By the way "1939: The Last Season" by Anne De Courcey is an absolute delight.

me, seeing that my Chalet Girls Grow Up review from three hundred years ago is suddenly getting a lot of hits

It's LOVELY, I cried multiple times, if you would like infinitely charming, this is your jam.

Have an idea you would like to develop into an academic book? Applications to the Bloomsbury Academic Writing Fellowship are open until Oct. 1st to Black, Asian or Ethnically Diverse early career scholars (UK only). More info: https://bit.ly/4mHlgcn

me, deeply realistic face: I WANT IT.

Good morning! Today's read is Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston.

Rewatching Rocketman last night and I am nothing if not convinced that it was robbed of every prize going and that Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting scene needs to be studied like the actual literature it is.

The Children Who Lived In A Barn by Eleanor Graham The Children Who Lived in a Barn by Eleanor Graham My rating: 3 of 5 stars So the basic premise of The Children Who Lived In A Barn, a book that appealed to me precisely because of that outstanding "does exactly what it says on the tin" title and…

Good morning! Today's read is White Holiday by Viola Bayley, a 1950s Adventure In The Snow with Hot Skiers AND A Mystery To Be Solved AND a Hotel With Pillows That Are Novel To The British, I mean, the trifecta, we can all go home.

It has long been my opinion that Hollywood is frittering away the generational dance talents of Channing Tatum & Tom Holland by not putting them in a musical together. Not a remake, but akin to Gene Kelly & Donald O’Connor in Singin’ In The Rain. I strongly believe this would make a billion dollars

Gobbolino the Witch’s Cat by Ursula Moray Williams Gobbolino the Witch's Cat by Ursula Moray Williams My rating: 5 of 5 stars WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE DEEPLY EMOTIONALLY TRAUMATISED BOY HAVE I GOT THE BOOK FOR YOU. SO! Beforehand: I pick up Gobbolino and I think gosh, what a delightful thing. I have…

Oh, thought I, I'll reread Gobbolino this evening, a sweet story of which I have sweet memories, well, I read and: I have my HEART SNATCHED OUT WHY WON'T YOU GIVE THE CAT A HOME AND STOP PICKING ON HIM JUST LET HIM BE OH MY GOD DON'T MAKE ME COME ROUND THERE oh thank god.

Good afternoon! Today's read is Woman Life Freedom, a collaborative graphic novel helmed by Marane Satrapi www.goodreads.com/book/show/19...

“I’d easier fly than become an author” Hello all! I'm pleased to let you know that I'm on the latest episode of the Northern Voices podcast (which is where the title for this post comes from) and you can find it here. I'm very proud to be a Northern writer and I hope you enjoy listening. Thank you…

Forgive my enormous head but this was a delight to do - thanks so much @jenbowden12.bsky.social for the chat! I am very proud to be a Northern writer! @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social @dkwlitagency.co.uk

Also, they're one of the few places where children can learn social skills and interaction in a safe space with others (so many different social transactions go into getting a library card - you have to know your address, be able to say your name, speak to a relative stranger, say yes/ no ...)

Ponies in the Attic by Irene Makin didyoueverstoptothink.com/2025/09/15/2...

Ponies in the Attic by Irene Makin didyoueverstoptothink.com/2025/09/15/2...

Good morning! Today's read is Beechy of the Harbour School by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer which I finally found a copy of yesterday and am yet to recover from the moment.

Good Sister June would be very proud of all of them ❤️ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illustrated by Giovanni Rigano My rating: 4 of 5 stars I have wanted to read this for a long while and finally came across a copy at my local library. I was familiar with Colfer due to his work upon Artemis Fowl and…

An extra special shout out to you if you just recorded a lovely fifteen minute video and then, through some technical wizardry you are yet to even understand how it even actually happened, managed to delete it before it had uploaded.

Good morning! Today's read is X-Men Homecoming.

Tom Swift and the Captive Planetoid by Victor Appleton II Tom Swift and the Captive Planetoid by Victor Appleton II My rating: 4 of 5 stars "Hey random other person I've just invented for the purposes of this review, can I tell you about these Tom Swift books?""YES.""I'd have been bothered if…

Good morning! Today's read is finishing off this delightful, madly of its time thing and then maybe a few Buffy comics to start preparing for the arrival of the reboot.

