Hearty thanks to Carole of #TheReadingJackdaw for including #THIRST in her 50 Fiction Picks for Years 10 and 11 list! See below for the other recommendations in the Fantasy, Horror and Sci-Fi category, and do pop over to readingjackdaw.co.uk for more excellent resources! 🩸

Here it is! The cover of my next book, coming 24th September from @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social. #LYKEWISE 🪞 The stunning artwork's by @natsmillie.bsky.social, who also created the gorgeously creepy cover for #THIRST. Find the blurb and find pre-order links at pushkinpress.com/book/lykewise

Today's the day! #CoverReveal

Cover reveal tomorrow, peeps. And it's an absolute bewt! @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social

I'll let you in on a secret...

"Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens." Plenty happened last night, though. If you get a chance, go see #StopMakingSenseLive This was one of the most joyous, grin-inducing concerts I've ever seen. A really tight ten-piece band doing justice to Talking Heads and their iconic show.

Oh my, what's this? Could it be a teaser for my next book? More to come... 👀

Book teaser incoming!

Belated #Beltane wishes! ☀️ In celebration of a new summer, here are some pics from a new (and very distinctive) folk-horror project I'm collaborating on with @keithrobinson.bsky.social. It'll be coming out in 2027, so watch this space. 🌱 Enjoy the bumper weekend, all! 🎉

Shudders and thanks to @gnofhorror.com for including #THIRST in their roundup of the best new scary books for teens. 🙏 Check out the full roundup and explore Ginger Nuts' awesome website via gnofhorror.com/ya-and-middl... 💀 @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social

What a pleasure it was to attend the grand reopening of Nottingham's Sherwood Library! It's been a long wait but the result is fantastic - and much appreciated at a time when many libraries are being shut down. I visited this library often with my kids, and I look forward to visiting often again. 📚♥️

Recently updated on our site: Year 1 reading list for children aged 5-6. 📚👍🏼 schoolreadinglist.co.uk/reading-list... #kidlit Here's our selection of books for year 1 to challenge and interest children aged 5-6 in UK primary schools. Handpicked recommendations from ...

Some of the fine abominations invented by pupils in my #FURTHERMOOR workshop today. Thanks to #QueenElizabethsAcademy in Mansfield for having me over to talk #SCAVENGERS and #FURTHERMOOR and to run some workshops. The students and staff were wonderful throughout the day.

Very excited about this. Will be fun to talk #THIRST for the @sparkbookaward.bsky.social. 🩸📚

Happy #WorldBookDay, folks! 🎉 How's your day been? 📚 I've been celebrating over the last week with pupils from several schools. There's been a real buzz, and it's always amazing to hear from young folk who love reading - and from those who say they now want to give it a go! Mission accomplished. ♥️

Holy crowly, #FURTHERMOOR is four-years-old today! Seriously proud of this book. People have gone out of their way to tell me it's helped with bullying and grief. And it felt so good to write. Just poured out of me, almost fully formed. Happy birthday to Bren, Evie, Featherly and co. 🎉

Hubba hubba. 😍 Check out the #THIRST book and activity packs now available from #ParrotStreetBookClub! Find out more at www.parrotstreet.com/products/thi...

Would fund a study into the people who force their way in front of me just to then walk at a quarter of the speed.

Episode 188 UK GHOST STORY FESTIVAL CHATS Listen free at www.thefolklorepodcast.com/episode-188.... Or watch on YouTube at youtu.be/Stx4OefiEuw In advance of this year's festival, I present my chats with Alex Foulkes, Teika Marija Smits and @romgothsam.bsky.social at last year's event

Recommended Books for Year 12 including titles by Ananda Devi, Susan Fletcher, Paul Auster, Yoko Ono, Kamila Shamsie & more. schoolreadinglist.co.uk/secondary-ks... #YA

I expect #BrokenLight isn't the typical place to start with @joannechocolat.bsky.social but I had a great time reading it. This thought-provoking novel treats menopause and friendship with the complexity they deserve, and resonates with chats I've had with female friends as we all get a tad older.

#THIRST in Australia. Thank you, #WhereTheWildThingsAreBookshop! 🩸🙏

#THIRST is going out to #ParrotStreet Book Club subscribers! 🎉 Very excited for all the readers heading to Maimsbury for folk-horror thrills. 🩸A Q&A covering research, inspiration and some folky book recommendations is now available at www.parrotstreet.com/blogs/posts/... 🤓

I've been lucky enough to read an early copy of @nicolapenfold.bsky.social's #AndNowWeRun. 🎉 This book really showcases the power and complexity of nature - and of people, too! For all its brevity, this is a novel brimming with peril, thrills and warmth. 🏞 Thank you to @littletigeruk.bsky.social! 🙏

Very late to the party but I've finally read Bob Mortimer's #TheSatsumaComplex. It's very very funny - naturally - but there's plenty of peril, mystery and romance on offer too. Hard not to read it in Bob Mortimer's voice, but that's A Good Thing. Genuinely had me guffawing out loud in places. 🍊

