Tonight at 7.15 on Radio 3. Writer’s block, dry spell, fallow period, worrisome silence, that terrifying, lonely time when you *cannot* write a poem. I speak to Liz Berry, Oliver Carmichael, Hannah Copley, Marie Howe, Vanessa Kisuule and Jack Underwood! www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

AYE WRITE FESTIVAL starts today in Glasgow with lots of fine poetry events to check out. eg tonight at 6pm: Mirrorball Gaelic Showcase with Peter Mackay (Makar), Shane Johnstone, Petra Poncarova, Babs Nicgriogair, Robbie Anndra Macleòid & Martin MacIntyre. www.glasgowlife.org.uk/event/1/mirr...

Thanks to Stuart Kelly for the review in #ScotlandonSunday today

stmungosmirrorball.wordpress.com Gaelic poetry showcase 6th November at Aye Write -not to be missed

It's time to Celebrate the latest BooksfromScotland issue! Read it here: booksfromscotland.com/issue/celebr... Thanks for your contributions @birlinn.bsky.social @mcnidderandgrace.bsky.social @faberbooks.bsky.social @bwpublishing.bsky.social @canongate.co.uk @florisbooks.bsky.social & more!

Gentle reminder to add alt text to photos! It’s an important feature to ensure this place is inclusive and accessible If you need help remembering, you can change your settings to prompt you to add it before you post I’m seeing a lot of disability content lacking alt text which is disappointing

CALLING ALL YOUNG POETS The deadline for entries to the Eric Gregory Awards is 31 October. It is awarded for a collection by poets under the age of 30. Winners of the Eric Gregory Awards are invited to a free solo week residency at Thomas Cottage.

Book launch! The Glasgow launch of Glasgoscopy will on Wed 12th November 7pm @ The Alchemy Experiment, 157 Byres Road, G12 8TS. I’ll be reading from the book and talking with Dr Gillean McDougall about the process of writing it. Books available to buy with *free zine poster* Come along!

Glasgoscopy is published by Vagabond Voices on 14th October www.vagabondvoices.co.uk/poetry/glasg... review copies and pre-orders now available. Details of Glasgow launch on 12th November to follow. #booksky #booksfromscotland #poetry

Submissions will open for the 2025 annual poetry prize on National Poetry Day, Thursday 2 October for Scottish-based poets in memory of William Bonar. See posts below for details 👇

Over 160 calls for literary competitions & submissions including poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, art, photography, & more - contests, literary journals, residencies, bursaries etc - open or with deadlines in October 2025. Please share & best of luck! www.thisiswordbox.com/wordbox-blog...

Our friend, poet and activist @sarahmaintains.bsky.social has been illegally detained by the IDF and is being held in an Israeli jail. There are reports of mistreatment and human rights violations. Please keep pressure on the Irish government and embassy to secure the release of Sarah and others. 🇵🇸🇮🇪

US prosecutors keep charging women with ‘pregnancy-related crimes’ | Arwa Mahdawi

📢 POETS WANTED! Nominations now open for the Scottish Poetry Library's ONLINE GUIDE TO SCOTTISH POETS. Any poet can be nominated born in Scotland, lives/works in Scotland, or is Scottish by inclination. Closing date is 2/11/25. #NationalPoetryDay www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/2025/09/nomi...

🖋️ Langside Library Poetry Project The exterior of Langside Library is to be transformed into a spectacular display of poetry. Submission prompts: The Battle of Langside Knowledge and Learning Community Access Mary, Queen of Scots Refuge / Haven opportunities.creativescotland.com/opportunity/...

I think we should share this a lot today.

Join poet Julie McNeill & historians Fiona Skillen & Karen Fraser as they uncover the powerful, little-known history of women’s football in Scotland — a story of passion, resistance & perseverance, spanning hundreds of years. ➡️ Book your free spot: womenslibrary.org.uk/event/story-...

Coming soon to a bookshelf near you, Glasgoscopy will be published by Vagabond Voices in October 2025. Thanks to Mark Mechan for the cover design (Red Axe design). vickihusband.wordpress.com/2025/07/22/g...

It Was the End of the World and All That Was Left Were Three Million Bowls of Porridge and a Lonely Dolphin 90 x 75 cm Acrylic on canvas @outerspaces.scotland #abstractart #abstractartist #abstractexpressionism #artistofbluesky #contemporaryabstractpainting #scottishabstract #scottishabstractart

At our demonstration today, I'm holding a placard stating "I support Palestine. Action must be taken." My aim is to highlight the absurdity of the government dictating what can and cannot be said by peace-seeking people

I've made a new list on @bookshop.org of books that explore nature / walking / the outdoors by disabled, neurodivergent and chronically ill writers - Nature Beyond Cure - aka our own narratives are messy and complex. Do share! #BookSky #DisabledWriters uk.bookshop.org/lists/nature...?

An amazing opportunity for 10 writers to spend up to a month for free at seaside cottage to write. All details in the link below. Please share :)

Someone needs to start a literary prize for short story collections. It seems really odd to me that we don’t have one in Ireland or the UK. Before everyone shouts about the Edgehill Prize, it doesn’t seem to be happening this year.

