"Your pattern of reluctance cannot hold; the dam will break at some point. Every year, you read 'backgammon set' as one of my lovely gift suggestions, and every year you scroll right past it as if you know better than me. Let’s be clear: you don’t."

There should be book clubs for babies. "I enjoyed the crinkliness of this one but I have to say the little mirror at the end was a bit predictable."

Twitter accounts are based in Russia. BlueSky accounts are based in homes with, frankly, too many books, plants, obsolete cables, and pieces of rustic pottery, that could do with a bit of a tidying up, to be honest.

It was an absolute honour to chat with Elif Shafak for the @royalliteraryfund.bsky.social podcast. Full of insight and fun, I hope! @annmorgan.bsky.social @orendabooks.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/3a98...

Sheila Roberts explores shapeshifting secret-keepers in Daphne du Maurier, Oscar Wilde, Margaret Mitchell, and more! crimereads.com/the-power-of...

©Vivian Maier New York, 1953

A great guide to the second worst job after writing a synopsis!

A few months ago I was asked to give the after-dinner speech at the CWA Daggers. I chose to talk about AI, and the bravery and humanity involved in reading and writing. Afterwards a lot of people asked me to post the speech online, so here it is. I hope you like it ruthware.com/daggers-spee...

‘This habit of hearing only flawless synchronization conditions us to experience other humans as sources of disagreement and delay. The aesthetic normalization of perfect time translates directly into diminished tolerance for the temporal and affective plurality on which democracy depends.’

It's Halloween and the last day for Love and Other Poisons (no ghosts but it does have a murder!) on the Amazon Kindle deal - grab it now!

Children have an innate sense of which trees are possessed by Wood Sprites. It's a faculty not ever adult loses. Some of us still hear trees whisper with withered bark voices in our minds. Still see their wooden bones as alphabet. We know they watch. – Joanna Vickers #VOH

Lovely surprise in the post today, a gorgeous proof of @dauntbookspub.bsky.social reissue of THE BOTTLE FACTORY OUTING. So great to see Beryl Bainbridge prepped to find a new audience. Big thanks @marigoldatkey.bsky.social this is right up my alley!

Isabelline Shrike is the new fashion editor at The Telegraph.

These little tools are apple scoops. They date from the 1800s and are made of sheep bone. They were common in apple-growing districts. The marrow has been hollowed out to allow the user to scrape off pieces of apple if they had few teeth and couldn’t afford dentures.

Mycenaean bull's head. I mean, just look at it...

Loved this book and it’s FREE right now!

‘I have read of other cat burglars who work in the dead of night, and all I can tell you is they are not French. Miss a night of passionate lovemaking to steal some jewels that will still be there the next morning at a reasonable hour? C’est impossible!’

Enormously proud to be the new UK home of Beryl Bainbridge. In March 2026, we kick things off in earnest by publishing AN AWFULLY BIG ADVENTURE, with an intro by Yiyun Li, and THE BOTTLE FACTORY OUTING, with an intro by A. K. Blakemore. Ruthlessly smart, darkly comic, her novels are sharp-edged gems

A warm-hearted and incredibly sensible piece of writing

'Avatar Reef' teapot by UK based ceramicist Delfina Emmanuel, who creates work often inspired by marine life #WomensArt

If ever a book was made to be read in a single, hypnotic sitting it’s this one. Groundhog Day for lovers of chilly precision, slow disintegration and the uncanniness of repeated domestic detail. In awe of Solvej Balle.

This is always a really fun festival - had the most severe hangover of my life at NN! - so if you haven’t been yet make this the year

Chatbots and AI slop are going to ruin countless brains. Yours doesn't have to be one of them. Study history. Read poetry. Get acquainted with Bach, Shakespeare, George Eliot. In a time when people are rapidly getting dumber, we need communities devoted to the life of the mind.

*SUBMISSION WINDOW NOW OPEN 5 DAYS ONLY* We're open to unagented subs from 6-12 Oct. For this submission period we are looking for novellas only (35K-50K). We're specifically looking for novellas that play w horror, mystery, weird & the unusual. More info 🐐 www.wildhuntbooks.co.uk/blog/pop-up-...

‘You want to use words like “mouthfeel.” And you want your mouth to feel bad.’ The memory of that 100% Lindt I tried still haunts me. Can almost taste it now just typing this.

Very excited for this one as a lover of all things fighty! (And if you haven’t seen A Thousand Blows yet do it now and be reminded just how brilliant period dramas about working class people can be. And why more working class people should be lifted up in the arts.)

