Happy world book day! …whether you are making, writing, reading, listening, or gazing at a pleasing stack. Or have merely darted an intentional look at one. Or have ushered a child off to school in whatever they ended up wearing. So many ways to celebrate 📕📗📘📙📖

Trying to remember a short novel which takes place IIRC over 24 hours, much of it in a pub. By Hines/Hynes/Haynes? Written in 1930s or 40s? Bit of a long shot

Sunshine arrival this morning from @brokensleepbooks.bsky.social #poetrybooks cheaper than a pint, than a coffee&crosissant, than a portion of cheesy chips, but contains rather more #poetry.

I have another unclaimed #buyastrangerabook day offer! @sallyhinkley.bsky.social has bought a copy of Revenge by Yoko Ogawa for me to give away to someone. Blurb in ALT text. If you'd like a copy, get in touch! UK only

Perfection

Illness and being distracted by very slowly moving house has meant I haven't done any new prints for a few weeks but I am still flogging them. Please have a look. marswasrubbish.etsy.com/uk/listing/1...

An extremely idle morning being had here. Half term has begun: the alarms are turned off. Various things beckon. But for now, this.

In we go… 👻

This #buyastrangerabook offer from @katebakes.bsky.social is still up for grabs!

Another #buyastrangerabook offer. @laidbackreader.bsky.social is offering to buy someone the book of their choice, up to £12.99 Any book at all! So, if there's something you'd like, get in touch. UK only.

So this one is the Venetian #landscapeoffears expansion pack. It also made me wonder — if a pair of gents telling each other ghost stories by a college fireside after a bottle of claret is a trope, where do the women tell their ghost stories?

And now off to dream of sea frets and the rustle of clothes from another age and “bump, bump, pause” from #TheWomanInBlack sweet dreams …

Raffle win at a school thing! An M&S hamper of cheese, wine and cornichons. Might need to take a day off next week just to do it justice.

Just finished The Woman in Black. With every scary story I read, my landscape of fears enlarges — now added to it are causeways, small villages, dogs dashing away at the sound of a whistle, burial grounds and another layer for the “old empty house” category.

Packaging prize to @nightjarpress.bsky.social — the spooky contents haunt the wrapping

A nice find in the Red Cross bookshop just now — plus, happy 82nd birthday today to Susan Hill!

Today = tax return day 🥳

The Folklore Library and Archive charity crowdfunder to put staff in place for a year to get more material catalogued and accessible to everyone online is just £50 shy of its first £2k If you can share the appeal, or throw anything in, please help. www.gofundme.com/f/keep-the-f...

I have accidentally mucked up by reading part 3 of a trilogy before part 2. How to recover?? It’s the Outline trilogy by Rachel Cusk. Perhaps this is just how 2025 will be.

We went to a quiz tonight and our team name was Skibidi Quiz, mostly to upset the children (who were safely at home, away from the embarrassment of having parents)

In 2022 I launched a new literary prize for writer-carers (UK & ROI), the #Curae award. A wealth of wonderful prizes from across industry, publication and many entries. The second prize opened 1/02/25 and so far we have far fewer entries. There are around 7million unpaid carers: industry PLEASE help

Cheers everyone! From one of my happy places, the Black Bear in Tewkesbury.

Yesterday I reached the giddy heights of 🩸10🩸 blood donations. Give it a go if you can, NHS stocks are critically low at the moment. An hour of your time in return for an altruistic glow (and a KitKat) ❤️

I was in Dublin at the weekend and we were taken by our local friend to Forty Foot, in the moonlight. Dreamy light on the waves 🌝

Have spent an hour checking and scheduling the massive price drop for the Grand Closing Sale of Handheld Press online. Starts tomorrow, folks. Get in line. 💙📚 www.handheldpress.co.uk

Our voices are close; completely echoless - muffled as if indoors. We're between four walls of mist. Last day for our special offer: 30% off Mark Goodwin's hardback collection 'Steps' (+ our mini-anthology 'Winter Songs' free) markgoodwinsteps.wordpress.com

I’ve seen a couple of good stiles already this year, inviting adventure or attention, and this one is my current favourite: on the sunlit side of Toadsmoor valley, looking across to frosty fields. Shortly afterwards was the warmth and ale of the Ship at Brimscombe. #Stroud @lakesstiles.bsky.social

When I am God Emperor then every cover design change will also have an enforced ISBN change.

Having my annual weep to Tracey Thorn’s Joy. #festiveweep

ANNOUNCING The Big Green Books Christmas Raffle! Tickets are just £2 each. All the money raised is going on books for three amazing schools. You can win ALL these SIGNED books + £50 to spend on books of your choice. Details HERE. www.biggreenbookshop.com/index.php Please share far & wide, ta.

the light this morning on a fingerprint field

And we saw this very vigorous pylon tower, caught mid whirl #pylonofthemonth @engineerlondon.bsky.social

today we achieved the holy grail of walking: a two-pub walk. The delightful Blacksmith’s Arms in Plymtree for half an Otter Amber and some while later the also delightful, and community-owned, volunteer-run, Five Bells in Clyst Hydon for some Exeter Brewery Avocet. Cheers 🍻

I went to Lyme Regis and I found… a baby dinosaur (partial)

I’m in one of my favourites pubs/places, the Black Bear in Tewkesbury. Est. 1308!

Okay. It’s in my shop. You better buy some or I’ll do nothing. I mean it this time. marswasrubbish.etsy.com/listing/1815...

Let’s see if BlueSky can work as well as the other site for weird book history trivia: has anyone found evidence of metal rings being used for 16th or 17th century record keeping? I’ve seen evidence of metal hooks and feel like I’ve seen ring-like binders— I just can’t find a reference.

One of the loveliest things that to happen since my book Men At War came out has been @littletollerbooks.bsky.social republishing Set My Hand Upon The Plough, a fantastic account of life in the Women's Land Army by LGBTQI+ writer Enid Barraud. Here's how it all happened... (1/9)

An editing client is looking for a press who take on self-publishing projects (printing & distrib). It’s for a local history book, based in the Lakes. Does anyone have any recs? Thank you. #LocalHistory

Snow cold heart

This is happening now in Beirut. X, as horrific as it got, is a loudspeaker for the silenced. I am still there because of it. We must get intentional about circulating the horrors in Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan if we intend to make this the just alternative.

My 11yo has filled her blazer pockets with her biros, fountain pens, highlighters and best pencils, so they will be easy to get at. She looks as though she is wearing a stab vest under her uniform. We have discussed the concept of “pencilcase” but those are “too fiddly”. My past self in a new form…

The first known use of singular “they” is so old that not only does it pre-date singular “you,” it wasn’t even spelled with a “th” When William and the Werewolf, in 1375 CE, used singular “they,” it was spelled with a Thorn

"Are you the highly specfic apology card guy?" I think I might be yes. Sorry.

Wow

"this is fine" British Library Manuscript - royal ms 20 a ii f3r

Treat yourself or someone you know to something a bit different. Available at Amazon, Script Haven bookshop in Worcester, and/or blackpear.net 👻❤️ Share, please! X #Writingcommunity

The process of migrating here is like reshelving books after a house move. Bit trickier when you go to put a book on the shelf but the book isn’t there (yet).

Made another highly specific apology card.