It's too late for Xmas but after the hols please consider sharing the magic of books with young readers in need. donate.booktrust.org.uk/Xmas3/~my-do...

Next, some of our brilliant books for ages 7+/9+ which came out this year ... (3/5) @lindsaygalvin.bsky.social @catwrote.bsky.social @eveainsworth.bsky.social @alastairc.com @writerdavidlong.bsky.social @serenakpatel.bsky.social @gill-lewis.bsky.social

... And more wonderful new stories for ages 7+/9+ from 2025! (4/5) @gill-lewis.bsky.social @writerdavidlong.bsky.social @jasbinderbilan.bsky.social @tanyalandman.bsky.social @lthompsonwrites.bsky.social @hilarymckay.bsky.social @lesleyparr.bsky.social @pierstorday.bsky.social

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We want every family to experience the benefits of reading 📚 BookTrust Storytime is an exciting library experience for families - a fun, free, and easy way to entertain under 5s at local libraries. Find out how Storytime is making a difference 👇 https://bit.ly/4prt82T

Reading books to your children is free

40% off everything ordered before Friday. Please use the order code FESTIVE40 and get free shipping if you spend more than £25.

#MagicOfBooks @BookTrust. If you can help, please consider doing so. It's a fantastic initiative, and vitally important.

Every year BookTrust delivers festive book parcels to children from vulnerable backgrounds. This Christmas, an incredible 18,000 of them (and their families) will receive the magic of some wonderful stories. Please consider helping by donating just £10. donate.booktrust.org.uk/Xmas3/~my-do...

It's small business Saturday! It's a great day to visit a local independent bookstore. Every day is a great day to buy books, and independent bookstores work so hard to support authors. :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to my US readers and their families.

Delighted to be celebrating Book Friday instead of Black Friday and recommending THE FAR-DISTANT OXUS by Katharine Hull and Pamela Whitlock. A great adventure, one I've always enjoyed, plus there's a free resource kit for schools via this link: www.booksfortopics.com/booklists/to....

“Buy children books for Christmas.” Sounds like excellent advice.

Morning. 🖼️ A Saint, from the 'Jackdaw of Rheims', Briton Rivière.

Depressing numbers from BookTrust research: 95 % of carers see reading as important for their child Fewer than half of all children regularly get a bedtime story 6 in 10 parents and carers of young children wish they'd known earlier how important it is to read together

Musk will be only a dollar trillionaire not an actual trillionaire.

It's #NonFictionNovember! @writerdavidlong.bsky.social and #StefanoTambellini bring our ancient civilisations to life in the 'What It Was Like to be' collection: "A top class series from a dynamic writing and illustration duo" - Lancashire Post. Check out the whole series at: bit.ly/4nAli56 #NFN

#OTD in 1890 the City and South London Railway opens for business between the City and Stockwell, London's first deep-level tube railway.

Any shares of this much appreciated! When my ex-publishers collapsed, taking over £20,000 of my earnings with them into the void, all my books suffered but none more than 1983. This is me trying to repair that. It’s about: Childhood Education Aliens Alpacas The East Midlands The old future we lost

`Extraordinary.

I regret very much that none of my books are available in braille - so far anyway - but here's an invaluable free library for children and adults so please pass it on to anyone who can use it.

My latest book, a series of engaging and informative true stories, is published on Thursday.It is beautifully illustrated by two very talented collaborators, and available to order now.

Dyslexia Awareness Week starts TODAY and to get things rolling lovely publisher barringtonstoke.bsky.social is offering a 20% website discount on all of its books including my own. (All are written with reluctant readers in mind, not just dyslexics.)

Rachel Reeves pledges a library in every primary school in England. Here at CILIP we hope that means trained library staff too #GreatSchoolLibraries www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Attn. Scots! It's Dyslexia Awareness Week (29 September – 5 October) and to kick things off @barringtonstoke.bsky.social is offering a 20% website discount - on all its books not just my own.

Authors, academics, anyone who writes professionally, needs to sign up to @alcs.co.uk now to get their fair share of royalties. (Today is the day for anyone who already did this.)

@leughleabhar.bsky.social Genuinely so pleased that two of my books will be coming out in Gaelic next year.

#OTD in 1940 Witold Pilecki allowed himself to be captured and sent to Auschwitz in order to gather information which he later smuggled out of the camp. His truly remarkable story is one of more than 30 extraordinary real-life adventures I was thrilled to recount in this book.

Well-received by reviewers and readers alike, David Long’s engaging, imaginative and well-informed books reflect an unquenchable thirst for those events and personalities that illuminate the past. These have been translated into more than two dozen languages and won multiple awards. An author and…

#OTD in 1830 the death of William Huskisson MP who was hit by a train and is now remembered as the world's first ever railway fatality. The accident horrified the public but dramatically increased interest in and awareness of this new-fangled technology and its potential for the future.

Apologies for the self-trumpet but this is now available for pre-order, a series of thrilling and informative true stories which go on sale 9th October.

Authors all love their foreign eds, especially the unusual ones even though these are usually the least remunerative. This week I’ve heard two of mine are coming out in Gaelic next year and I’m delighted.

Calling all teachers and librarians! We've collected useful videos, reading lists and other resources at collins.co.uk/pages/teache... to help you support your students with accessible reads and boost reading for pleasure.

Published today, August 14: two very different books offering young readers the chance to explore history in a way which is fact-packed and full of adventure.

Out 14/08, What it was like to be an Ancient Greek by @writerdavidlong.bsky.social, illustrated by Stefano Tambellini, is a really interesting and accessible exploration of a civilisation that still fascinates today. @barringtonstoke.bsky.social worldssmallestlibrary.wordpress.com/2025/08/12/w...

Can’t wait to read Blitzers by @alastairc.com illustrated by Francesca Ficorilli, and What it was like to be an Ancient Greek by @writerdavidlong.bsky.social illustrated by Stefano Tambellini. Both out 14/08 for 9+ readers, huge thanks go to Poppy @barringtonstoke.bsky.social 😊

#OTD in 1620 the Mayflower set sail from Southampton carrying would-be settlers to North America. It did so 37 years to the day after Sir Humphrey Gilbert had established the first English colony on the continent, at St. John's, Newfoundland.

Just completing another book on London (my 15th) and I do like this quotation from a wonderfully nostalgic half-hour: "One of the real troubles with London is that it's like a party where people won't spread out properly." www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Today is the only day in history to have witnessed the deaths of two different Roman emperors. After 99 days on the throne Balbinus and Pupienus were tortured and hacked to death in 238 AD.

Author Kate DiCamillo: “I don't know what I'm doing. And I think that that's a helpful message for everybody to get because you never quite figure it out.”

So pleased to receive advance copies of two new books. Both available for pre-order now and published on August 14.

A big #OTD today. At sea: in 1797 Admiral Nelson lost his arm at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. On land: in 1894 Albert Lemaître won the first ever motor race (Paris to Rouen). In the air: in 1933 Wiley Post completed the first solo flight around the world, in 7 days, 18 hours and 49 minutes.

#OTD in 1969 Apollo astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon, followed less than 20 minutes later by 'Buzz' Aldrin.