Good afternoon! Today's read is Tom Swift And The Captive Planetoid by Victor Appleton II and, as with the other books in this series, it has an absolutely outstanding cover. There's not a Tom Swift cover I wouldn't have framed - the panache of them!

September is #WorldKitLitMonth so let’s use this week’s #KidsBooksFriday to celebrate books from across the globe. What great international books and books in translation can you recommend? #KidLit #KidLitUK #UKKidLit @worldkidlit.bsky.social

"Don't be scared to put yourself out there" - the words of the amazing #UV26 Honorary Chair @louiestowell.bsky.social Take her advice before it's too late - competition closes this coming Monday. undiscoveredvoices.com @scbwi.bsky.social @scbwiireland.bsky.social

This is so good for authors too! (ooh ooh ooh, honey!) thank you @thoughtbubbleuk.bsky.social lovelies!

A book that means a huge amount to me. So glad we got to do this.

📣 The 2026 Emerging Translator Mentorship Program submission portals are open! The ALTA Emerging Translator Mentorship Program is designed to establish and facilitate a close working relationship between an experienced translator and an emerging translator. Apply by 11/30: buff.ly/cpduT69

Today's read

Beautiful 1860s Victorian butterfly, which was used to store small packets of sewing needles on the underside of the wings. This was a collaboration between a London-based drapers company and a sewing needle manufacturer. On exhibit at Tatter Blue, a Brooklyn textile museum. IG tatterbluelibrary

Hi all! I've two short courses starting in Sept that I want to tell you about. 1. Blogging & Writing for Online Audiences is a bootcamp for your online writing & gaining confidence in navigating internet life. We do a lot of writing and you get feedback throughout. www.pace.cam.ac.uk/courses/blog...

Hi all! I've two short courses starting in Sept that I want to tell you about. 1. Blogging & Writing for Online Audiences is a bootcamp for your online writing & gaining confidence in navigating internet life. We do a lot of writing and you get feedback throughout. www.pace.cam.ac.uk/courses/blog...

🥰🥰

This is Tuffy. He is the only example of taking up the whole sidewalk that is not only justifiable, but encouraged. 14/10 (IG: mypittuffy)

Gosh, the zombie-musical-comedy-sold-me-just-on-that Anna and The Apocalypse is a treat though! I laughed, I cried, I bopped with the songs. V good stuff all round.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee – an Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown My rating: 4 of 5 stars I was thinking a lot about how to review this and where to even begin with this awful, profoundly…

Me, listening to Patti LuPone do I Dreamed A Dream, weeping

Good morning! Today's read is The Laugh of the Medusa by Hélène Cixous.

Happy birthday Enid Blyton! I've written a lot about Blyton over the years and find her an infinitely complicated, deeply fascinating, enormously challenging soul. (And I will never not be fascinated over her enduring hatred of people called Anne...). didyoueverstoptothink.com/tag/enid-bly...

On talking about books One of the things that I've been doing with my Instagram over the past few weeks is recording some short videos about books. They started off as Instagram lives but Instagram decided I didn't have enough followers so took lives away from me (boo hiss) so now they are just…

Good morning! Today's read is Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee : An Indian History of the American West by Dee Brown and it is awful, vital, searing stuff.

It's the last few weeks of my children's lit in the 20th century class w/ the Uni of Cambridge & it's been a pleasure to teach. Every student brings something new and thoughtful to the table and it's always a joy. A new intake starts in Sept - come and join us? www.pace.cam.ac.uk/courses/brit...

1178. I realised recently that I had hit over a thousand books on Goodreads: to be precise, I'm at 1178 books (another 800+ are on my want to read list but that's a whole other existential crisis). I had intended to do something to mark the thousandth book I added to Goodreads but I missed it so…

Happy #YorkshireDay! I am very proud to be a Northern writer and to tell the stories that I get to tell and to feature the places I feature in my books. Here is one of my favourite places to celebrate today - the North York Moors. (it is very nice, you'd like it lots).