“The last-minute christmas rush at the bookshop.” - my latest cartoon for @theguardian.com books

People who co-author are going to need to have a frank discussion about this with their collaborators 🙁

29 January, online and in-person at @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social, open to all, I'll be talking about my recent adventures in memoir and #drinkhistory: www.imperial.ac.uk/events/19867...

Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵 Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...

Really excited to have a chapter in the UK edition of Someone Like Me, an anthology of writing by autistic women and gender minorities (me being nonbinary/genderqueer). My chapter is titled 'Growing up with Monotropism and Weird Pride'. The book is out 2025-09-25. vervebooks.co.uk/bookpage.php...

@alyfixit.bsky.social one for you?

I have a low stakes conspiracy theory that all guests on the Graham Norton show are offered cocaine before filming.

Back in August, I ran a poetry workshop for psychiatrists at St Nicholas Hospital in Newcastle. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my academic career, and I hope more will follow. A special thanks to the History of Psychiatry Special Interest Group of the @rcpsych.bsky.social!

@luciejones83.bsky.social might be of interest?

happy “putting all the separate unfinished word documents into one big word document for your book manuscript because you promised yourself you’d have a rough first draft by the end of the year” day to all who celebrate

So Americans apparently don't have the word "rota"?! Would US folks use "roster" instead for a work schedule (ie the thing that shows when different people are working)?

"Riding in upon a teal Ford Focus came a great warrior, a suitor of the gentlefolks' granddaughter. Word had spread through the kingdom that this warrior worked with computers and perhaps even knew the true nature of the Router."

"This student seemed to have stumbled across that famous short story about my life as a bug. I’d read this story before, of course, but now that I was a grad student instead of a disgusting cockroach, it resonated in a different way for me."

Today, we’re going to look at some of these objects, and work out whether the sensory distractions they offer are worth the horrid unpredictable bang noise.

Normalize out of office notices that enable fully ignoring work emails and requests folks resend their messages when we're back. You can schedule send those messages! (A feature I forget to use but will get better at with practice.) Fully walk away. Those are January problems. 😎

This is so useful. I don't know how anyone can confidently identify LLM-generated text just from vibes alone, and I think assuming we can presents a real danger of bias. This is a much better way.

Our Research Associate Christina Lee will be speaking at Queen Margaret University Toy Box Diversity Lab's hybrid seminar on disability representation and access through toys and play. Register here for an online ticket: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/online-tic...

🚨 A new Special Issue has been published today! The volume "(Un)defined YA / Series / Romance" features an introduction by Amanda K. Allen (@amandaallenphd.bsky.social) and six research articles. Follow the link and keep reading to discover them: www.jprstudies.org/special-issu... #RomanceResearch

A great event towards the end of Jan - m'learned colleague Daniel Gordon, who recently took voluntary redundancy from academia, is going to reflect on how that feels and what it's like. Since many academics are going to be in that position, important. 👇 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/uk-univers...

I’m so excited to finally say I’ll soon be joining Manchester Jewish Museum as their Curator (not that I’ve been keeping it secret well!)!! This is a dream role, sparked after using the museum’s collection for research years ago. I hope to serve Manchester’s rich and diverse Jewish history well!

Autism researchers have decided to drop any pretence of adhering to scientific or ethical methodology and are to begin simply peering through autistic people’s windows, it has been revealed.

People out here blaming their sad lives on "DEI" while the bounty that is their parents is literally /right there/

Thanks to @elainagmamaril.bsky.social for inviting @alisonallam.bsky.social @thelrm.bsky.social @equihealthfutures.bsky.social Ana Bê Periera and I to discuss creating inclusive research cultures for people with energy limiting conditions as part of this brilliant podcast series

Organising an event? Build in adequate breaks and PROTECT THE BREAKS. #1000SmallThings for a more inclusive HE

I've been asked for information about UK-based researchers with interest in TTRPGs and Actual Play. I have a half-dozen names off the top of the dome, but would be happy to hear of more to pass along for Schemes.

This is good:

this is why I have minimal faith in my capacity to spot 'AI tells'. there are racial, cultural and class dimensions to certain formalities of language. did you learn English from someone whose first language wasn't English? did you glean your turns of phrase from out-of-date books? etc etc

My head is continually full of ideas, you all are welcome to most of them, and it might give me a minutes peace

Delighted that I’m going to be doing a guest lecture at a U.K. philosophy department in the spring about being a philosopher specialising in social justice who also runs a social enterprise If you or your department would also be interested in having me along to talk to your students, let’s chat

This is brilliant! Awarded at a big uni-wide conference where for the first time I saw automatic captions enabled in all sessions and chairs instructed to do this - something we've been promoting and modelling throughout the Disabled Researchers Network project ☺️ #Impact #1000SmallThings

Yesterday I was given a commendation (& a certificate) for my EDI work with the Disabled Researchers project. It’s really lovely to have this work recognised by those that nominated me/us. It really wouldn’t be possible with the wonderful @riacheyne.bsky.social! Your name should also be here.

"Because bookshops make everything better, don’t they? The smell of them, the silence of them, the sense of possibility that each and every one of the books they house promises." This is lovely:

Thank you to our wonderful speakers and to everyone who joined us last week for our online symposium to celebrate Anita's life and legacy together. If you missed the event, the recording is now available on our website: sheffield.ac.uk/ihuman/disab...

Generate a heartwarming advert for your bookshop:

My anti-GenAI prose poem, "The Ghosts of me are in your machine," is up at @strangehorizons.bsky.social Thanks to @cafenowhere.bsky.social for editing, and @bogiperson.bsky.social for being the first reader for this. strangehorizons.com/wordpress/po...

The new edition of the Glamorgan Archives newsletter is now available. Take a look for the latest updates from the Archives. glamarchives.wordpress.com/2025/12/10/g...

This game design lark is a piece of piss. Behold! Your Manly Men With Uzis character name generator table!

This is a key side benefit of wearing a mask on public transport! If you do have to sit next to someone, they tend to give you a bit more room as well!

"I would do a lot of that other stuff, but I’m just not as good as her at those things. It’s really hard to keep track of all those different activities, and she’s got it all figured out. So why reinvent the wheel? Plus, she’s not very good at wrestling."

Phew, this one hits close to home:

The School of Advanced Study 'has developed Reshaped, an online training platform offering free resources for humanities researchers in the UK and further afield, covering topics such as digital skills for research and open access in humanities subjects.' 1/2

Hello! I’m seeking volunteers to be interviewed for my PhD thesis on the cultural significance of the tailored suit within queer communities during the 1970s and 1980s. If you’re interested and would like more information, please contact me. Thank you, and feel free to share this with your networks!

We are delighted to share the programme for our upcoming conference! We will be running fourteen panels across two days in early February - all online and open to everyone 😊 please see our website for more details on speakers, panels and how to book.

Nominations are open for the newly-founded Scottish Literary Studies Book Prize, administered by the Universities Committee for Scottish Literature and awarded biennially to an outstanding work of scholarship in the field of Scottish literary studies. £300 prize. ucsl-scotland.com/scottish-lit...

whenever an app asks me to enable push notifications I should be able to press a button & deliver an electric shock to the developers

Had the privilege of digitally hosting some debates about the future of Tourette Syndrome research a few weeks back. For those who might be interested in a short summary, check the link below! 🌟 medhumsplatform.org/towards-tour...

Lots to think about here, not least "Universities are not places which foreground well-being."

REF 2029 changes: how the sector is responding www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

This is good:

See also "they'll eat when they get hungry enough"