A vinyl record made with coal dust pays tribute to Britain's mining heritage, but it also invokes a warning for the future if technological disruption excludes those at today's 'coal face' of change... markcantrellauthor.substack.com/p/when-vinyl... #writing #culture #history #heritage #coal

I have a fic in @inspiredquill.bsky.social's new anthology! A man helps his cousin’s wife escape her abusive marriage, a lonely cosmic entity finds kinship in space-faring humans, and a vigilante hunts down a target who might just be on the right side of history. What does community mean to you?

I have a short story in this collection, which is centered around the theme of community. Ebook on amazon for $3.99. The small press publisher is a registered social enterprise in the UK, meaning they operate in socially responsible ways. shorturl.at/TinSY

Oh dear, L&Q gains itself some recognition on the world stage -- only not in a good way... www.theguardian.com/society/2025... #ukhousing

Random thought, AI is not a technology designed or intended to sustain human life. It's purpose -- the dream of its oligrach creators -- is to liberate capital from the messy burden of reliance on the human animal for its labour needs.

It's Getting Harder And Harder To Preserve Our Mental Sovereignty Our rulers see AI as an opportunity to recapture the degree of social control that was shaken by the arrival of widespread internet access. www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/its-gettin...

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R.I.P... www.independent.co.uk/arts-enterta...

Something from the archives this week. Experts at Cambridge University warned that AI risks denying people of colour a presence in our imagined world of tomorrow... markcantrellauthor.substack.com/p/the-colour... #AI #technology #culture #diversity #representation

Bradford's Wool Exchange, December 1964. Opened 1867, ceased trading later in the 1960s. Now it's Waterstones Bradford.

Once AI has done its work, where will you hide? Citizen Zero, a hard-hitting #scifi thriller from @inspiredquill.bsky.social... Buy it here: www.inspired-quill.com/product/citi... #booksky #fiction #cyberpunk #novels #AI #technologu

Just discovered I forgot to switch the freezer back on after I defrosted it yesterday. Oops...

Random thought of the day: Obviously, the novel I am currently writing will be no good, because I refuse to let chatGPT or its ilk anywhere near it. Disgraceful, I know. I should probably be arrested and sent to some re-education camp to teach me the errors of my dissent.

A little fictional interlude for the evening... markcantrellauthor.substack.com/p/sinners-in... #fiction #specfiction #scifi #fantasy

I imagine these coming internal climate refugees will be treated much akin to the way that external refugees are being treated, with contempt and a high degree of othering to justify a draconian response... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Another day, another reason to be disgusted by Labour... www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Bradford University to benefit from JB Priestley royalties. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Call me an old cynic, but maybe we could also do with some cast iron guarantees from social landlords that they'll build way more social homes, and a tad less 'affordable'/shared ownership/whatever... housingdigital.co.uk/crisis-deman... #ukhousing

I have spoken to no fewer than three writing friends who have had troubles feeling seen lately. It's a struggle I've felt I've had since starting out self-publishing and always just hard trying to feel like your stories matter. So if you have time to read someone's fics, please let them know you did

What's in your loft? Probably nothing quite so kitschy or fascinating as what a Leeds museum found when trawling its storage space. Read the latest post on my author newsletter... markcantrellauthor.substack.com/p/guarding-t... #history #heritage #museums #writing

And that's a short story sent out into the wilds. Now we wait and see if it finds its place in the world, or it crawls back bleeding and broken... #writerslife

Some good news out of the US, for once. Congratultions to Zohran Mamdani. He’d have got my vote if I was a New Yorker. I’m sure he realises he has high hopes to fulfil, though, not just in the Big Apple. The world is watching, with fingers crossed.

One from the day job... Former housing minister Eddie Hughes takes to the podium as a headline speaker at next year’s Housing Innovation Show, where he’s bound to have plenty to say... housingdigital.co.uk/ministering-... #ukhousing

A little creative essaying from the deep archives in this latest post on my author newsletter... markcantrellauthor.substack.com/p/hunters-of... #creative #writing #authors

I'm sure someone is thinking 'who needs these 3.3m workers when we have the miracle of AI?' On another note, maybe this endless gradgrind focus on more more more productivity is a factor in making people ill? Just a thought... www.theguardian.com/money/2025/n...

