Loved the interview with #JaneGoodall on Netflix: untarnished wisdom, pure magic sparkle, and lots of fun. What a gorgeous soul. What she has to say about her mother's encouragement is vital, refreshing. But remember girls & boys, if your family were batshit, use negative energy to the same effect.

you are finding a way by losing the path and refinding a path in what the other walkers earlier said how had we never found that tarn how had we let the world dissolve into the obvious life we were living ‘Clearing’, a poem by Maureen N. McLane: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Sweet Potato, Mushroom & 🍅 Polenta Bake with a Parsley, Lemon & Chili Dressing. Put 150gm Polenta into lined tray, 300gms cubed sweet potato, 400mls veg stock; bake 40 mins. Add 300gms sliced mushrooms, 250gms 🍅, 2 cloves garlic, s&p, bake 15 mins more. 15gms parsley, lemon juice, chilli = dressing.

Love love love Muriel Spark!

Delighted to see this novel on the #bestseller list printed in @irishtimes.com today @martindoyle.bsky.social! The author is also a non-fiction expert on gender and colonialism & liberation psychology. It's a brilliant read about a time when matriarchal societies were possible in Ireland #BookReview

NEW FICTION: On our website, Eamon McGuinness's story ‘Los Sotos’ stingingfly.org/2025/10/08/l... “Swallows are everywhere. Golondrinas, I say to myself and remember the day on the balcony when Pilar taught me that word. She used to praise them for eating the mosquitos in summer.”

Exciting news, such a brilliant writer and woman! www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...

IN THE DESERT is out 3-3-2026 from @cowboyjamboree.bsky.social. Many thanks to @ronanhession.bsky.social

It's basicall equivalent to the dole + 1 additional tax credit, which isn't a massive deal for people on the margins trying hard to genuinely achieve in life. Current cohort of 2,000 [pilot] recipients amounts to 0.0003% of government's €116.2 billion budget. www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41...

Honestly thought the aliens had landed, this bright pink light over the houses of North Co. Dublin, an hour after sunset. But allegedly it's Keelings' lights for growing strawberries off season 🍓 🤔

Join our meet and greet session on Thursday October 30th to share your experiences as a writer with a disability, as we devise a range of targeted supports for disabled writers. Please contact Declan Meade by Wednesday October 22nd We’d love to hear from you. stingingfly.org/news/a-call-...

Honestly thought the aliens had landed, this bright pink light over the houses of North Co. Dublin, an hour after sunset. But allegedly it's Keelings' lights for growing strawberries off season 🍓 🤔

We get a lot of questions about commissioning, editing, line-editing etc. If you're able to get to Naas LIbrary & Cultural Centre this Friday 10 OCt, we will be on a panel with @stingingfly.bsky.social 's Lisa McInerney to talk about all this and more! www.tickettailor.com/events/kilda...

KEEPER OF STONES by Ger Moane, a gorgeous novel inspired by the magical Tuatha de Danaan and mystical monuments of Newgrange. It draws on myths and legends to imagine ancient Ireland as a land of abundance where people lived in harmony with nature & #FluidSexuality www.buythebook.ie/product/keep...

The Guardian has published the names of the 18,457 children killed in Gaza. www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

Two Irish novelists have now done more to break the blockade and end man-made famine in Gaza than the entire UK government. (Naoise Dolan on the flotilla and Sally Rooney with her words and deeds)

This: www.thejournal.ie/readme/opini...

Can we have a special #PoetLaureate moment for Sarah Clancy, perhaps? Not only is her poetry always gorgeous, ultra real, on message, but putting her heart on the earth's sleeve like she's just done deserves a mark of respect. Welcome home @sarahmaintains.bsky.social www.facebook.com/share/v/1EFi...

The Basic Income for the Arts scheme will be put on a permanent footing in the Budget tomorrow

Cherishing for Beginners by Sarah Clancy, a brilliant poem charting the leylines of calm hypocrisy, brutal misogyny and institutional smarm. share.google/9AJ9vdYzP3bd...

Over 160 calls for literary competitions & submissions including poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, art, photography, & more - contests, literary journals, residencies, bursaries etc - open or with deadlines in October 2025. Please share & best of luck! www.thisiswordbox.com/wordbox-blog...

