And another from the great Wolfgang Tillmans: ‘An era long lost becomes vividly tangible in these pages... @andrew-durbin.bsky.social turns his almost forensic research into a seriously entertaining read’ The Wonderful World That Almost Was

Wonderful encomium for @andrew-durbin.bsky.social's Hujar/Thek book. ‘This is a great American love story that is also an indispensable account of the growth & emergence of Peter Hujar & Paul Thek as influential artists’ Colm Tóibín (And great that Peter Hujar's Day is finally in UK cinemas.)

Good to see @davetynan.bsky.social's We Used to Dance Here in @rickoshea.bsky.social's Best Books of 2025 list. 'Cracking, straight from the opening story...I rarely find a collection without a dud story somewhere - this is one of them.' www.independent.ie/entertainmen...

‘Ireland’s short story writers are in a class of their own...One of the most remarkable in 2025 is the mysterious Liadan Ní Chuinn...Stories [that] resonate with an urgency for the reader to face history head-on’ Every One Still Here Best Irish books of 2025 www.thetimes.com/world/irelan...

'Calling these stories intricately woven doesn’t do them justice...Wholly original, quietly disquieting short fiction.' Starred Kirkus review of Liadan Ní Chuinn's Every One Still Here. ⭐ www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...

'The collection of the year was undoubtedly Every One Still Here from the young Northern Irish writer Liadan Ní Chuinn...These stories are fiercely political & confronting, but also hum with the mysteries of life. They mark the arrival of a phenomenal new talent' www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...

'One of our most brilliantly eccentric novelists was on top form in this freewheeling farce...A fizzy comedy of 21st-century manners coupled with an intimate tale of family strife' Nicola Barker's TonyInterruptor Daily Mail 'Best Fiction of 2025' Bells jingled! www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/a...

Three mentions here for Liadan Ní Chuinn's Every One Still Here: ‘The book of the year...short stories of uncanny depth and astonishing richness' Kevin Power ‘Has a raw power entirely its own’ @lucycaldwell.bsky.social ‘[A] standout’ Sarah Gilmartin www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...

'Astonishing skill on display...Whoever they are, Liadan Ní Chuinn is a writer to watch.' Every One Still Here chosen as an Observer Book of the Year. observer.co.uk/culture/book...

Yay! Nicola Barker (and TonyInterruptor) on the Gordon Burn Prize longlist! Lovely to see, newwritingnorth.com/longlist-ann...

A second prize shortlisting for @benpester.bsky.social after the @goldsmithsprize.bsky.social. Whoop!

So pleased to see @benpester.bsky.social's The Expansion Project has been shortlisted for the Nero Debut Novel Award. Richly deserved.

'This material might seem morbid, but the narrative remains playful, and the translation by Megan McDowell captures the book’s chatty tone and self-aware humour.' Somebody is Walking on Your Grave by Mariana Enriquez

'The vital function of @benpester.bsky.social’s weird office fiction is both to make us look askance at the way we organise & value work, & at the same time to prompt us to look for the contours of other possibilities in the strange & alienating spaces of contemporary labour' Enjoyed this ⬇️

So pleased to see Nicola Barker's TonyInterruptor ('Strange & clever'), @benpester.bsky.social's The Expansion Project ('That rare thing, unique') & @catherinelacey.bsky.social's The Möbius Book ('Thrilling') included in this 'Greatest Books of 2025' list. www.telegraph.co.uk/books/author...

Very excited to go see Ira Sachs's Peter Hujar's Day, with Ben Wishaw as Hujar. Almost as excited as I am to be publishing @andrew-durbin.bsky.social's magisterial dual biography of Hujar & Paul Thek. THE WONDERFUL WORLD THAT ALMOST WAS: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek (April 2026)

‘A dark & lucid novel, offering not a satire of office life but a horrific riff on our inability to be fully present – at work or at home.’ The Expansion Project by @benpester.bsky.social review31.co.uk/article/view...

Very much looking forward to this. It's a solid shortlist with some exceptional novels. Of course, I hope @benpester.bsky.social's The Expansion Project takes the prize tonight. But whichever way it goes, I'm so pleased Ben was shortlisted for what is my favourite book prize.

Nice to see Mariana Enriquez's A Sunny Place for Shady People picking up a World Fantasy Award (for Best Collection). locusmag.com/2025/11/worl...

'Combines aspects of classic horror such as Stephen King or Clive Barker, with elements more usually found in authors like Roberto Bolano or William Burroughs.' #MarianaEnriquez' Our Share of Night is No 1 in The Quietus' 25 best pieces of #Horror Fiction of the 21st Century buff.ly/C4B49ZM

Pleased, but not entirely surprised, to see Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez at # 1 in this excellent list.

'Absorbing blend of mystery, psychological confusion & corporate over-reach...Megan Nolan, one of the @goldsmithsprize.bsky.social judges, described The Expansion Project as a “magnificently destabilising rendering of work life...Disturbing, funny & deeply odd”' www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...

