Great thread here:

This !!

I had this on my fridge for a bit; still love it even though nerdery does not need to gatekeep food

Bristol Short Story Prize now open for stories of up to 4000 words, judged by prize-winning novelists and a literary agent. Also winning stories published. Link below Please share. bssp.blogs.bristol.ac.uk

Solidarity to everyone feeling overwhelmed by the Gisèle news today, especially those who couldn’t talk about their own experiences, those who didn’t have “evidence”, those who weren’t believed. Your experience is real, it is valid, it is not your fault.

@hannahbeckerman.bsky.social Hello!

Surely Gisèle Pelicot, rather than Trump, should be Time's Person of the Year. *Everyone's* person of the year.

In elementary school, my teacher told my mother I was “unteachable.” I was behind in every subject, including reading. Then I found this one book in the school library and connected with it, reading it hundreds of times. I made a career in reading, writing, and editing.That’s what a book can do.

Almost certain I have done this at some time or another. I appreciate that's not actually a *good* thing.

God wept.

I don't even have a cat any more and I still really enjoyed this, dammit:

Glorious holiday reading c/o @orionbooks.bsky.social - thank you, @francescamain.bsky.social ! Have heard brilliant things about both & can't wait to get started.

Open call for full-length poetry manuscripts plus chapbook contest abd itger prizes. Please share :) balticwritingresidency.submittable.com/submit

Oh my GOD

Reasonably willing to bet that I'm the only person who got pork scratchings in their work Secret Santa. (Was properly thrilled by them, too). Please to tell me your best/worst Secret Santa gifts...

Saxophone inventor: each button plays a different note Trombone inventor: trombone goes WOOooooOOmp

🎅🏻 🏴‍☠️ 🎤

They should do YouTube wrapped so everyone can see the embarrassing stuff we all couldn’t do without a video tutorial this year

Buy your loved-ones lotsa banned books for the holidays.

I will never, ever get over this.

See? We *can* save the good things from the bin fire. Hooray!

Reminds me of a sign I once saw in a window: Time Travel Club: Meet here last Thursday

If you need to buy a Christmas gift for a book lover but you assume they'll already have anything you'd choose for them, might I suggest this list I made of wonderful books they probably haven't read yet?

As ever, Stella Duffy says it right. Her words. @stellduffy.bsky.social

This sign has recently gone up in a local lane and it makes me *walk" more slowly, never mind driving.

“Miss, were you out on Saturday night in a gold skirt?”

Ignoring the fact that I am waaaay past the age where relatives buy you toys, one of my lovely aunties gave me this, apropos of nothing, & it's truly excellent:

I am not sure if job seekers have joined us over here yet, but if you're looking for an entry level position at a literary agency, Watson Little are looking for an Agency Assistant with no experienced required but bags of enthusiasm: www.bookbrunch.co.uk/page/free-ar...

fair play, that’s a decent signing.

My favourite quote from Ian Dunt’s excellent thread reporting on the bill debate

Good man yourself Oedipus, how’re ye keeping these days, tell me now, do y’still have the

Saw Macbeth last night with David Tennant & Cush Jumbo (they were in it, we did not go on a little theatre trip together). Properly astonishing production. All sound comes through headphones so you are party to every tiny whisper, every heartbeat, the witches murmuring in your head. Amazing.

If you loved Lucy Mangan's #Bookworm, you'll adore the follow-on, #Bookish, out in March from @vintagebooks.bsky.social. Made me want to shout with recognition on every page. Thank you, @blakefriedmann.bsky.social xx

This is ace. I would add: 1. 13th December, the word is definitely 'Die Hard' 2. 21st December It's a Wonderful Life is a miserable, cynical film 3. 24th December is definitely, 100% DuvetKnowItsChristmas (please, @rhodri.biz )

I feel, as they say, seen

Cher’s author bio is NOT messing about.

All hail the (re)arrival here of fabulous @alisonhennessey.bsky.social , who publishes amazing books at @bloomsburyraven.bsky.social, but far more importantly is an excellent, excellent person

Traffic from Bluesky's @bsky.app to @theguardian.com is already 2x that of Threads In its first week on the platform & with 300k followers, Bluesky traffic from @theguardian.com posts is already higher than it was from TwX in any week in 2024, where the account had 10.8m followers, but🧵

Emailing a student, and autocorrect changed their name to 'Mother.' There might not be a doctor in the house, but there's definitely a Freud in the machine.

Spice up Christmas cards this year by scrawling I WILL KILL AGAIN inside instead of signing your name.

East London calling. There are 50 free places for care leavers aged 18-25 yrs for Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day in Hackney. It is totally free. To make a referal please write to Kausar at this address [email protected] Via Lemn Sissay

Hetha and I re-mortgaged our house to start an independent publishing company. We're competing with Billion dollar corporates from our front room. So to see one of our books on national TV is just brilliant. Thank you! #Betweenthecovers @pollyanneconway.bsky.social @bbctwo.bsky.social

I reckon it's about time we showed some love to all the book publishers and publishing people who fill our TBRs and introduce us to new authors 💙📚 Suggestions for this pack welcome! 🫶 #BookSky go.bsky.app/BAJ3bag

A rap battle is two men writing poems about each other

Dance class last night. I am cheerfully terrible, and they should 100% remove mirrors from the studio. In my head I am Darcy Bussell*. In the mirror, I am a Shetland pony in a tutu** *I am not learning ballet ** nor do I own a tutu. Or a Shetland pony, for that matter. But you get the idea.

@marielouisespp.bsky.social HELLO you! How're things?

200,000 books are released in the UK each year through traditional publishers alone - most without anywhere near the level of care and attention they deserve. The last thing we need is yet another means of exacerbating that problem. We need to be publishing fewer books, not more.

What’s the most underrated Thanksgiving food? I will start. Whiskey.