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I need to drop over £3,000 soon to apply for indefinite leave to remain for him and in a Reform UK to have that later rescinded and put back on sponsored visas that would surely be scrapped by then?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...

Epstein’s birthday book is so sickening it’s making me hate friendship groups

What’s the story behind those dodgy gift shops on Princes Street in Edinburgh? Jim Waterson of @londoncentric.media investigates in bonus edition of the Minute: edinburghminute.substack.com/p/tax-evadin...

For a range of reasons I never thanked @theskinnymag.bsky.social for giving 404 Ink the [Organisational] Lifetime Achievement Award in their Besties awards, saying we were "absolutely pivotal to the development of new writing talent in Scotland"! We did try! thx www.theskinny.co.uk/festivals/ed...

Now it's September and there are still Fringe posters everywhere, us residents are allowed to tear them down ourselves, right? Right?!

I can

Sign of the times (literally)

Happy de minimis end day! Books are apparently exempt but costs are still increased anyway so who knows, really, it's all made up and nothing matters because who cares about small businesses anyway?!

Last few days to get your submissions in!

I considered writing a long carefully constructed argument laying out the harms and limitations of AI, but instead I wrote about being a hater. Only humans can be haters.

The numbers this post is doing is baffling to me on numerous levels. I don't understand social media anymore (if I ever did)

This morning's walk (I've never actually walked around my home village in the morning before, as a serial night owl that detests any movement before 11am but is trying to change that)

Hey fellow publishers: what are you/we doing about the end of de minimis next week? How fucked are we? Why am I finding it impossible to find any official documentation about this? Are we so numb to the current US administration's legislative terrorism that we don't even compute it anymore?

Bring back the "computer room"

Seconded from the publishing biz to the rest of the publishing biz if you have anything to do with files for print whether marketing, editorial or otherwise: PLEASE LEARN WHAT BLEED AND DPI IS! PRODUCTION PEOPLE ARE NOT MAKING THIS UP, IT MATTERS, I'M SERIOUS, HELP US HELP YOU JFC

Two years since getting married, still looking awesome on the top floors of places

Straight person who hadn't heard of the Polari Prize until last week: the trans mob have ruined my favourite literary prize

This is absolutely beautiful. Social media makes us believe the world is full of vile people (and it is) but there’s so many more decent good people in the world that the bastards. This is just plain old fashioned human kindness and it’s lovely to see. Have a grand day!

Publishers and publicists don't 'lobby' EIBF as much as have a short single meeting with a programmer to discuss the dozens of potential books of which they can only programme a few, if any. McGarvey is published by Ebury (Penguin) so his publicist probably... www.heraldscotland.com/news/2539325...

Finished Death Stranding 2 after almost exactly 100 hours and have decided that I will die for Dollman. He’s my homeboy, my rotten soldier. He’s my sweet cheese, my good time boy.

So pleased to see this letter from MPs in support of students in Gaza with offers at UK universities. It's been signed by over 100 MPs and is a real cross-party effort. I hope now that Starmer will respond to our requests.

Help me for a thing, please: Who are your favourite UK-based trade publishers that started up since 2017 and are still going today? Small and indie, preferably (imprints don't count).

noooooooooooo (Happy to do my part for society though this is my 4th call in 10 years) but also noooooooo

People plugging their entire skulls into A.I. makes me think of this old Believer interview with Harold Ramis

And the Fierce Salvage crew celebrate current LGBTI+ Scottish writing, from memoir to poetry, edited by @hrfmichael.bsky.social and @ryanvance.bsky.social: www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival...

@edbookfest.bsky.social kicks off next week and we have a couple of events! @carriem.co.uk shares Small Town Joy, unpacking how LGBTQ+ artists changed Scotland's soundtrack and celebrating the music that opened minds: www.edbookfest.co.uk/the-festival...

As per, Jenny speaks sense: "I don’t think I’ve ever run a programme where somebody has not complained that they should have been in there. We are pitched literary thousands of books every year. We cannot cover every single subject. We wouldn’t intend to." www.heraldscotland.com/news/2536437...

This is fascinating. Has a publishing company ever been set up in haste to save the ruins of a collapsed one? www.thebookseller.com/news/new-pub...

This is funny / depressing / fucked up. It’s Elias Vance’s world now.

On my daily walk (when I'm on top of things which I am not right now) fully expecting to have 'my' lake swarmed with the fringe masses and yet, there is somehow peace and duck arses in the air as any day. All is as it should be.

Death Stranding 2 hit me harder than any Kojima game since MGS3. I think it's one of the most human games he's ever made, wildly goody, introspective, and the only direction it made sense to go in following COVID lock downs. For @aftermath.site aftermath.site/death-strand...

And it's finally official. Not so much as an email to authors to let them know. Literally not a word to the authors they built their business off / stole from.

Unsurprising but still hugely disappointing on so many fronts. "The Bookseller understands that both Boundless and Neem Tree Press will be closing down entirely, with no rescue. It is unknown whether Boundless authors have been informed of the administration." www.thebookseller.com/news/unbound...

Feeling old. Seeing young 'uns on the tiktok excited by Hayley Williams "hacking marketing" by uploading her new solo album to her website temporarily via secret code. Thinking their minds would be blown by the Lost Experience marketing campaign of the mid 2000s. Now THAT was "hacking marketing".

Inklings submissions are now open via @saraband-books.bsky.social If you've been sitting on an Inkling pitch for a while, now is your time! Submission info: saraband.net/2025/07/11/i...

My boring repetitive stance of why I'd always print with matte lamination over uncoated: the environmental savings from avoiding the cover plastic is immediately undone by the amount of damaged copies and extra shipping required to ferry replacement copies and returns! The admin! The pulping! Pain!

'tis the season for the Edinburgh resident to have to walk in the middle of the road to be able to get anywhere in the city centre Fringe grump mode ACTIVATE

Ed Zitron argues the AI boom is a bubble based on three arguments 1) Nvidia’s stock price hinges on FAANG’s endless GPU buying spree 2) Big Tech is spending 10x more on AI infrastructure than they earn 3) AI startups like OpenAI & Anthropic are making billions but are burning even more billions.

404 used this Futura PT across all branding from 2016, absolutely trend setters

Why I 🧡 the web. drawafish.com Just draw the fish. Trust me. 🐟

we're in the ________ timeline [insert as necessary]

Happy publication day to Wing Lam Tong and Speak Still! See her talk about her Inkling in @tintjournal.bsky.social: tintjournal.com/interview/so...

Shaimaa’s PhD will be funded by @sgsah.bsky.social (supervised by @hannahkateboast.bsky.social Will Tattersdill & me, in partnership with @commapress.bsky.social) - but she is currently trapped in Gaza unless the UK Gov relaxes its requirement for biometric data bsky.app/profile/comm...