To anyone who needs it today: credit your translator. A good translator's skills are at least as important as those of the original creator. Imagine if someone were to build a life sized replica of the Eiffel Tower out of matchsticks, you wouldn't just credit Gustave Eiffel - would you?

Happy Autumn Equinox!

If you write professionally in the UK, make sure to sign up to ALCS for your fair share of royalties

Unsolicited writing advice, no.555: Your voice is an expression of your identity, your culture, your range, your imagination, your experience. Not every reader will like it or connect with it, but it’s the only voice you have, and it matters.

And this morning the Shed is a study in blue: all watered silk and velvet…

Here's the man at the piano, and you playing air bass while singing along. It was a lovely morning.

Terrific crowd this morning at the Olympic Cinema in Barnes: thank you to @sarahmccartney.bsky.social for insights on scent and much more; to Anne and the organizers of Barnes Bookfest for their hospitality, and to everyone who was there!

And this morning the Shed is a cavern, concealed behind a rushing waterfall; with curtains of rain, and hangings of fern, and music from the water....

Bravo to Bernadine Evaristo for setting up the RSL Pioneer Prize for older women writers, and for naming the working-class-born playright, poet, novelist, nonfiction writer, and activist Maureen Duffy as its first recipient. observer.co.uk/culture/book...

if I can give a piece of "theory of change" advice: never never never make a purchasing decision to stay away from a brand for ethical reasons *without letting them know that's what you've done*. they don't have a way to know otherwise. spend 5 minutes and send an email to the company.

East Coast Main line, my old friend…🎶

The US government is now straight up posting nazi propaganda.

How fabulous to see such a big crowd coming out to celebrate VIANNE at St. James’ in Slaithwaite last night; thank you to Olivia Hyde for the themed music programme, to Jane from the New Leaf bookshop for all her hard work, and to everyone who was there!

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 443: Imagery can be wonderfully evocative, but always give it space to breathe. The page is a gallery; give the space to one really worthwhile picture; don't clutter it with lots of frames that will distract your readers...

For those who pay attention to UK politics, the Liberal Democrats and #LDConf A bunch of TERFs tried first thing this morning to impose a transphobic policy on our internal elections (they wanted to exclude trans women from the gender balance criteria) They failed, spectacularly.

Some programmes say more about those who see them as entertainment than about the crimes they expose.

I wrote a little story about the perils of offering hospitality to a gastropod. Buy me a cup of tea if you like, or just read it here for free... ko-fi.com/post/The-Del...

And this morning the Shed is a marvel of clockwork and of porcelain, dancing to the music of a half-forgotten time…

There is a story the bees used to tell, which makes it hard to disbelieve.

Heritage Foundation has released an absolutely insane policy proposal to label all trans people as domestic terrorists. It uses completely made up instances of terrorism and made up statistics but facts don't matter to them. They want us all eradicated.

"I asked Wiles, the president's chief-of-staff, how much difference the visit will make to Britain's ability to influence US policy on trade, tariffs and international affairs. Her response was frank – none at all." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Sally Rooney says she cannot safely enter UK without facing arrest over Palestine

And this morning the Shed is a circle of stones, between which shadows seem to dance, at dawn, and in the evening…

Lovely review of VIANNE by Linda Hitchcock for BookTrib... booktrib.com/2025/09/17/v...

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 170: Words matter. Words are the conduit for ideas. Words can affect the way your readers see the world; how they behave; how they relate to others. Every political movement, every religion, philosophy, war, began with ideas, translated into words. Use them wisely.

And it’s quite a column.

If you don't know what's going on with anti-trans stuff in the UK, read this. If you're similarly disgusted with the way anti-trans people have gotten away with demonising and assaulting an innocent minority, send this to your friends, family and MP to demand change. They won't stop with us.

"I can't pay you, but we'll split whatever we get from a publisher ..." ... is NOT an offer that works. Even Lenin disapproves. Find out why in Chapter 9 of GHOSTWRITING NOVELS: A GUIDE FOR GHOSTWRITERS AND THE GHOSTWRITTEN. #ghostwriting #WritingTip #royalties www.ghostwritingnovels.com

And this morning the Shed is a tiny coach, made from a single walnut-shell, and drawn by a team of bumble-bees…

Brian Kilmeade stated homeless individuals who are resisting mental health treatment should be given "involuntary lethal injection, or something. Just kill ’em." This weekend, there was a mass shooting of a homeless encampment. It barely made a blip on the news. www.startribune.com/shooting-sou...

Petrichor and rain.

Reviewers who praise a book as “readable”: exactly how low do you usually set the bar?

And this morning the Shed is a 200-foot-high projection of a shed on the wall of a fortress…

New Leaf Bookshop are hosting an evening of Music and Words with Joanne Harris this Friday: St James Church, Slaithwaite... tickets here: www.anewleafbookshop.co.uk/events/an-ev... @joannechocolat.bsky.social #Vianne

Squeaky in autumnal mood…

Missed this morning's live #Storytime? Here it is, all cleaned and polished. Buy me a cup of tea if you like, or just read it here for free... ko-fi.com/post/The-Wol...

All you gorgeous literary agents out there. A brand new departure for me in COMMERCIAL FICTION, under a pen-name and I’m flirting with digital firsts BUT if you fancy a cosy paranormal with a planned series of ten books in all, come say hello. (My lit fiction already out in full elsewhere.)

The animals of a certain farm complained against the farmer. “He steals our eggs,” said the hens in their coop. “He’s scarcely better than a fox!”

'Moon Goddess Chang E with Rabbits' - Kimpodo, 1831. #JapaneseArt #ukiyoe

Friends and friendlies on here: don't stop talking about your lives and joys. I know some folk are quiet or staying away what with *everything* but posts about cats and books and funny shaped puddles are essential to us getting through it. And shouldn't be drowned out by the fash.

And this morning the Shed is the cockpit of an ancient biplane, smelling of wood and canvas and glue, and the call of other places…

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 176: Don't underestimate your reader. Give them space to imagine; to dream. You don't need to tell them everything; just the things they need to know.

My evening event on October 8th for the Isle of Wight Litfest is already sold out, but there are still a few tickets left for the afternoon of the 9th! I'll be talking about VIANNE, chocolate, motherhood and the joy of finding your true family. Details here. www.ticketsource.co.uk/isle-of-wigh...

Feed: "Literary Hub" By: Joanne Harris on Monday, September 8, 2025

And this morning the Shed is a knuckle of flint from the skeletal hand of a fallen giant…

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 32: Before you begin to create a piece of work (art, music, poem, book), try asking: "What am I trying to communicate?" If you don't know the answer, then maybe you need to go back and find out...

The Trump administration is ending the 50-year war on cancer. “It’s an absolutely unmitigated disaster. It will take decades to recover from this, if we ever do.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/m...

David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls at school.

And this morning the Shed is a basket of reeds, floating gently downstream...

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 345: If your dialogue contains more details on *how* something is spoken, rather than *what* was said, then it probably isn’t meaningful enough. Either your character says “no”, OR they shake their head. No one needs both.