For a visiting friend on an autumn day 🍂 ... baked vanilla cheesecake with a chocolate digestive base ❤️

"The platform has turned into a pile of shit, and we’re at the bottom of it" www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

If you want to do something fun this Halloween month: Watch Rosemary's Baby and then *immediately* read the novel. (or vicey versey, but I think the experiment resonates better if you watch the movie first)

Our friend, poet and activist @sarahmaintains.bsky.social has been illegally detained by the IDF and is being held in an Israeli jail. There are reports of mistreatment and human rights violations. Please keep pressure on the Irish government and embassy to secure the release of Sarah and others. 🇵🇸🇮🇪

Debut author Colwill Brown wins BBC short story award for ‘heartbreaking’ tale – read an extract here

KEEPER OF STONES by Ger Moane, a gorgeous novel inspired by the magical Tuatha de Danaan and mystical monuments of Newgrange. It draws on myths and legends to imagine ancient Ireland as a land of abundance where people lived in harmony with nature & #FluidSexuality www.buythebook.ie/product/keep...

Please read and reshare our statement on the Global Sumud Flotilla. We at Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann offer solidarity in this time of crisis. irishpen.com/2025/10/02/g...

Thinking of Sarah Clancy, always so good at capturing small bytes of humanity, ever moreso now as she's literally sticking up for humanity, while most of us nod off. A great person, hugely kind. 🙏

October is #Pumpkin cooking season. I overdose on the mofos this time of year and then ignore again for 11 months. This was stuffed with sage leaves from the garden, mild goat's cheese & chilli flakes. Green salad on the side with wild garlic dressing. 😋

Very much felt for this lady seagull in the story below, such a great character!

The editors of West Trade Review seek creative nonfiction that engages with the ideas of mental health and mental wellness. Submit today! Details at the link below: buff.ly/2RsvBtt #writingcommunity

Giving this a boost. Lots of entries so far. Thank you. Hope there are plenty more people working on something to get in by November too. Everyone welcome!

The International Debut Novel Competition 2025 Competition deadline: 14th September 2025 The International Debut Novel Competition (IDNC) is a revamped version of Novel Fair, whose sole mission is to continue to find the newest voices of literature. The competition has helped launch dozens of…

Next up, this #WritingGhostStories course I'm facilitating @irishwriterscentre.bsky.social in September: irishwriterscentre.ie/courses/writ...

‘If this novel is as confessional as it seems, it is truly fearless: death, ageing, anorgasmia, loneliness, despair and madness are all here, jostling for attention, just as they do for many of us, for all we may seek to tune them out’ Dreaming of Dead People is @theguardian.com's Book of the Day!✨

Very sad to hear of the death of Sean Rocks, a total gentleman: calm, funny, smart, ultra professional; I always felt so at ease on #Arena thanks to how he'd make you feel. He always took the time to chat beforehand (and after) no matter how hectic his schedule. What a loss to arts journalism. #RIP

We love this novel by our West Cork neighbour @cauverymadhavan.bsky.social. Cauvery will be chatting about The Inheritance in #BantryBookshop on Sat 12 July at 11.30am as part of WCLF. #FreeEvent @hoperoadpublish.bsky.social www.rte.ie/culture/2024...

Creepy predator tutors riding the hierarchy of power abuse. There could be an entire genre dedicated to just this, from multiple "the same narcissist" perspectives in fiction. www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...

I can't wait to return to this fabulous writer's retreat in France this October. Just three days left to enter #TheMoth short story prize, which offers as 2nd place a week at Circle of Missé, including a travel stipend from anywhere in the world. 🖊 www.themothmagazine.com/a1-page.asp?...

Happy Pride one 'n all, from under our cherry tree to yours. 🌈 🏳️‍🌈 🌈 🏳️‍🌈 🌈 🏳️‍🌈

#BlossomArtisanBakery have a gorgeous #Pride Matcha & Raspberry Pinwheel for the day that's in it. All their pastries are phenomenal + they have a #vegan special every month. Also worth killing your granny for is the Red Cheddar & Jalapeño Ciabbata. #BuddysFarmersMarket

I can't wait to return to this fabulous writer's retreat in France this October. Just three days left to enter #TheMoth short story prize, which offers as 2nd place a week at Circle of Missé, including a travel stipend from anywhere in the world. 🖊 www.themothmagazine.com/a1-page.asp?...

In a #timewarp café in Strokestown where the prices belong to bygone years 😃 When did Dublin last have these prices!?

Today's highlights, ancient & simple.

Dining from #jars in Achill

Up at the #DesertedVillage in #Achill where it's easy to imagine civilisation gone 💣

Achill's smallest boozer #Lynotts and a derelict cottage with half a head. Stopped by #achillislandseasalt for a seaweed salt refill & fudge.