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.

This is a huge collapse in the book distribution business, especially following the closure of Small Press Distribution last year. Baker & Taylor--originally established in 1828--has been central to the library market for decades.

A depressing update we've seen coming for a long time, with numerous impacts. Namely, even less competition for library acquisitions and wholesale, publishers (including Hub City) left with unpaid bills, and small presses left high and dry, and vanishing distribution options.

Not often I get a chance to grab a physical copy of The Skinny but nice to see two titles I've typset recently (La Lucha and The Hajar Book of Rage) getting their deserved props. Unsurprisingly, it's a time for rage-fuelled non-ficition again (not that it ever stopped)

We all have the same conversation, everyday 😂

I really didn't want to spend £30 on this but oh well hwfg

Happy to be part of the Start It Yourself panel at @ptbopoetry.bsky.social on the morning of Friday 21st November! Speaking all about starting 404 Ink/your own thang pushtheboatout.org/events/start...

Happy to be part of the Start It Yourself panel at @ptbopoetry.bsky.social on the morning of Friday 21st November! Speaking all about starting 404 Ink/your own thang pushtheboatout.org/events/start...

Everyone be doing sustained campaigns of violence now

Started back at school today. Best email so far

Thinking of getting a paid subscription for @edinburghminute.bsky.social not just for the excellent daily coverage, but also to keep up their correct beef with Edinburgh Live

Mega nostalgia alert

Don’t misunderstand the moment; crowdfunding for publishing isn’t dead, it’s evolving, says Nick Coveney in our recent Comment piece 👇 #BookSky

In my first piece for Tribune, I write in defence of the noble art of shoplifting.

“It could be because autistic people tend to have big, beautiful eyes, an air of mystique and a fathomless, unknowable heart… Oh. Oh, God. Er, excuse me for a minute.”

Gl*nner whining that satire is dead while The Daily Tism are out here satirising America into the next century

My husband and I need to drop over £3,000 soon to apply for indefinite leave to remain for him and in a Reform UK to have that later rescinded and put back on sponsored visas that would surely be scrapped by then? I can't express how fucked we would BOTH be. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Happy new NIN day. Let's all take the day off to vibe. It's what Trent would want.

"We should also introduce a label system – akin to the GM food labels – that prohibit retailers selling AI-generated stories without clear attribution." Considering the ridiculous amounts of new hoops to jump through for EUDR, this could be a walk in the park to implement, comparatively.

‘We are being told that the morality by which the rich and powerful live is not the same as the morality by which you, your family, friends, neighbours and colleagues live. We’re second-class citizens. This is the grotesquerie of power in the 21st century’ www.heraldscotland.com/politics/vie...

By some kind of serendipity I found myself listening to the audiobook of Serj Tankian's Down with the System memoir in which he describes being pre-social media semi-cancelled for his peace-seeking/US-critical essay Understanding Oil published 2 days after 9/11: www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/Underst...