@davewakely.bsky.social and those who aren't on Bsky, but are just as keen on queer resistance Kate Foley Gwenhwyfar Ferch Rhys Joshua Linney Alyson Hallett Mwelwa Chilekwa Robert Hamberger Rowan Carteret Jane Aldous Donna Nì Conor Teddy Mills Abhi Abu Leila Arun Jeetoo Carmina Masoliver

Honoured to have a poem in Issue 18 of 14poems - available from them at www.fourteenpoems.com/shop/issue-18 for those who support small presses. Thanks to editors Troy Cabida and Helen Bowell, and to Sean Hewiit, Richard Scott, Derek Jarman and Jeanette Winterson for inadvertent inspiration.

A poem in the new edition of Caduceus Journal, with thanks to the poetry editor, Dawn Gorman @dawnpoet.bsky.social caduceus.info

Tomorrow night (Tues 9th) in-person or online: a fascinating new website launches, with live readings of 12 excellent pieces of original writing about our city Tickets (free): www.mklitfest.org/raisingvoiceslaunch

Honoured to be shortlisted for this forthcoming anthology - please support @arachnepress.bsky.social through their crowdfunder if you are able (and spreading the word is also a fine form of generosity)

Join @mklitfest.bsky.social online on Wed eve for 5 superb poets: Zoe Brooks, Anna Saunders, Julia Webb, Leo Boix and Lesley Sharpe. www.mklitfest.org/poetryspotli... #poetry #poets #poetryreading @julwe1.bsky.social @lesleysharpe.bsky.social @zoebrooks.bsky.social @annasaund.bsky.social

Delighted and more than a little honoured to be reading in such talented company at 3pm on westwiltsradio.com today (and available on the Play Again pages from early next week). "There should be a recipe. How to Make a Perfect Day at Home..."

In collaboration with @mklitfest.bsky.social in August we held an online masterclass – Digging in the Dirt: adventures in ecopoetry with @clareshawpoet.bsky.social , @betarish.bsky.social , @calebparkinpoet.bsky.social & @jessmookherjee.bsky.social poetsfortheplanet.org.uk/the-magic-of... 1 /3

For #nationalpoetryday

Delighted to be reading tonight for @cheltpoetfest.bsky.social fundraiser event - all welcome! www.ticketsource.co.uk/cheltenhampo...

Delighted to have a poem, As if, on Poem Alone. Thx editor Colin Dardis (@purelypoetry.bsky.social‬_, and ‪@annasaund.bsky.social‬ (Cheltenham Poetry Festival) and ‪@clareshawpoet.bsky.social‬, whose workshops helped mould my imagination into finer shape. poemalone.blogspot.com/2025/08/dave...

Join local author Will Burns for a place-based creative workshop providing a framework for new writing with Milton Keynes and its environs at its heart. www.mklitfest.org/cityofstories @troubledstriker.bsky.social #WillBurns #writingworkshop #shortstories

Last call for tickets for an exclusive, free creative writing workshop with @grindrod.bsky.social, looking at how to write non-fiction about places, locations, and modern cities. Thurs 7 Aug, 6pm Last few tickets: www.mklitfest.org/writingthecity #writingworkshop #CreativeNonfiction #miltonkeynes

Free event with Helen Bowell will help you write poems mining memory, history and place to paint pictures of MK. Places limited: please pre-book. www.mklitfest.org/poetryaboutp... #helenbowell #writingworkshop #poetry #miltonkeynes

All stories take place somewhere. Belfast-born fiction writer Paul McVeigh and Coventry-born poet Cathy Galvin invite you to disrupt your usual writing practice and look again at the familiar landscape of home. www.mklitfest.org/lookagain @cathygalvin.bsky.social @wordfactoryuk.bsky.social

A 90-minute masterclass for our Raising Voices Project www.mklitfest.org/digginginthe... @clareshawpoet.bsky.social @betarish.bsky.social @jessmookherjee.bsky.social @calebparkinpoet.bsky.social @bloodaxebooks.bsky.social @ninearchespress.bsky.social