'A freeform – & very funny – play on everything from art & authenticity to cancel culture. Fans of [Nicola] Barker’s distinctive brand of literary comedy will not be disappointed. Newbies, welcome to the party.' TonyInterruptor www.marieclaire.co.uk/entertainmen...

My huge face in the New Statesman today www.newstatesman.com/culture/book... @grantabooks.bsky.social @goldsmithsprize.bsky.social @newstatesman1913.bsky.social

Liadan Ní Chuinn's Every One Still Here ‘Extraordinary’ Guardian ‘Astonishing’ Sunday Times ‘Phenomenal’ Observer ‘Utterly brilliant’ Daily Mail ‘Deserves to be considered among the best Irish books of the 21st century’ Irish Times ‘Phenomenal' Lucy Caldwell 'A properly exciting writer' Max Porter

@benpester.bsky.social, Sarah Hall, @cdrose.bsky.social & @ericawgnr.bsky.social on stage last night @southbankcentre.bsky.social. Colwill Brown, @yrsadaleyward.bsky.social & Charlie Porter contributed in virtual form. Thanks to everyone for a stimulating evening of readings and discussion.

So pleased to see that Liadan Ní Chuinn, author of the brilliant Every One Still Here, has been shortlisted for an Irish Book Award (Newcomer of the Year).

It’s been a fab week for book events. Sayaka Murata wowed a huge crowd at the wonderful Ps & Gs church in Edinburgh on Monday. Thanks to the brilliant @argonautbooks.bsky.social for that.

@benpester.bsky.social reading from The Expansion Project at the @goldsmithsprize.bsky.social shortlist event last night. A great evening.

#GoldsmithsPrize2025 Chair of Judges, @asack.bsky.social, on @benpester.bsky.social's 'unsettling' and 'very funny' novel.

From the archive, 2022: fiction by Ben Pester. ‘We have this space and we have permission to summon each other into it. Sibspace.’ granta.com/the-durhams-...

Another sold-out event for Mariana Enriquez on her UK tour. This one at @foylesforbooks.bsky.social and chaired by the brilliant @akblakemore.bsky.social.

What a list to be on! Very happy about this. @grantabooks.bsky.social @jasonarthur.bsky.social

@goldsmithsprize.bsky.social judge Megan Nolan on @benpester.bsky.social's The Expansion Project: 'A magnificently destabilising rendering of work life which is both familiar and totally foreign...Disturbing, funny and deeply odd, this is a novel for the ages, but especially ours'

The Expansion Project (and @benpester.bsky.social) in good company here. Goldsmiths Prize 2025 shortlist www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...

Yes @benpester.bsky.social truly amazing and well deserved news❤️

Yay! Thrilled to see @benpester.bsky.social's The Expansion Project on the @goldsmithsprize.bsky.social 2025 shortlist. Congratulations, Ben (and all the other shortisted authors).

Where better to host an event for Mariana Enriquez's new book than a chapel in a Victorian cemetery. Thank you Storysmith in Bristol for hosting, and @chrispower.bsky.social for orchestrating an excellent conversation. Somebody is Walking on Your Grave

‘The Expansion Project has echoes of texts such as Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go (for the institutional sci-fi) & the plays of Sarah Kane (for the howling emptiness bumping up against the mundane). But @benpester.bsky.social’s fiction is its own beast.' The Expansion Project

Reading -or not reading-in bed with HarryInterruptor. Loving it. @grantabooks.bsky.social

Some nonfiction from Mariana Enriquez. Translated by Megan McDowell. Somebody is Walking on Your Grave.

'A sharp eye for character & a nose for linguistic mischief mark @davetynan.bsky.social’s prose out from the pack…The real pleasures of this collection are the author’s attention to the tiny twists that send our lives spinning’ We Used to Dance Here www.the-tls.com/literature/f...

'If you're experimenting with things, you're always writing against the culture' Goldsmiths Prize 2017 winner Nicola Barker talks to @tanjilrashid.bsky.social about piecing the novel back together again after H(A)PPY, and much else . . . podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a...

Excellent interview with @benpester.bsky.social.

'@davetynan.bsky.social brilliantly captures romantic longing, including in men – a rarity in contemporary fiction…Tynan’s stories effectively explore modern masculinity but also convincingly portray female characters…His societal observations are spot-on’ The Irish Times on We Used to Dance Here

A unique, searing voice, and exceptionally good:

‘A debut novel with echoes of Kafka, Flaubert & the office sitcom… Both poignant & disconcerting… Beautifully observed… A fever dream of a novel – disconcerting, strange & unexpectedly touching’ Terrific review of @benpester.bsky.social's The Expansion Project in @thespectator1828.bsky.social.

‘Sharp, funny & vivid, these stories are brilliantly attuned to the messiness of life.’ @wednesdayerskin.bsky.social ‘Gritty & soulful, spiky & incisive...A memorable debut collection.’ @colinbarrett.bsky.social @davetynan.bsky.social's We Used to Dance Here published today.