A lot of historical authoritarian regimes ultimately foundered because there are upper limits to how much brutality human enforcers are willing to carry out on a broad civilian resistance that includes their family and old classmates. An AI controlled drone is never going to refuse an illegal order.

In 1854, Maria Susanna Cummins published The Lamplighter, one of the best-selling novels of the 19th century. The critics—mostly men—rolled their eyes. They called it "sentimental trash." #writers #writesky #books #writingcommunity #bestseller

Dexter Gordon, Jazz Tenor Saxophonist, Composer, #BornOnThisDay in 1923, in Los Angeles 📸 Herman Leonard (New York, 1948)

Hello beautiful Bluesky readers and writers! If I may, I'd like to introduce my new brilliant book THEM GIRLS - A novel about sisterhood, 90s pop culture and the corruption of power, published 9th April 2026 by @simonschusteruk Now available on Netgalley and to preorder Love Eva 🧡

You can pre-order my debut novel Dooneen on @bookshop.org here. It's my sixth debut novel. Pre-orders, as I'm sure you know, are essential to the healthy continuance of society. If you don't pre-order right now, you're basically destroying everything beautiful.

‘Jazz, the most American of musical languages, has also been the most open to the world.’ - Adam Shatz in his exquisite essay on America… Another Country So beautiful it hurts #booksky @lrb.co.uk

“The misplaced criticism arises partly from a failure to understand the realities of coprolalia. It arises, too, from the ways in which we now think about racism and diversity.” My Sunday @theobserveruk.bsky.social column online early on Thursday: observer.co.uk/news/columni...

When passion is your exclamation mark. Who cares if it’s upside down? Let no one take it away. #5amwritersclub #amediting #booksky

"The secret of writing is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one." —Mark Twain #5amwritersclub #amwriting #booksky #writersky #authorsky #WIP #poetry #writingcommunity #writerscommunity

A list of good independent presses for those looking for something a bit different. Compiled by @causticcovercritic.bsky.social, a man with many books.

Want to send us your FLASH/MICRO fiction? Here's what we like: ✨ Interesting, literary narratives with a modern, pop culture appeal. ✨ Voice-driven prose. ✨ Double-spacing with serif fonts. Browsing our archives is the best way to see if we're a good fit! buff.ly/HZLDfm0

It's today! Thursday 6pm GMT @ncashmanfiction.bsky.social in conversation with #WomenWritersNet about her new novel The Crucifix #Authornterview #nothing #horror #horrorwriters

“Small presses who can’t afford big advances get gazumped by publishers who then do nothing to promote those books.” Good interview with Neil Griffiths - founder of Weatherglass Books and the Queen Mary small press fiction prize (né the Republic of Consciousness Prize).

Hey, g’mornin’, get my drift?! #5amwritersclub #amediting

The redoubtable @gnatleech.bsky.social discusses his 2025 reading and teases a new plan eigermonchjungfrau.blog/2026/02/12/n...

New Simon Crump. Nice :)

'Many years ago, when I was a reviews editor, I commissioned Andrey Kurkov to write for me. He was a delight to deal with. I've often thought of him over the last four years.' On a Kyiv Mysteries series & other notable titles... Paperbacks in March 2026: Part Two alifeinbooks.co.uk/2026/02/pape...

Fascinating write-ups on a select few, for real fans of film. Thought of you @staggerlee42.bsky.social @jacquiwine.bsky.social Berlinale Film Festival findingtimetowrite.wordpress.com/2026/02/23/b...

A number of literary agencies are adding amendments to their submission guidelines urging authors not to use AI in their submissions, as signs of its use become more prevalent 👇 #BookSky

Good morning. Off to chat to some MA students about Indy publishing and how to survive in an industry that doesn’t take too many risks. 20 years of Bluemoose. Magic.

❛ First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won't. Habit is persistence in practice. Octavia Butler, who died #OTD in 2006.

We’re only human. Making and reading representations of what this can mean. #booksky #amreading #amediting 🪄

Some of the men of the 369th (Harlem Hellfighters) who won the Croix de Guerre for gallantry in action during World War One (1919) www.nps.gov/articles/000...