We're always going to recommend reading, of course, so why not try a few minutes perusing our Spring Festival Programme. Starts next week: 4 days, 18 events, and packed with books, words, writers and ideas! www.mklitfest.org/downloads #bookfest #books #miltonkeynes

Like #YAfantasy? #hungergames? Anna February joins us next Sat with the claustrophobic world of her new novel The Hive. Before then, she talks to @caztricks.bsky.social on Stony Sunrise @stonyradiouk.bsky.social Mon 7am mklitfest.org/anna-february #miltonkeynes #books @chickenhousebooks.bsky.social

MK Literary Festival starts tomorrow: 4 days, 18 events. To start, Edward Stourton talks about 40 years of bringing us the news.* *In-person or online! Box Office open! www.mklitfest.org/edward-stourton #edwardstourton #journalism #broadcasting #Memoir #miltonkeynes

To mark 8 years of working with local writers, join us on 12/4 as we present just some of the 200 we've published. And we've a special announcement too! Tickets (incl livestream) free: www.mklitfest.org/raising-voices #miltonkeynes #poetry #flashfiction #creativewriting

Join us in-person - or online (livestream tickets on same link) - on 9 April as we welcome Edward Stourton to Lit Fest, talking about his career and memoir: #Confessions. Book: mklitfest.org/edward-stour... #radio4 #bbcr4sunday #edwardstourton #journalism #broadcasting #miltonkeynes #newsreporting

Author Michael Stewart announces our 2025 #CreativeWriting Competition winners as we launch our MinK#5: 'Home' anthology at @theparkstrust.bsky.social Pavilion on 10 April. Free event: mklitfest.org/mink2025-lau... @hqstories.bsky.social #writingcompetition #poetry #flashfiction #miltonkeynes

Writers of #BUCKINGHAMSHIRE #bedfordshire + #northants, 2 weeks left to send us your #poems or #flashfiction to celebrate May Day or any of its associations. Details: www.mklitfest.org/dreams-for-b... #writingcompetition #creativewriting #writers #amwriting #writingcommunity #miltonkeynes

#Writers need to find their own voice for their #stories to ring true. We've a workshop with writer and teacher Michael Stewart on 11/4 to help. Handful of places left: www.mklitfest.org/finding-your... @hqstories.bsky.social #miltonkeynes #writingworkshop #creativewriting #michaelstewart

Don't miss the finale of our #freespeech and #literature series on 11/4: in-person (livestream option now available) with @akischilz.bsky.social @henrycporter.bsky.social and #sabrinamahfouz. (Podcasts of previous episodes on the website.) www.mklitfest.org/free-speech-...

After our Spring Festival (you've bought your tickets, yes?), join us on the footpaths of #miltonkeynes for A (free) Green City Literary Walk: original #creativewriting in the places that inspired it. www.mklitfest.org/minkwalk2025 #poems #flashfiction @theparkstrust.bsky.social #MKWalkingFestival

Kaliane Bradley's #TheMinistryofTime is 1 of the 2020s' best debut #novels. Hear her inperson or online 11 April with Eley Williams: fiction fans shouldn't miss this! www.mklitfest.org/kaliane-bradley @giantratsumatra.bsky.social #kalianebradley #novels #books #miltonkeynes @sceptrebooks.bsky.social

Podcast of Episode 4 of our #FreeSpeech and #Literature series - #Translation and #Censorship - is now available to listen. Translators Sawad Hussain and Monica Cure discussed taboos, cultural difference, banned words + more with Daria Chernysheva. mklitfest.org/podcasts @monicacure.bsky.social

Oh, Dorothy. You speak to me. #DorothyParker

Very pleased to have this poem in the new issue of The Alchemy Spoon.