This 83-year-old priest has just been arrested for holding a sign which read: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” According to Starmer’s new law, this puts her in the same category as an ISIS or Al-Qaeda terrorist, with a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

If you've found yourself taking the narrative of the tragic illness the helpless homelessness and the walking cure encrusted with inspiration porn with a pinch of salt over the years, this is *quite* the read. observer.co.uk/news/nationa...

If you want to stop funding everything Amazon does and stands for, you’ve come to the right place. We’re Bookshop.org, an ethical alternative for buying books online. Every single purchase financially supports independent bookstores, allowing them to continue serving their communities.

Is it practically impossible to be an honest poet-critic today? A new essay of mine on the decline of reviewing culture, the rise of the poetry prizes, artistic standards and integrity. Over at the @northseapoets.bsky.social Substack: northseapoets.substack.com/p/winners-an...

Join us, five Highlands & Islands originated/oriented poets for an evening of live #poetry readings & music at @atandmt.bsky.social #Tobermory #Mull Thursday 10 July, 7pm. We'd love to see you there. Click 👇 for details. @asls.org.uk www.antobarandmulltheatre.co.uk/whats-on/ec2...

Thanks to Niall Campbell for including a poem in the latest Irish Pages, Scotland special

I saved a friend from drowning (we were c10 yrs old) in a v crowded swimming pool. Watching from the shallow end, I could see her behaviour in the deep end was suddenly odd - bobbing upright, no waving, no noise. The life guard didn’t notice her. I swam over & dragged her to the side. Pl read this⬇️

Got your tickets yet for the next @writeback.bsky.social on June 26th at @britishlibrary.bsky.social ? Writers talk about themes and issues that preoccupy, inform, haunt & change their creative work. It’s a unique format from the ace brains of @aanaxagorou.bsky.social and Tom Macandrew and it WORKS.

The cis women's Not In Our Name solidarity petition is still growing by around 250 signatures a day... www.change.org/p/not-in-our...

This is the problem with the public sphere being hosted on a private platform. Wild that someone as prominent as @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social can just be silenced without recourse

Best thing you’ll watch today.

Happy Monday! Here's what's coming up next on northseapoets.com 🌊 #NorthSeaPoets #Poetry #PoetrySky

The next North Sea Poets webinar is Getting Ready for Publication: Getting the First Collection Right with Niall Campbell @niallpoetry.bsky.social🧑‍💻 🗓️ Friday 6th June ⏰ 11am-12:30pm BST There's still time to book your spot: buff.ly/EkHVuPw #NorthSeaPoets #PoetrySky #PoetryWorkshop

Dear BBC, Stop calling it a war It's mass murder It's war crimes It's ethnic cleansing It's GENOCIDE via Petition For Peace - Send UN Peacekeepers To Palestine

DISRUPTING THE NATURE NARRATIVE "Who gets to name a bird?" - Genevieve Carver "One way to disrupt narrative is to pay attention to the things that have been marginalised – something that poetry can do beautifully." - Eloise Birtwhistle www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/2025/05/disr...

In the days of lovely Twitter I often put out a call for help with research in writing my books. So here goes, Bluskiers. I'm looking for a social worker (adoption/fostering preferably) and a probation officer who worked between 2008 and 2012, the more senior the better. Please share :)

BEST SOCIAL MEDIA FOR POETRY? Bluesky v Twitter/X Both Norman MacCaig podcasts posted simultaneously. 39 interactions on Bluesky (3k followers) v 9 interactions on Twitter/X (42k followers) Bluesky again is a better place for connecting & interacting with poets and poetry.

THE INDEPENDENT VIEW | End the deafening silence on Gaza – it is time to speak up

In our most recent Members' Competition, poet Jane Clarke selected poems on the theme of ‘Stone’. Congratulations to our winners: Matt Barnard, Denise Bennett, Gillian Dawson, Nicky Kippax, Ciel Stynes and Karen Tobias-Green! 🏆

This would be funny if it wasn’t so fucking symptomatic of a cruel and useless organisation, doing real harm in the world.

Doctors condemn Supreme Court ruling on trans women as ‘scientifically illiterate’

Friends, a little announcement: we’re now accepting submissions year-round for a new essays feature. We want this to be a space for new and original thinking about poetry and poetics, but also about how poetry fits in or around our lives. We can’t wait to hear from you!

#ScottishPoetryEvents Paisley Book Festival kicks off on Friday. POEMS ON PARENTING is our pick of the poetry events, Sun 27th at 1pm, featuring: 💥 Nuala Watt 💥 Taylor Strickland @taylor-strickland.bsky.social 💥 Samuel Tongue @samueltongue.bsky.social paisleybookfestival.com/programme/th...

Save the Date! Push the Boat Out is back from 21-23 November 2025. We’re busy behind the scenes crafting an exciting, thought-provoking programme full of poetry, performance, and plenty of surprises. Stay tuned! We can’t wait to share our plans with you 🚤✨

Pretty sickened by UK's Supreme Court 🤮 So I'm opening my submission inbox to unagented trans authors in the UK until the END OF APRIL. I'm not currently open to general subs BUT if you're a trans author writing folk horror, weird, experimental, mystery, literary/upmkt fiction, take a look below 👇