Great news for your ears: #THIRST is out on audiobook! 🎉 Thanks to @wfhowes.bsky.social for making this happen, and thanks also to Ben Allen for his fab reading of the novel; he captures Maimsbury's atmosphere so well.🩸 You can stream or download #THIRST from all the usual places. 👍

It's been a week of ups and downs, but the most soaring of those ups was signing a NEW BOOK DEAL! 🤓 Can't say much just yet, so soz for the vague-post. But it won't be long before things are officially announced. 🙏

I've sensed a wry streak of humour in even @aptshadow.bsky.social's loftiest sci-fi novels, and this comes to the fore in #ServiceModel, a post-apocalyptic robot odyssey with shades of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. It's farcical, absurd, satirical, deeply philosophical and really good fun!

Great news for #THIRST by @darrensimpson44.bsky.social You can listen to or watch my interview with Darren about this book and the folklore of rivers at www.thefolklorepodcast.com/episode-184....

Over the moon to say that #THIRST has been shortlisted for the 12+ @sparkbookaward.bsky.social! 🥳 These awards are voted for by children and teens across a ton of schools, so I can't wait for young readers to get stuck into #THIRST and all the other fab titles. 📚 Congrats to all the shortlistees! 👋

Just seen my #PLR statement. 🤩 It lifts my heart to think of all the folk taking my books out from libraries. ♥️ Thanks to every single person who's loaned out a Darren Simpson novel, and to PLR for turning these loans into the pennies that help to me write yet more books! We're all winners here. 🎉

Jack Mackay's #GLOAM proved to be a welcome dose of wickedness. It's gleefully creepy and full of unsettling imagery, while also tackling themes of family, legacy and loss in a very moving way. Fab illustrations by Ben Joel Price too. See below for for one of my faves. 👌

Thanks to the wonderful folk at @schoolreadinglist.bsky.social for including #THIRST in their Year 9 recommended reading list for teens aged 13-14! 🤓🙏 Do check out @schoolreadinglist.bsky.socian's awesome (and very discerning, naturally) resources at schoolreadinglist.co.uk

Took the littlun to @waterstones.bsky.social Nottingham to spend some money he got for Christmas and was chuffed to see #THIRST on display. Thanks so much to the staff on this extraordinary top floor dedicated to YA and manga. Signed copies of #THIRST are available there right now! #signedbooks

For our first online talk of 2026 we are hosting Dr Rob Symmons from @romanpalace.bsky.social who will be discussing the incredible archaeological finds and history of the site, including folklore-filled mosaics! Thursday 15 Jan, 8pm via Zoom Tickets £5 + booking fee from bit.ly/flaevents

Just a quickie to wish you all the best for the new year. 🎉 Thanks for all the amazing support you've given me and #THIRST over 2025. ♥️ I'll make it up to you with something special for 2026... 🤫

I've just managed to finish reading this gripping, dripping middle grade folk horror by #NottsKidLit author @darrensimpson44.bsky.social before the year was out! Like THE WICKER MAN meets SWAMP THING, I would not recommend reading it in the bath.

#MotherNaked by @glenjamesbrown.bsky.social is one of the best books I've ever read. It's smart, poetic, bawdy, satirical and - for all its medieval trappings - contemporary and relevant. And Brown is as wily in his storytelling as Mother Naked himself. A novel I'll be revisiting, for sure.

An excellent start to the hols with #WrittenOnTheBody by Jeanette Winterson. It's romantic, moving, subversive, beautifully structured and genuinely hilarious. And apparently written at Ruth Rendell's pad!

I'm running a big old #GIVEAWAY on Instagram. 🎉 To win a signed and dedicated copy of #THIRST plus a bookmark and some folksy wildflower seeds, head to my Insta profile (darrensimpson44) and find the pinned giveaway post. Good luck!

Happy Friday!

I had such a fun time talking river lore, folk horror and #THIRST with @folklorepod.bsky.social (a podcast well worth your time). This episode is now available on YouTube and wherever you stream your podcasts. Features a fantastic track from @lunatraktors.bsky.social.👌 @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social

A brilliant podcasts is chatting with a brilliant writer, in the shape of @darrensimpson44.bsky.social. Keep your ears peeled for this one. #KidLit #KidLitUK

This'll be out today! Watch this space...

A tad late to this, but just spotted that #THIRST was an Ousedale School Book of the Week! 🎉 Thank you to all at Ousedale. 🙏🩸 @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social

Go on. Climb in. I dare you.

Wahey, #THIRST has been longlisted for the @sparkbookaward.bsky.social!🎉 These awards are voted for by pupils from across hundreds of schools, so I'm pleased as pie to be part of this. Happy reading, all! 📚♥️ @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social

Goodness, I had such a massive ugly-cry when I finished this book. And the tears seemed to rush up from nowhere! The result of a slowburn swell of investment and emotion. 👌 #Lessons by Ian McEwan is a testament to the epicness of every person's life. Superb.