On a night like this, what's a Goth femme fatale got to say, but Happy Halloween... 🎃 markcantrellauthor.substack.com/p/death-and-... #booksky #fiction #Halloween

There's no better place to spend Halloween than at the Bone Diva, so permit the Reaper's Moll to entertain you, darkly... markcantrellauthor.substack.com/p/dance-maca... #booksky #fiction #novels #Halloween

If you're new to @bsky.app and you're wondering where all the sci-fi and fantasy folks are, this starter pack contains a lot of great people to follow: go.bsky.app/Pmq3Moa

If you're looking for some hard-hitting near-future scifi with a contemporary edge, then check out Citizen Zero... Find out more on my website: tykewriter.wordpress.com/novels/citiz... #booksky #novels #cyberpunk #dystopian #scifi @inspiredquill.bsky.social

"If you don't get access tomorrow, just put it up on a plain bit of wall, take a picture, it's done... I'm trying to help you hit your targets" Deeply disturbing audio recorded by a Clarion employee and leaked to Sky News: news.sky.com/story/dont-t...

Good grief, now I am getting spam offering dubious book 'services' on my work email too! Is there no end to this slop?

A new tool is helping libraries screen historic collections to identity green coloured books that contain toxic arsenic. Read the story on my author newsletter... markcantrellauthor.substack.com/p/some-books... #booksky #books #libraries #history #heritage

Why is it all my best 'reviews' come from AI-written email spam from the book promotion service scammers? I seem to be getting a lot of those lately. Sigh. #writerslife

Bit late posting this, but I sent out my #author newsletter the other day. It's free to subscribe if you feel like supporting an indie scribbler... markcantrellauthor.substack.com/p/tykewriter... #booksky #publishing #newsletter #writerslife #fiction

We MUST start talking about rent control and affordable housing, we should be pushing every politician on this all the fucking time.

This is why I print hardcopies of my important work, manuscripts and the like. Mind you, joke's on me -- it's all gonna get thrown out when I drop dead... www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...

Started writing the actual first chapter for my novel yesterday. Did a bit more this evening. It's not going well, but I will say it's not going badly either. It feels good to be writing the actual book, rather than extended world-building essays and fictionalised vignettes. #amwriting

Rather than writing world-building planning material designed to be published as supporting blog posts, I have finally started writing the first chapter of the actual novel! #amwriting

Big news! Edge of Ascension (Resonance #4) is officially out and folks are already reading it! 🦊🐲🐺 You can order it now in paperback, Kindle, or ePub from our site or your favorite retailer. #furrynovel #fantasybook #dragons #readindie #indiepress

Ilkley Literary Festival marks 52 years of celebrating great literature with a focus on 'soft power' and the soul of Northern poetry. Read the story on my author newsletter... markcantrellauthor.substack.com/p/theres-not... #literature #books #booksky #authors @ilkleylitfest.bsky.social

Who's really encouraging attacks like the one on a synagogue? Look to our leaders open.substack.com/pub/jonathan...

Dark spaces and strange inhabitants haunt the cast of Edge of Ascension... A scarier piece for the beginning of the season~ The final book of The Resonance Tetralogy is released tomorrow from @inspiredquill.bsky.social! Get your copy here: www.inspired-quill.com/product/edge... #furlit

I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...

This suggestion that Tony Blair becomes some kind of governor lording it over Gaza, just wondering -- does the job come with a plumed pith helmet and a bright red jacket bedecked in imperial bling?

Politics and current affairs just keep on giving, every time I think my novel Citizen Zero is slipping out of the moment, along comes some new real-world twist to add relevance to its themes... www.theguardian.com/technology/2... #ukpolitics #novel #dystopia #booksky

This week's post on my author newsletter is a short story culled from my archives. Hope you enjoy it... markcantrellauthor.substack.com/p/sinners-in... #fiction #creativewriting #shortstories #scifi

So, let me get this straight, Labour wants to tag me with a national ID card because Keir Starmer wants to appeal to the racist gammon vote? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

It's also worth noting that Torsten Bell - ex of this particular parish - knew this to his core, yet sat there on the flipping tellybox defending NOT lifting it. If the people who do this research and lobby for this change then go into government and...do nothing...where do we stand? I don't know.

Just watched 28 Years Later, and I only have one thing to say -- where can I get one of those bone temples? I want one! It'd look really cool in the park out back.

Scientists are 'fleshing' out the next stage of robot evolution by exploring the potential of lab-grown muscles, but will this bio-breakthrough cramp their style? markcantrellauthor.substack.com/p/machines-m... #technology #science #robotics #writing