Nothing more relaxing than watching a bit of telly in the evening

What Are Words Worth 2U2? is currently happening at Northumbria, a fantastic programme of arts and writing. If you're in the North East then do have a look and come to whatever tickles your fancy - there's absolutely loads going on. erratic-front-a98.notion.site/WWW2U2-Event...

FFS Maigret!

@tonywilliams.bsky.social @luketurner.bsky.social spotted at Headingley Library today.

Depressing to hear of the closure of the MA Creative Writing @sheffieldhallamuni.bsky.social - a programme with such a long and wonderful history tossed aside. It's vandalism.

Anna Ruysch (1666-1754)Dutch Golden Age flower painter, younger sister of more well known painter Rachel Ruysch. Women painters became expert flower paintes as they were not allowed in academies to study human models and anatomy #WomensHistoryMonth

On the homepage of @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social atm, 60+ titles related to Keshed. Mix of fiction, non-fic, poetry old and new inc. work by @jamesscudamore.bsky.social @wednesdayerskin.bsky.social @heidijames.bsky.social @tonywilliams.bsky.social [more below] uk.bookshop.org/lists/how-to...

Suggestions pls for where to submit a 3,000-word prose poem 😜

Charity shop haul

Managed to break my shameful 416-day streak on chess dot com. Here's to next Christmas Day not involving playing a game on my phone!

Rationalising the spice rack by throwing out things that are out of date. We have a clear winner - bought before we moved here from Sheffield 15 years ago and not used since.

Good morning from May Morris’ 1917 embroidery

Time-saving gadget

'the UK creative industries — which contributed £125 billion to the economy in 2024 and supported 2.4 million jobs — are being destroyed by an AI sector that... contributed just £11 billion in the same year and supported only 85,000 jobs." www.thetimes.com/culture/film...

This poem from my 2014 collection The Midlands seemed a bit histrionic at the time, but I feel like the world has grown into it

Horrifying grave of Paradise

Blistering piece on ed tech in @economist.com. ‘Although ed-tech companies tout huge learning gains, independent research has made clear that technology rarely boosts learning in schools—and often impairs it.’ economist.com/united-state...

Deadline 23rd January...

Come and talk to us about the pragmatics of producing text, including creative writing, at #MLA26

Very much enjoyed Lidl's 'about 2000-piece' jigsaw. Five missing and two duplicates. 👌

My fellow speakers are @tonywilliams.bsky.social from Northumbria and Anne Fulrong from the University of Prince Edward Island

Come and talk to us about the pragmatics of producing text, including creative writing, at #MLA26

Really looking forward to the latest Hollywood remake: One Angry Man

The reason dogs became domesticated

The new bumper issue of Long Poem Magazine is really tremendous. I'm very grateful that it includes my 'Return to Matlock', a piggybacking of Aemilia Lanyer's 'Description of Cooke-ham' or, as you might say, a Lanyerism.

Come and do a funded PhD in Creative Writing at Northumbria. Happy to field queries on [email protected] www.findaphd.com/phds/program...

New word just dropped. I do feel affectional about the Grauniad's legendary proofreading.

I'd like my drag name to be 'Airy Thinness

She's found something she loves more than her ball

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...

Please consider supporting indie publishing by contributing to this fundraiser for @saltpublishing.com You can of course also support Salt by buying a book or two - I particularly recommend Cole the Magnificent, Hawthorn City, Nutcase, etc... gofund.me/0fe44ad35

Lydia Davis, from the Collected Stories

I'm very much enjoying Andrew Neilson's pamphlet Summers Are Other from Rack Press, particularly the lovely lyric 'The Viaduct' @badlilies.bsky.social

Ind Coope's Story of Testicles

Cherry plums

I call it an OranGINa

That's like a cross between turning in his grave and rolling in the aisles - he's fuming, but he's also amused, because he knows how inflation works.

A classic of the genre* *the genre = M John Harrison novels

Lecturer in Creative Writing (poetry) at Bath Spa, 0.6 FTE www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOB269/l...

Lecturer in Creative Writing (fiction) at Bristol, 0.5 FTE www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOF238/l...

You seem to have mistyped 'Life: A User's Manual, by Georges Perec'

Can't quite express how grateful I am to have a poem included in 'Ten Poems from the Peak District' from @candlestickpress.bsky.social - not only because it's a beautiful object, nor that I find myself among poets I deeply admire, but also because... 1/3

Also feat SHITLOADS of others inc @heidijames.bsky.social @wednesdayerskin.bsky.social @jamesscudamore.bsky.social David Peace,Tony Harrison, Elfriede Jelinek, Tim O'Brien, @jonsavage.bsky.social, @markabowles.bsky.social Kathy Acker, Naomi Booth, @stephenking.bsky.social, Sarah Kane, Pat Barker &c.

This is a fucking phenomenal piece of writing in soooooo many ways. Can't recommend highly enough.

"Sleaford Mods out of their minds on spice." Banging recommendation of Nutcase from @stuhennigan.bsky.social whose novel KESHED is out from Ortac Press next year uk.bookshop.org/lists/how-to...

Brilliant and brutal sounds right... KESHED by @stuhennigan.bsky.social will be ace

Lecturer in Creative Writing at Exeter post, closes 15 July 💙https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DNS852/lecturer-in-creative-writing-education-and-scholarship

I've just heard about this book about a long journey, with a live story at its heart, which is apparently completely made up and written by a total crook 1/

RIP Phil Lynott

Maigret's subordinates are so endearing