Helen McClory
@helenmcclory.bsky.social
📤 1444
📥 448
📝 544
Writer, Reader, Hybrid creature
https://linktr.ee/HelenMcClory
The dream!
add a skeleton here at some point
about 20 hours ago
0
2
0
reposted by
Helen McClory
Gabby HC's books make ideal festive presents
2 days ago
Fine, I will write the next James Bond. INT: SEX CASINO, NIGHT BOND: Hello I am Bond James Bond my car goes NYOOM CUT TO: ten minutes of a chase in a sports car BOND: Also my watch is a special watch that makes ladies blouses see through EXPLOSION BOND: This film is for grown ups
42
1006
206
Just as I am thinking of writers who play and change things, here:
add a skeleton here at some point
2 days ago
1
8
3
Attempting to rally myself and my agent into resending out an (edited, expanded) story collection. I would like my work to persist, even as the heat death of the planet nears. Like making a memento mori and throwing it in the smelter
2 days ago
1
17
2
One of my favourite underappreciated views in Edinburgh. Looking down on St Ninian's row. Dusk, grey stone, a few golden lights in the windows
5 days ago
2
12
0
Currently reading Turbine 34 by Katherine Clements. Carrying a current of its own across the dusty moors. Part of
@wildhuntbooks.bsky.social
Northern Weird Project, perfectly sized novels for reading, as I am, in lowering light
5 days ago
0
1
0
I've been reading an otherwise good non fiction book that referred to ivy as "strangling" some trees. A slander! Ivy is a great habitat for birds in its native range!
5 days ago
0
2
0
Thank you so much Matt! I still remember that night- heard some of the best poetry, in a packed venue. So great!!
add a skeleton here at some point
11 days ago
1
4
0
reposted by
Helen McClory
David Wearing
12 days ago
I recall around 1990 an elderly supply teacher explaining to my class what war is actually like, macho mythology aside. The sound bullets make. Men crying for their mummys as they die on the battlefield. It's haunted me ever since, and certainly played a role in politicising me.
add a skeleton here at some point
18
710
155
Frankenstein was campy and the most Catholic it was possible to be, including making St Giles cathedral in Edinburgh into a Catholic church, to my glee. And yet, it was only okay.
14 days ago
1
2
0
Where to send a v short story that's just one long shriek of despair about everything?
14 days ago
2
23
1
reposted by
Helen McClory
Maris Kreizman
18 days ago
I’ve gotten like 20 or so of these scam emails about book promotion but I really like “And if you ignore this, just know a small, dramatic bookworm inside me will cry 🥺and probably quote Baldwin while doing it.”
8
134
9
A Personal Anthology is probably the substance I've most consistently read, and if you're not subscribed you should. You will find much to be inspired by (or argue against)
add a skeleton here at some point
21 days ago
1
2
0
reposted by
Helen McClory
Michael Shallcross
about 1 month ago
An unhinged literary opinion needs to be like Muriel Spark believing T.S. Eliot was sending her coded messages through his plays, not 'hear me out, I don't like Dickens'. That is simply a literary opinion. The hinges are very much intact.
7
94
19
reposted by
Helen McClory
Laila Miller
about 1 month ago
Be Brave! Order Helen McClory's collection! Part of our discussion this week
@electricsheepsf.bsky.social
@helenmcclory.bsky.social
add a skeleton here at some point
0
3
1
reposted by
Helen McClory
Marina Benjamin
about 1 month ago
The future of UK Independent presses hang by a thread. Supporting the sector is vital: this is where ALL the bravery lies. The big houses are risk averse, but copycat small press successes to revitalise their lists. Small presses are the motor!
www.thebookseller.com/comment/open...
loading . . .
Open letter on the future of small press publishing in the UK
The industry must work together to ensure the longevity of the UK’s independent presses.
https://www.thebookseller.com/comment/open-letter-on-the-future-of-small-press-publishing-in-the-uk?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morning%20Briefing
1
41
31
reposted by
Helen McClory
Adam Bienkov
about 1 month ago
Nigel Farage accuses teachers of "poisoning our kids" on race issues. Here's a reminder of what teachers and fellow pupils at Farage's own school remember of his own views on that subject.
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/nigel-fara...
53
1421
738
reposted by
Helen McClory
Electric Sheep
about 1 month ago
This week's guest is Helen McClory! First up is "The Companion" in Wigleaf! "At this time of day, the risk of attack was minimal, and all she had was that noise, that taste, the treachery beneath, and the cold air around."
@helenmcclory.bsky.social
@wigleaf.bsky.social
loading . . .
