This was in 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐳 - from a boat party ten years ago. We watched dolphins, did deep water soloing, and I dropped tuna steaks into the sand. One of those quietly mind-bending „little did we know” moments

Found it in a poster shop in Hanoi. Peace for all 🙏

‚Let the first lines do the talking’ - my favourite bookstore game 📚💙 #readingcommunity #writingcommunity #booksky

Brené Brown nails it again: ‚The root of the word courage is cor- the Latin word for heart […]. Courage originally meant „To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.”’ ♥️ #readingcommunity #writingcommunity #amreading #booksky 📚

If you’ve been agonising how to paint your eggs or what should go into your Easter basket, this manual will save you: culture.pl/en/article/p... 🪺🧑‍🎨🐣🇵🇱 Wishing everyone a ‚Joyful Hallelujah’!

I feel seen 🥲

Annie Leibovitz’s teacher said she’d never make it; her mum defended her. My piano tutor insisted I’d be better off laying cobblestones, so I left music school. Later people praised my writing, so here I am: just cut 25k from my Lindisfarne Prize-nominated monster, next one’s at 62k 🫠 #booksky 💙📚

If you need some beauty in your life right now 🌸

If I owned a grocer’s called Tuck Shop, I would have not have chosen this font

The White House & Pentagon updates about the war remind me of the pressers depicted in ‘The Quite American’: ‘The colonel tells you that the enemy has suffered a sharp defeat and severe losses (…). They are shelled all the time by the Air Force.’ #readingcommunity #writingcommunity #booksky 📚🇻🇳

After almost a month, my best friends finally made it through customs and arrived in Vietnam! Had to pay over £100 in taxes, but honestly so worth it 🎉 18kg of inspiration, wisdom, and love 💙 #readingcommunity #writingcommunity #amreading #booksky 📚

Wishing you all a smooth ride in the Year of the Horse 🐎 🌼 🐎 🌼 Chúc mừng năm mới!🎇♥️🇻🇳

It’s Fat Thursday 🥳 Instead of Shrove Tuesday, Poles celebrate #FatThursday by scoffing bucketloads of pączki (donuts, pron. PONCH-kee; singular PONCH-ek). If you don’t have a Polish bakery nearby, you can still honour pączki by replacing one word in a book title with pączek, e.g. War and Pączek

Moved back to #Vietnam and learnt about the poem “My Dear Poland” (Em ơi… Ba Lan) by revolutionary poet Tố Hữu. Seems solemn: Warsaw, Chopin, Mickiewicz, the Red Army, Auschwitz… Still no decent translation, so leaving you with “Vietnam” by Wisława Szymborska 🇵🇱🇻🇳 #writingcommunity #amreading #booksky

Harold Pinter said that his stay in #Cornwal during WW2 evacuation turned him into “quite a morose little boy.” I love it here approximately twice a month - when the rain stops 😉 #readingcommunity #writingcommunity #amreading #booksky

Tell me you’re Polish without telling me you’re Polish: two guys in hospital after exploding a WW2 artillery shell in their flat while pissed 😆🇵🇱 What would be an improbable yet entirely plausible twist in the socio-cultural setting of your story? #booksky #readingcommunity #writingcommunity

After two months away, these two marvellous treats greeted me home 🙏 #14magazine #booksky #readingcommunity #writingcommunity

Sounds like something from Zola’s ‚J’accuse!’ manifesto 😉 #booksky

‚Come, the sun beckons in exquisite tones.’ - from ‚Midi’ [‚Noon’ - I know! Love the poem though] by Leconte de Lisle #booksky #readingcommunity #writingcommunity

‚You can die for it– an idea, or the world. […] But this morning, climbing the familiar hills in the familiar fabric of dawn, I thought of China, and India and Europe, and I thought how the sun blazes for everyone […]’ - from Sunrise by Mary Oliver #booksky #writingcommunity

‚Warm summer sun, Shine kindly here, Warm southern wind, Blow softly here.’ — from ‚Warm Summer Sun’ by Mark Twain #booksky #readingcommunity

„She had a passionate longing for the garden, the darkness, the pure sky, the stars.” Nighttime sky from the beach in southern France captured on my phone. I thought it’d just turn out black and yet 🤩✨💫

„Till the last ray gleams, I sing.” #booksky

After nearly eight years at Newcastle Uni, I’ve decided it’s time for a change. I’ve had a terrific time and learned so much, but most importantly, I’ve made friends for life and my heart is full of gratitude. Thank you ♥️♥️♥️ Now taking some time to read & write, write & read 🙏 #writingcommunity

After nearly eight years at Newcastle Uni, I’ve decided it’s time for a change. ‘What’s the plan then?’ The plan:

It is indeed happening... Get your calendars out, set your alarms. The #BritishBookAwards Book of the Year shortlists will be revealed on Friday at 9am🤩✒️ #Nibbies

The only movie to watch tonight: A Short Story About Love by Kieslowski 🤍 #valentines #SkyFilm

When they know your thrills 😉⚡️❣️ #valentines #readingcommunity #amreading #booksky

🧵1/4 It’s not often that I hoot with laughter while reading!👇🏼 24 December. The plan is to approach a random house and ask if I can come in for dinner. You see, in #Poland there is a tradition of setting an extra place at the table for the Christmas Eve feast in case a stranger [in need] turns up.⤵️

First two days of my private writing retreat (aka my ‚annual leave’) not too shabby 🙏📚🩰🌅 Short & extended synopses ✅✅ #readingcommunity #writingcommunity #amreading #booksky

Oh my lord. RIP David Lynch. You were a master and our teacher of the darker sides of humanity. 🙏🙏🙏

The @societyofauthors.bsky.social is calling for celebrities, publishers and agents to acknowledge the writers behind celebrity books, particularly for children societyofauthors.org/2024/12/09/c...

“Me, begging, tears in my eyes: Please just tell me what the book is about. The plot. Please.” “A book cover, unfazed: A Subversive Masterpiece. A Deep and Touching Story. The New York Times Bestseller. Go Fuck Yourself.” #readingcommunity #writingcommunity #amreading #amwriting #booksky

I don’t have a secret hunch about how I’m going to die but I hope my demise is as elegant as Chekhov’s: „He emptied the [champagne] glass slowly and lay down on his left side. A few moments later he stopped breathing.” 🤍 #readingcommunity #writingcommunity #amreading #booksky

Tech bro on his ambition to ‘disrupt' the #publishing industry by using AI to release 8k books in a year: “I want to help bring books to the masses.” www.thebookseller.com/news/new-pub...