From the world of The Silent Companions comes Laura Purcell’s most chilling tale yet. Pre-order your signed Waterstones exclusive edition today: https://bit.ly/4jroIpE @spookypurcell.bsky.social

Bet there's never been a crime book festival in a place like this. The Ateneo Veneto. Home to Venice Noir in November. All events free. #Venice

We’re so excited that bestselling crime writer @mstamarcohen.bsky.social & Curtis Brown associate agent Flo Sandelson are guest speakers on our Writing Crime & Thrillers – Advanced course with @sarahhilary.bsky.social! Applications close this weekend: www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/writi...

This is a lovely piece of writing. Really looking forward to reading The Two Roberts. Total catnip for anyone who spends way too much time thinking about how many great working class talents have faded from or been written out of history.

subtle clues that you might not be in the most respectable public house

Can’t wait for this one!

This week I wrote about how millions of vulnerable and disabled people are no longer eligible for a covid booster. Here's a petition you can sign to stop that happening petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73... (and the article www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/...)

“Deserted Medieval Village” is about the only sign that can compete with “Ancient Monument”. Either way, you’re parking up in a layby before you know it Although the reality might be disappointing - by definiton, an abandoned village is unlikely to have much there, right? So why visit? A short 🧵

Late to the party but bloody hell ANDOR is cracking telly! Looks gorgeous & so expensive on screen. And amazing on the banality of authoritarianism. If you’re not a Star Wars fan (I’m so not) still give it a go.

Unsolicited writing advice, no: 216: RESEARCH. If you're writing about a time, place, culture, historical figure, profession, etc., it pays to research it properly. That might mean: reading; travelling; going to libraries and museums; consulting archives; talking to people with lived experience.

What was the Charter of the Forest and why was it so important? The Charter of the Forest restored rights of access for freemen to lands that had been used exclusively by the king and the nobility for almost 200 years.

This isle is full of noises... A deliciously chilling collection of short stories by bestselling and award-winning authors, inspired by the monsters, demons and mythical creatures that have stalked Great Britain down the ages. Don't look behind you...

This is a weird one but I swear it works…if you’re temporarily stuck go and sit halfway up the stairs on stand in an open doorway. Think it’s something to do with how your brain behaves in liminal spaces.

Exquisite glass filled with roses in 1640, by Jacob van Hulsdonck. His day is today.

AI will never locate a new archive. It will never uncover a new source. It will never find a small, privately held collection of papers that can upend what we think we know about the past. It can never work with undigitized sources. It can never do real oral history or ethnography.

Great interview with @ruthwarewriter.bsky.social for Shotsblog in which she shares her favourite Gothic writers, books and films. Come and hear her talk on 'Fear and Anxiety in Gothic Fiction' at St Hilda's Crime Fiction Weekend. wwwshotsmagcouk.blogspot.com/2025/07/in-s...

A scandalous affair, a glamorous Glasgow socialite, an inconclusive murder charge 🫗 It’s a beautifully evocative globetrotting story with an anti-heroine you can’t help being fascinated by!

Just imagining Jesus in interviews being like “well my mum was an ordinary housewife and my stepdad is a carpenter so I’ve always identified as working class” and then someone checks his Wikipedia page

Saw someone call AI users “botlickers” and that is very funny

The VS Pritchett Prize for an unpublished short story closes on 25th August. £1000 first prize and a great boost to your confidence. My lovely friend Lisa Blower won it last year and it was wonderful to behold. Details in link. Please share :)

Who doesn’t love a Holy Well? *Tumble weed* Well anyway, St Gwenfaen's Well is an early medieval holy well in the south west of Holy Island, Anglesey, right on the clifftop. It’s named after St Gwenfaen and COULD date back to the 7th century… Short thread 🧵 #medievalsky

ICYMI: The Liberal Democrats have slammed the Government’s move to "disregard cross-party opposition" in the Lords and force through legislation allowing foreign states to own a larger (15%) stake in British news outlets

Dear Reader, The death of the male novelist has been greatly exaggerated, Yours sincerely, A Male Novelist. PS PLEASE CAN WE TALK ABOUT CLASSISM NOW? OR RACISM? OR ABLEISM? OR *ANY* OF THE OTHER ACTUAL ISSUES WE ARE REALLY STRUGGLING WITH?

My talk on 18th century histories of disability and resistance at the Institute of Historical Research is now available as a podcast www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...