McClory: 'The Companion'
Fiction by Helen McClory
https://wigleaf.com/201603companion.htm
0
9
6
reposted by
Helen McClory
Electric Sheep
about 1 month ago
"The sound was high and wrenching. There was a strong, wild smell now. She and I stood watching the second wave of the storm as it broke, droplets spattering, dense as white oil." Love the relationship amid the storm!
@helenmcclory.bsky.social
@wigleaf.bsky.social
loading . . .
McClory: 'White Rain'
Fiction by Helen McClory
https://wigleaf.com/201811white.htm
0
5
5
reposted by
Helen McClory
Myna Chang
about 1 month ago
"None of the snakes were awake, but the music made you think something violent was going to happen. I suppose the violence was in the man, not the snakes." I love this story! All of Helen's stories are full of quirky happenings & gorgeous language.
@helenmcclory.bsky.social
add a skeleton here at some point
0
9
4
reposted by
Helen McClory
New-Cleckit Dominie
about 1 month ago
My dad has turned up this photo from a visit "many years ago" to the Forth Bridge. I think it's taken from what he calls the howff, just below track level, used by the maintenance workers. I guess when you're engaged in a proverbially endless task, you need a wee cup of tea once in a while.
12
240
55
reposted by
Helen McClory
Rachel Deering
about 1 month ago
Book Cover of the Day:
0
140
24
reposted by
Helen McClory
Association for Scottish Literature
about 1 month ago
“Necessity is not the mother of invention; play is” —Ian D. Suttie It gets late early out here in the lacklustre places, wind in the trees and the foodstalls’ ricepaper lamplight, fading and blurred with rain… —John Burnside, “Travelling South, Scotland, August 2012”
#nationalpoetryday
#play
#poem
0
8
4
reposted by
Helen McClory
Jeremy Noel-Tod
about 1 month ago
On National Poetry Day, the greatest poem I have ever read
61
3580
1013
reposted by
Helen McClory
Kirkdale Bookshop
about 1 month ago
IT WAS IN FACT
@helenmcclory.bsky.social
add a skeleton here at some point
2
5
2
reposted by
Helen McClory
Andrew Lawrence
about 2 months ago
the political policy cure for “male loneliness” is - more time to hang with the fellas (4 day work week) - more money to spend with the fellas (higher wages) - more things to do with the fellas (taxing the rich and building 3rd spaces)
187
11739
3267
reposted by
Helen McClory
Alex Bulat
about 2 months ago
Did you notice how quickly the debate moved from “it’s not about you, you came here legally and integrated, it’s illegal immigration” to “people with indefinite leave to remain should have their status retrospectively removed” The more we legitimise anti-migration narratives, the worse it’ll get.
6
108
43
reposted by
Helen McClory
headfallsoff
2 months ago
every time there's political violence discourse i think about how jo cox was assassinated in broad daylight by a fascist who shouted "britain first" as he shot her, and now nine years later her party is dedicating every moment in power to placating the ideology of her murderer
22
7597
2318
reposted by
Helen McClory
Rónán Hession
2 months ago
A simple but important way to support Palestinian writers is to read their work. A helpful list is in the link below but please do explore
@arablit.bsky.social
more widely as well as publishers like
@commapress.bsky.social
add a skeleton here at some point
1
40
31
reposted by
Helen McClory
Alan Fisher
2 months ago
📌
0
0
1
reposted by
Helen McClory
Lit Hub
2 months ago
Naoise Dolan, one of Ireland’s most acclaimed young novelists, will be boarding the Global Sumud Flotilla to break the siege on Gaza.
loading . . .
Irish novelist Naoise Dolan is boarding a flotilla to break the siege on Gaza.
Naoise Dolan, one of Ireland’s most acclaimed young novelists, has announced that she will be boarding the Global Sumud Flotilla to break the siege on Gaza. Dublin writer and activist Dolan—t…
https://buff.ly/RkjsElv
4
75
28
reposted by
Helen McClory
Dr Sam Hirst
3 months ago
I feel like this job (horror scholarship!) would be a great fit for a load of people I know or that follow me on here! Pass it on!
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOM520/r...
loading . . .
Research Associate at University of Glasgow
Discover Research Associate jobs and more in higher education on jobs.ac.uk. Apply for further details on the top job board.
https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOM520/research-associate
1
20
23
This feels a bit like that A Street through Time book
share.google/FSrYTWCgU5C2...
loading . . .
