£500 given out to a working class writer every month. Details in link. Please share :)

A motto for editors and proofreaders everywhere

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 2680: Don’t be afraid of failure. Failure means you tried something. No one ever succeeds without trying and failing - often, many times.

Fantastic mini poetry writing course here with Dialect Press, created & delivered by my fellow Thrutopians @poetryhilary.bsky.social, Ilse Pedler & Alice Willitts! If you're looking to bring hope into your creative practice, or perhaps re-invigorate your poems, this is for you.

This call is about memory and refusal. What we carry. What carries us. If that’s central to your practice, submit. #PoemsAbout #LiftToTheSky #WednesdayWIPs #SpineEdicts #PoetryCommunity #SubmissionWindow #OpenCall #Poetry

*PAID WRITING OPP** You have 3 months to get your writing ready to submit to the 'Food' themed issue of FR 🍽️ Find out more here: foldingrock.com/submit-your-...

We're delighted to share this wonderful anthology of gothic fiction produced by the writers on our Gothic short story course, taught & edited by @bronteschiltz.bsky.social 📕🌹 Ft: Ninutsa Nadirashvili , Peter Beech, Adam Brown, Ewan Hannah @ewanmh.bsky.social, Margo Laurie & Christina Isibéal ✍️ 🔗👇

Sending out ARC requests for #poetry books published by small presses in 2026 in my role as reviewer for LitHub’s 2026 #100SmallPress project. Small presses and poets — don’t wait for my email, reach out if you’d like me to read and consider your book!

Feels ridiculous to be promoting books with all the News going on but I still have to eat, soooo—would you like to pre-order some gay-ass regency mean-girl escapism in the form of THE MISEDUCATION OF CAROLINE BINGLEY?

Perhaps the surest sign of AI not being super intelligent is the amount of tailored scams targeting the finances of authors, which is as rewarding as trying to mug a seagull.

Lunar New Year celebrations will take place on Sat 21 Feb at @cardiff-hub.bsky.social from 12-3pm. Come and experience the Lion Dance, tea tasting, Chinese medicine, music & dance and more! A free event - no booking required.

Write the book you would like to see someone pull from a higgledy piggledy pile in a secondhand shop 63 years after your death and say, "This looks fucking weird. I think I will buy it for Joan."

I'm very grateful to you for letting me know about Mr Altbell. What a shock. They obviously decided to operate sooner than planned. I hope Jill was satisfied with the bike. You didn't mention how it was.

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 9516: To make your readers care for your characters, you have to make it clear what or who your characters most care about.

I'm giving a Seed Talks lecture on Ghosted very soon! Wednesday 21st January, 7pm, Arches London Bridge. It's a hybrid event, too, so you can tune in via Ouija board (or a computer if you prefer). It'd be lovely to see you there! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-history-...

Ready for some new challenges in 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣? 🖋️ Writing Women: Part 2 explores depictions of women in literature from antiquity through to the modern day. More info 👉🏼 www.aber.ac.uk/en/lifelong-... So excited to run this module again ✨ #Writing #WritingSky #Poetry #Feminism #JaneEyre

Happy New Year! We love sharing these pro-book posters from the Works Projects Administration Poster Collection in the Library's Prints and Photographs Division. Of the 2,000 WPA posters known to exist, the Library of Congress's collection of more than 900 is the largest.

Niche research question... but I'm hoping that a medievalist/ fairytale specialist might be able to help. I read a reference to a French (?) tale in which Noah sends out a dove from the Ark, but it returns a kingfisher. But I can't find any sources. Any leads gratefully received!

✨ SUBMISSIONS OPEN for the 2026 Sarabande Annual Prizes through Submittable starting today Jan 1 - Feb 15. This year’s judges are: Kaveh Akbar (Short Fiction), Adrian Matejka (Poetry), and Aimee Nezhukumatathil (Essay)! Winners receive $2,000 and publication! Full details at link in bio ✨

Welsh artist Gwen John, Cat study, c.1904 #WomensArt

Need entertainment over the holiday period? Don’t forget that our digital services are available all day every day! Dig into eBooks, audiobooks, newspapers, magazines, and even films and TV shows – check out the BorrowBox, Libby, PressReader and Kanopy apps to see what’s available.

No time left for postage but still need a thoughtful gift for the friend who's read everything? A Faber Poetry Subscription might be the perfect solution. faber.co.uk/faber-subscriptions/poetry-subscription/

Photographer Hannes Kilian, Cat Nero in the Snow, 1953. Printed 1973.

“Be sure to set me to ‘delicate,’ Alison. It’d be a shame to ruin that sweater, you know, in case it ever comes back in style.”