On 5 Feb, we're presenting a 2-hr online inclusive interactive #writingworkshop with poet and playwright James McDermott exploring writing on grief, loss and recovery. Places limited. Tickets: mklitfest.org/at-a-loss #creativewriting #jamesmcdermott @ninearchespress.bsky.social

Wednesday 29 Jan, we bring you an online visual tour of Britain’s modern places with photographer Simon Phipps and social historian John Grindrod. mklitfest.org/this-must-be... #architecture #modernism #brutalism #photography #builtenvironment @grindrod.bsky.social @septemberbooks.bsky.social

Bucks/Beds/Northants writers: what does 'Home' mean to you? Submissions close at 23:59 on Sun 19/1. Prizes/publication for winners. Details: mklitfest.org/mink2025 #shortstories #creativewriting #submissionsopen #creativenonfiction #poetry #writingcompetition #flashfiction

Me neither, but #bloomscrolling is a joy!

Our friends TLC UK are offering a great opportunity for writers! Write Club Plus: Amplify is a 12-week coaching programme with: Biweekly live sessions Goal-setting & prompts 1:1 coaching Peer support Free Being a Writer Membership Deadline Jan 20th: literaryconsultancy.co.uk/event/write-...

Bucks/Beds/Northants writers: 7 days left to submit your pieces about 'Home' for our MinK 2025 writing competition: #flashfiction #nonfiction or #poetry - prizes and publication. Details: mklitfest.org/mink2025 #writingcompetition #creativewriting #buckinghamshire #bedfordshire #northamptonshire

Thick frost on winter bracken. Rammamere Heath, January 2025.

Happy New Year! Bucks/Beds/Northants writers: you have 2 weeks to submit your pieces about 'Home' for our MinK 2025 writing competition: #flashfiction #nonfiction or #poetry, prizes and publication for winners. Details: mklitfest.org/mink2025 #writingcompetition #submissionsopen

Delighted to welcome James McDermott to our Online Programme, delivering a very special writing workshop exporing ways to re-see grief, loss and recovery. 2 hours online on 5 Feb: places limited. Box Office: mklitfest.org/at-a-loss @ninearchespress.bsky.social #writingworkshop #creativewriting

Join us on 29/1 as architectural photographer Simon Phipps and social historian John Grindrod take us on a visual tour of Britain's modern places. Tickets: www.mklitfest.org/this-must-be... #brutalism #modernism #modernarchitecture #photography @grindrod.bsky.social @new-brutalism.bsky.social

Lordy, every morning.

Join us online on Wed 18 Dec for a feast of flash fiction that looks at the season aslant and askance. Green-haired punks, post-prandial daydreaming, philandering Santa, dinosaurs in knitwear, badly behaved cats (and humans), vulpine sacrifice and more... Tickets: www.mklitfest.org/baubles-2024

What does 'Home' mean to you? Is it a place or a feeling? Something to cherish or flee, to make or break? A heritage or an institution? Writers of Beds, Bucks or Northants aged 14+, send us your writing by 19 Jan. Details: www.mklitfest.org/mink2025 #writingcompetition #poetry #flashfiction

MK's first Indie Book Fair is tomorrow (Sat 7) at MK Central Library: crime, mystery, fantasy, Young Adult, children’s books, poetry, self-help, memoir, sci-fi, humour, essays, travel... Free entry 11am - 4pm, with readings all day. www.mklitfest.org/mk-indie-boo... #mkindiebookfair #miltonkeynes

Works for me. Just add coffee and duvet.

Tues eve, 26/11: a vital event for local #writers. Our expert panel share their wisdom on #editing, marketing, independent publishers & #selfpublishing. Tickets (only a few left): mklitfest.org/practicaliti... #writing #MiltonKeynes #editing #publishing #BookMarketing #masterclass #indiepress

Honoured to have curated and hosted this wonderful evening. Please listen, share - and, if you can, make a donation.

Three days ago, this was the view from the kitchen-diner window. This morning, the branches are bare. #winteriscoming