'Prehistoric Eden' unexpectedly unearthed by archaeologists in Scottish town
A PREHISTORIC “Eden” has been “unexpectedly” discovered in Fife as archaeologists have unearthed artefacts and structures spanning over…
https://share.google/FSrYTWCgU5C2B18cp
3 months ago
1
3
0
reposted by
Helen McClory
Anton Hur
3 months ago
Also people keep asking me if I find AI translation helpful in my work and AI TRANSLATION IS NOWHERE NEAR COMMERCIAL QUALITY and NO I DON'T EDIT AI TRANSLATION BECAUSE IT'S MUCH FASTER FOR ME TO JUST DO THE ACTUAL TRANSLATION THAN EDIT CRAP because PAINTING CRAP WITH GOLD DOESN'T TURN CRAP INTO GOLD
add a skeleton here at some point
0
570
207
A friend of mine told me the course of the heart
@mjohnharrison.bsky.social
was the best English novel of the last fifty years. I'm half way through and it may not be hyperbole.
3 months ago
0
4
1
reposted by
Helen McClory
m john harrison
3 months ago
this is a bit of a surprise...
add a skeleton here at some point
3
47
3
reposted by
Helen McClory
Hypervisible
3 months ago
“Children, especially in early developmental stages, are acutely sensitive to tone, timing, and emotional mirroring. A child playing with an AI toy will believe they’re being understood, when in fact, the system is only predicting plausible next words.”
loading . . .
Could an AI Barbie Take the Place of Real Friends?
Are AI toys the future of playtime or a risk to emotional development? A collaboration between Mattel and OpenAI raises sobering questions.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/ai-barbie-dolls
13
167
91
Any other authors inundated with AI scam letters? This one for Bitterhall is especially funny to me since it claims to have gathered all this from a summary. Also kind of sad to me as Bitterhall is now out of print anyway. Barking up a fallen tree
3 months ago
2
2
0
reposted by
Helen McClory
Jo Lloyd 🌍🐎
3 months ago
And Helen McClory (
@helenmcclory.bsky.social
)'s funny and unsettling festival story
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
loading . . .
Short Works - The Bacchanal - BBC Sounds
A new short work from Helen McClory about a festival that has dystopian dark corners.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002g534
1
4
1
reposted by
Helen McClory
Nature
3 months ago
This surprisingly relaxing footage is from SIX MILES under the ocean – and it’s the deepest ecosystem yet discovered
loading . . .
433
14270
3966
reposted by
Helen McClory
Daniel Kibblesmith
3 months ago
I’m raw dogging an idea bro I’m forming synaptic connections in my wetware and transmuting those electrical impulses into semiotic glyphs in wet black ink on pressed tree pulp I am taking it back to the illuminated era this is thought keto
add a skeleton here at some point
4
278
49
Now watching: Sylvia Scarlett (1935). Katherine Hepburn disguised as a boy! Cary Grant sporting with his original(?) cockney accent!
4 months ago
1
0
0
reposted by
Helen McClory
Naomi Alderman
4 months ago
Some things continue to go well. Just allow yourself a moment to experience it.
add a skeleton here at some point
2
163
52
reposted by
Helen McClory
NPR
4 months ago
It is the first time that Jewish-led organizations in Israel have made such accusations against the country during nearly 22 months of war.
loading . . .
Two Israeli human rights groups say their country is committing genocide in Gaza
It is the first time that Jewish-led organizations in Israel have made such accusations against the country during nearly 22 months of war.
https://n.pr/40FHEJR
24
770
262
reposted by
Helen McClory
Diana Soreil
4 months ago
Tom Lehrer made all of his music 100% public domain so if seeing people sad about his death makes you want to check them out… it’s free. he wanted you to share them.
tomlehrersongs.com
33
3724
1789
reposted by
Helen McClory
Al Yankovic
4 months ago
My last living musical hero is still my hero but unfortunately no longer living. RIP to the great, great Mr. Tom Lehrer.
833
28328
5459
youtu.be/0f1zVj9qSrg?...
(contains a good description of the difference between swamp and bog body preservation)
add a skeleton here at some point
4 months ago
0
3
0
reposted by
Helen McClory
Adrian Dallas Frandle
4 months ago
Denise Levertov
add a skeleton here at some point
1
33
9
reposted by
Helen McClory
Han VanderHart
4 months ago
My writing advice is say less.
1
57
12
reposted by
Helen McClory
Bill Corbett
4 months ago
Absolutely one of the best movies ever made, directed by the great actor Charles Laughton. But unfortunately a box office failure at the time, and Laughton never directed another movie. Such a bummer - I’m guessing he had more great films in him. (He stuck to directing theater after this)
add a skeleton here at some point
16
421
41
Load more
feeds!
log in