. Voting opens in June: www.cambridgewriters.org?page_id=2509

Remember - the Cambridge Writers Writing Desk is open this evening: see the website for details: www.cambridgewriters.org?p=3715

"One of our greatest industrial sectors is on fire and ministers are having a picnic on the lawn with the arsonists." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Thinking of joining Cambridge Writers? Try up to 2 meetings first—on Zoom or in person. Writing groups are free; general meetings are free on Zoom or £3 in person (refunded if you join). A great way to explore our community before committing! www.cambridgewriters.org?page_id=999

Nick Clegg says that burglars asking for permission to take all your stuff would kill the house-breaking industry. www.theverge.com/news/674366/...

Good advice. #writing #writingcommunity #amwriting #writingtips

Tomorrow!! City of Literature Publishing Fair Sunday 25 May National Centre for Writing at Dragon Hall 10.00 - 16.00 Price FREE Discover the vibrant publishing culture of the East of England at our popular biannual publishing fair! nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/events/city-...

“At the crossroads, I notice a tree: branches the colour of paperback pages, sheets of bark dangling like drying artwork.” From sum of her PARTS by Laura Besley @laurabesley.bsky.social vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/sum-of-her...

Countdown! Just one week left to submit your entries to the Cambridge Writers Fantasy Fiction competition. Send your entries to the Chair by midnight 31/05/25. Cash prizes for the top three entries, as voted by the members.

Cambridge Writers membership is £20 a year (£10 for full-time students). Includes general meetings, writing groups, 3 x competitions (members only), socials, and more. See the website for details, including how to try before you buy: www.cambridgewriters.org?page_id=999

Please pass this on to your writing networks and anyone you think might be interested - especially those who haven't been on an Arvon course and might think they *shouldn't* put themselves forward. Yes they should! #flashfiction #poetry #nonfiction #hybridwriting www.arvon.org/writing-cour...

Free writing workshop at Cherry Hinton Library, 28th May: Writing the Non-Human: A Nature Poetry & Prose Workshop. See Library Live for details: www.library.live/calendar/wri...

Would be great to get a few more re-posts in order to spread the word. Also, please feel free to share off of Bluesky with your writing groups or in other places where you know of low-income writers who might benefit. 🙏

Entry to the Steve Hammond Fantasy Fiction Competition closes at midnight on 31st May 2025 (members only). Word limit 1000 words, excluding title; prizes £50 (1st), £30 (2nd), £20 (3rd). Voting closes 30th June, and winners will be announced at the summer social.

Cambridge Writers flash fiction competition night takes place in June 2025. Bring an anonymous copy of your story to the meeting on 3rd June at Hartington Grove Meeting House; word limit is 250. Competition open to members only. For more details see: www.cambridgewriters.org?page_id=2509 Good luck!

Chuffed that my Flash, Thursday the Twelfth, has been accepted for this year’s flood!

Found this in my ‘potential stories’ notebook. Absolutely no idea: “Watching science agile thinking about the best cheese for a toastie.”

I can never hear someone described as ‘haughty’ without wondering whether they’re also proud and chic. #Ernie

Huge thanks to @comicbooknews.co.uk for this review of our Abe collection by Glenn Dakin As a seasonal treat, with the sap rising, here’s Glenn’s two-pager, ‘A Song of Spring’, which is in the hand-sewn collection (colossive.com/product/abe-...)

MORE FUNDRAISING NEWS! We've just made our latest donation to the amazing #cancer support charity Maggie's Cambridge from sales of these #zines by @vjs411.bsky.social and @implausible17.bsky.social Somehow neglected to buy them all? Tsk - what are you like? 🙄 Head to bit.ly/welovemaggies

It seems to come round earlier every year…

Very pleased to start the new year with a piece on Waxed Lemon: www.thewaxedlemon.com/read

you know who should be inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame? Sisyphus