Interested in connections between #history & #CreativeWriting / #poetry? @ihr.bsky.social is seeking a Creative Practitioner in Residence for 2026. £1000 monthly stipend, opportunities for collaboration & developing projects. Happy to have a chat! Please share: www.history.ac.uk/fellowships-...

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 2876: Don't write "a woman character", or "a gay character", or "a disabled character." Write a complete human being, with agency, and feelings, and flaws. No-one in fiction should be wholly defined by the groups they belong to.

Was not writing poetry a secret transaction, a voice answering a voice? Virginia Woolf, Orlando

Attention creative medievalists! Eleanor Barraclough & I are co-editing a special issue of Public Humanities entitled CREATING THE MEDIEVAL NOW! See the cfp for details: essays of 2,000-3,000 words due 1 May 2026. (Amazing artwork by @hellomizk.bsky.social). 1/ www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

out & about today

As a small press we don’t do #BlackFriday, but we have a selection of bundles. New now: The Yuletide Bundle, perfect for anyone who yearns to sit in front of the fire reading spooky stories. 👉🏼 helleborezine.com

Still have four open mic slots left for this event with the brilliant Sarah Howe, one of my favourite contemporary poets! Get on it poets - details below in the link. wordsworth.org.uk/blog/events/...

This Men’s Mental Health Month, we’re inviting dads and their little ones to a special storytime session. 💙 A chance for dads to spend quality time with their children, connect with others, and show that talking about feelings is a strength. Saturday 29/11, 11am @cardiff-hub.bsky.social

CANNOT WAIT

As the weather gets cooler, you can find a warm, welcome space at our Hubs and Libraries. Find spaces at warmwelcome.uk and check our opening hours & further details at cardiffhubs.co.uk.

Send me your poems ! Be brave with your words, see what happens… 💕

Hellebore's TALES OF OCCULT BRITAIN is out now! I have my contributor's copy and it's an absolutely gorgeous book. Would make a fabulous Christmas present! helleborezine.com/products/tales

Bydd ein harddangosfa newydd, Bywyd y Cymoedd, mewn cydweithrediad â Lyndon Richards a Llyfrgell Treftadaeth Cathays, yn lansio ddydd Llun 24 Tachwedd Our new exhibition, Life Of The Valleys, in collaboration with Lyndon Richards and Cathays Heritage Library, is launching on Monday the 24 November

Halloween may be over, but we're still feeling spooky! So, how about a bumper website exclusive #stillspooky sale of our spookiest titles for only 0.99 each? Shop the sale: geni.us/Solarissale#stillspooky Titles available vary by your country of origin. Ends on 24th November 2025 at 23:59 GMT. 1/6

DO YOU WORK IN THE LONELY OFFICE OF POETRY? It’s time we had a Christmas party. thesocial.seetickets.com/event/the-po...

In the penultimate post for Edition 2 of BENDING THE ARC, my wonderful co-editor Ilse Pedler shares her practical action - one good thing you can do to help the transition to a hopeful, thriving future. bendingthearcmagazine.substack.com/p/everyday-a...

** SUBMISSIONS KLAXON ** BENDING THE ARC will open for submissions in January & we would love to read your stories, poems, non-fic & hybrid work that imagines paths through to hopeful, thriving futures. We're open to pitches for features & reviews all yr round so get in touch!

The leg gets worse, of course.

Im just not sure I know how to do a prime ministerial crisis which doesn’t revolve around vaguely ominous reports about the number of letters being sent to Graham Brady

More thrutopian fiction on BENDING THE ARC today! So pleased to be sharing an extract from Donna M. Cameron's novel THE REWILDING. bendingthearcmagazine.substack.com/p/grasshoppe...

On BENDING THE ARC today we've got our reviewing hat on to consider two titles by Vanessa Machado de Oliveira: 'What if Modernity is a construct and not a given? What if Modernity is flawed, based on false assumptions, and is, well, dying?' bendingthearcmagazine.substack.com/p/death-doul...

Today on BENDING THE ARC we feature a fascinating collaboration between a poet & a consultancy who specialise in flood risk & water management. What does it mean to be 'resilient' in the face of climate catastrophe? bendingthearcmagazine.substack.com/p/we-are-res...

A gentle reminder that if you sign up for my online course 'What Can A Short Story Do?' by 30th Nov you get a 10% Early Bird discount! 🦜 #ShortStory #BookSky #WritingWorkshop

We’re happy to announce three workshops in partnership with @durreshahwar.bsky.social: Writing for Wellbeing – South Asian Stories. Each one is a ‘standalone’ workshop, and you can register for free here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/writing-f...