F’g spot on 🥹😅

Printmaker Clare Leighton, 'Blackbird on Nest, Lithograph of Wood Engraving, 1935 #womensart

It’s here in 🇨🇭 KESHED by Stu Hennigan @stuhennigan.bsky.social #booksky

‘The newer apartment blocks are crippled without electricity. There are no gas stoves to boil water and no water in the taps – try walking up 25 floors with a ten-gallon water container.’ @jenstout.bsky.social on winter in Kyiv. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Mother Nature with her own ideas for decorating trees. And we’ve got ours of & for the story! #booksky #amreading #amediting 🍀

@katebeales.bsky.social loved your interview with Anne. So inspiring. I’ve written to my local indie bookshop to order the novel. Good luck Kate 🍀!

Such a good interview. Here’s a writer who hung in there until, after many rejections, she found the right INDEPENDENT press for her novel. I am so ordering Broken Horses! #booksky #WomenWritersNet anneolearyblog.wordpress.com/2026/02/04/b...

Ossoff: "There are some folks who are doomscrolling in the fetal position. Every day there is a new outrage. It's easy I know to fear that maybe we could lose our republic. I think what John Lewis would tell us is it's up to us. We have the power to right the ship. Nobody is gonna do it for us."

Samera 'Existential' (Samsara, 2015) -- Chelsea, Manhattan, NYC 'The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes' -- Marcel Proust #HumansOfBlueSky ✨ #ImageAndVerse ✨ #ClassicMono ✨ #Photography #Portraiture #Monochrome #EastCoastKin #JayceeCrawford

@kenanmalik.bsky.social vis à vis the Cambridge Union debate between Buckley Jr. and Baldwin: what Baldwin did that day was beyond brilliant but had little to do with ‘humiliating’ Buckley Jr. That characterization was the only false note in your excellent piece re: Buckley Jr., IMO. Cheers!

It's Monday again and today I'm reading "Southerly" by Jorge Consiglio, translated by Cherilyn Elston What book(s) are you reading this week? 💙📚 #BookSky #AmReading #MondayReads #TBR alt text in images please

Don’t forget the Never Too Late Award from the Bridport Prize which recognises entries from writers over 60 across all categories of prizes. Link below Please share :)

Editing through a longterm project… Um, it has chimneys? Windows? Er, someday it’ll be clearer?! #booksky #amediting

The real story of UK (+London) housing: local councils and therefore tax payers being used by the planet’s wealthiest landlords, who evict private tenants, forcing them into a temporary system where they can make more money and allow tenants fewer rights. Sadiq Khan NEEDS to address this publicly!

Claire in Buckinghamshire is one of the latest readers to fall in love with this novel. Reading indies leads to the most authentic experiences imaginable. Every page of this has beauty. Take your time. @paulscraton.bsky.social @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social #booksky 💭📖🖤

#BnwMacro Every weekend, huh? Okay, I'm game. #ArtChallenges #EastCoastKin #ClassicMono #monochrome #Blackandwhite #photography #Art #flowers

Flakes so large they almost float... A pillow fight amongst the clouds

Something tells me Bad Bunny may have influenced one of my best friends to visit Puerto Rico. I’m living vicariously❣️🇵🇷

My 23 year old daughter is in Oz. Having a terrible time, obviously! 📷 credit: Nerea Orr

Looking down to look up. Upside down. #UrbanGaze Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

Happy release day to Alice Evelyn Yang's mesmeric debut novel A BEAST SLINKS TOWARDS BEIJING 🐇 Available now from wherever you like to procure books! deadinkbooks.com/product/a-beast-slinks-towards-beijing/

Spent the week immersed in @stuhennigan.bsky.social's crackling fizzling merry-walloping novel Keshed and holy moses, if you like a book that grabs you by the arm & spins you around & boots you down the stairs & chases you down the street (in a good way!) you really must read this. It's tremendous.

crocuses after the rain, #Dartmoor garden

It’s a thin line between the story version that’s okay and the one it’s meant to be. You, who went the extra distance. Nurturing the story’s phrasing. Breathing life into it. Until you released it. Bravo. Brava. ❤️‍🔥 #writingcommunity #amwriting #booksky #amediting #5amwritersclub #amreading

So what is a public apology and what work does it do?

We’re hiring! More details about the position here: www.lrb.co.uk/jobs

Yes. The decision to proscribe Palestine Action in the UK was disproportionate. This is a victory for the right to protest, and for the judicial system which must override the gov when it oversteps. Thank you @lrb.co.uk for the blog www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/fe...