She is typeset! Let the existential dread commence!

don’t want to do anything? just melt into a puddle of goo and let the new Google Goo Assistant take care of your gelatinous nothing of an existence

at last we will be free from the backbreaking drudgery of ordering pizza from a menu and even counting how many people the pizza is for www.theverge.com/tech/863365/...

“Deepfake child pornography is fine as long as only adults get to see it” is a curious place for the modern Conservative Party to find itself, but here we are

"Publishers in general are really backward with their marketing strategy so these AI guys are filling in the gaps." I sympathise with this overall issue but this "gap" is having an audiobook available on YouTube for free, not one publishers seek to fulfill, obv. www.thebookseller.com/news/author-...

Truth. also would make a cool tattoo

As we're now in 2026, the year of our closure, we're beginning to mark some books as out of print via our distributor, meaning it's your last chance to get your hands on some 404 Ink history before they're gone! Books now marked as out of print with last copies available via us directly...

Happy NYE, the publishing industry is failing because of 5 non-fiction books, pass it on

still my favorite christmas post

The bus we took home today was so old that I'm pretty sure it has the same yellowed 90s branding as the bus I took to school 25 years ago. It might BE the same bus. And then it broke down in the middle of nowhere, Aberdeenshire. Must've been the same bus.

What's the Value of Early Career Arts & Humanities Research? I wrote about this for the @sahavoice.bsky.social blog, drawing on my experience as Director of @sgsah.bsky.social over the past few years saha.scot/the-value-of...

What's the worst year wrapped/recap you've been offered? It's WeTransfer for me. Why not relive all the files that were left un-downloaded, expired, and became my problem to re-upload as opposed to the client's for not downloading in time? Yeah, let's feel that again

Survey closes on Friday! Please fill it out if you've ever been accepted for or declined funding by Creative Scotland's Open Fund! I sent through my overly comprehensive thoughts... www.creativescotland.com/news-stories...

"Put together, the picture is mixed: individuals, creators and publishers are caught between clear productivity gains and serious questions about value, work-role shift and creative livelihoods." So, AI offers... Pro: productivity Con: question of livelihoods Can we really call that 'mixed'?!

Another weekend drafting this book, I finally understand when authors say they're sick of reading and revising their own work and would rather do anything else. I am there. But at least I can punt the book at last! Preorder! Royalties going to other small presses! www.404ink.com/store/p/inkl...

Ah yes, put those classics on my tree

ANNOUNCING: PUBLISHER NOT FOUND - our final book and the 404 Ink Bursary, coming 2026. We will be launching the bursary with an initial £3,000 pledged from us towards small press projects. We are also publishing PUBLISHER NOT FOUND, a behind the scenes look at 404. www.404ink.com/blog/publish...

Announcing our 2026 bursary for small presses and crowdfunder AND book that Heather and I have secretly been writing about @404ink.bsky.social over the last few months. Our way of saying farewell! www.404ink.com/blog/publish...

Excited to have my freelance typesetting services offered on a new platform that doesn't ask me to hide the fact I also run 404 Ink for bizarre reasons (hi, Reedsy)! bookbindr.com/freelancer/l...

We need your help. @waterstones.bsky.social, without any direct communication with us, will be opening their 6th Edinburgh branch less than 100 metres from our front door at the Foot of the Walk in Leith. Please read on for more information www.heraldscotland.com/news/2562908... (1/2)

For all it's worth, during my time working with Alan last year around the Kelvinside Compendium showed me he's the real deal, really cares about Scotland’s culture and is bringing all his power to the role with as much diligence as possible. Naysayers will moan but action will speak for itself.

I have too many thoughts and feelings to fit here but I think Jannat is one of the most refreshingly honest and clear-headed writers regarding small publishing entrepreneurship and I think her voice is essential within this discourse that will be dominant in 2026, imo.

Some thoughts on the future of Lucent Dreaming from our co-founder Jannat Ahmed. We appreciate the support we’ve received in every iteration of Lucent and we can’t wait to see what this new season brings 🤍 lucentdreaming.com/thoughts-on-...

I have too many thoughts and feelings to fit here but I think Jannat is one of the most refreshingly honest and clear-headed writers regarding small publishing entrepreneurship and I think her voice is essential within this discourse that will be dominant in 2026, imo.

going to blast out all my hottest publishing takes to friends and end it with DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT

When I'm not PhDing and 404 Inking I'm doing production and ops for Charco and the 2026 bundle is ready for preordering, with an excellent list we've been working on all this year. It's a great investment in quality translation, literature, and small press publishing in general.

An Edinburgh > York > Edinburgh round trip in 12 hours for some publishing strategy thinking has me knackered but I would now like to have more meetings there, please

I think I'm done logging into things

An extremely interesting thread from Matthew. I don't agree with all of it because I'm a contrary sod, but it's definitely worth reading.

Despite its essential role in American culture, literature receives less than 2% of arts funding, leaving the field persistently under-resourced.

From the Bloomsbury CEO suggesting brand recognition is in our DNA and has something to do with AI to this, I welcome these public declarations of insanity. Pop the bubble faster, c'mon!

Nigel Newton, CEO of Bloomsbury, telling us why AI is good for publishing with this fun caveat: “We are programmed deep in our DNA to be comforted by the authority and the reliability of big brand names, & that applies more than ever to the names of big writers." www.theguardian.com/business/202...

This is how you blurb

"I am encouraging more people to offer their voices to be cloned" jfc

NB this event is for *any* new PhD researcher in arts & humanities in Scotland, and has in-person and online attendance options - please do come and find out how @sgsah.bsky.social can support you! bsky.app/profile/sgsa...

This has basically taken the open letter from last week and turned it into an advert for IPG, which is fine/expected from the Bookseller, and I understand the reminder to collaborate but we really have enough support networks now, we KNOW the problems, but most are unwilling to have the hard convos.

Did you know that if you buy my book on Amazon, Jeff Bezos makes 5 times as much as I do on each copy sold? Sharing some behind-the-scenes book math on why buying directly from presses is best for EVERYONE (except Bezos) in my newsletter today! aubreyhirsch.substack.com/p/book-math

Unhinged literary opinions do not make you interesting

Speaking from experience, small indie publishing is getting tougher. We usually rely on project-based public funding (too much) and are a couple of rejections away from closure. Investors balk at us because of the low margins & growth. We need a new path. www.thebookseller.com/news/indie-p...

ICYMI: More than 20 independent publishing houses – including Bluemoose Books, Tilted Axis Press and Influx Press – have written an open letter calling for the trade to “work together to ensure the longevity of the UK’s independent presses” as they face an “existential crisis” 👇

Bit of a niche request but can anyone recommend any REPUTABLE US-based offset printers, please? Ones that won't take forever and will work with UK-based publishers? Thank you!

Speaking from experience, small indie publishing is getting tougher. We usually rely on project-based public funding (too much) and are a couple of rejections away from closure. Investors balk at us because of the low margins & growth. We need a new path. www.thebookseller.com/news/indie-p...

"Inflation, war and cuts to national arts funding have increased the challenges faced by independent publishers and we are now confronting an existential crisis that will determine the trajectory of literary publishing in the UK." Signed by us, please read: www.thebookseller.com/comment/open...

In other news Charlie Redmayne, the long serving CEO of HC in the UK, resigned yesterday.