I'm thrilled to let you know that I will participate in the Hay Festival this year - twice. On 27th May, I will discuss the literary culture of Mesopotamia and perform liver divination with my audience. The next day, I will teach you how to write in cuneiform!

You can also read it online: www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/a...

A review of 'The Library of Ancient Wisdom' is featured in today's Daily Mail Book of the Week - and what a fun title! Thank you, Kathryn Hughes, for reviewing my book!

It's paperback publication day! The paperback version of the Library of Ancient Wisdom is now available here and in all good bookstores: selenawisnom.com/library-of-a...

Well this bodes well for the rise of AI writing doesn‘t it

Do you want to learn cuneiform but don't know where to start? Check out my website for a list of resources and some study materials that will help you get started! In just a few weeks, you too can read the Hammurabi Code in the original! www.selenawisnom.com/learning-cun...

Tmr at 9 am, at BBCInOurTime episode on Hammurabi will be broadcast on Radio 4. Hammurabi was the king who turned Babylon from a backwater into a superpower. He's famous for his laws, inscribed on a beautiful stele now in the Louvre.

After hearing an incredibly inspiring talk from Sam West I have signed up to @campaignforthearts.org. Arts funding in this country is in crisis, but these good people are working hard to stand up for it, and amazingly are making real progress - please join! www.campaignforthearts.org/join/

My online course on Mesopotamia and the Making of History with @92NY has been moved to May. So there’s still plenty of time to sign up! roundtable.org/live-courses...

Thrilled to announce that the paperback version of The Library of Ancient Wisdom will be available from Feb 26th! www.penguin.co.uk/books/443027...

Had a fantastic time talking about Hammurabi BBC 4 In Our Time with Dr Frances Reynolds and Dr Martin Worthington! The episode comes out on 12th Feb at 9 am - do join us if you can! www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...

This February, I am teaching a three-session online course, 'Mesopotamia and the Making of History' with Roundtable92NY! Tickets are available here: roundtable.org/live-courses...

Wishing you all a ziggurat shaped Christmas!

The history of punctuation starts in Mesopotamia - see my new article on the meaning of the mysterious holes in cuneiform tablets: www.academia.edu/145059875/Fi...

Delighted to be chosen as one of the Telegraph's best books of 2025! See the complete list here: www.telegraph.co.uk/books/author...

Wrote about rituals involved in arranging a wedding in ancient Mesopotamia. Find out more in BBC History Magazine December issue! www.historyextra.com/magazine/nex...

Ancient HMRC/IRS sends a letter saying pay your taxes immediately or there will be consequences www.popularmechanics.com/science/arch...

If you want to read more about ancient academics check out my book ‘The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History’ www.penguin.co.uk/books/443027...

Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching

VAMPIRES AREN’T REAL, RIGHT? …RIGHT? To celebrate Halloween, we’re thrilled to share a special interview with historian John Blair about his riveting new book, Killing the Dead: Vampire Epidemics from Mesopotamia to the New World. open.substack.com/pub/histfest...

I'm heading to the Wells Festival of Literature today - excited to talk about The Library of Ancient Wisdom again! Tickets are available here: wellsfestivalofliterature.org.uk/events/2025-...

I've just found out which Babylonian god people prayed to to get up early in the morning - Ninurta! 'To do business at the quay where traffic rushes swiftly by, You, O unrivalled king of the world, rouse at daybreak him who else would not rise.' From www.ebl.lmu.de/corpus/L/3/1...

Exciting event alert: P21 Gallery and The Enheduanna Society are hosting a Performance Evening on 25th October in London. Badia Obaid, June Peters and Tara Jaff will perform Mesopotamian poetry and a modern retelling of the story of priestess and poet Enheduanna.

My poem 'Kabuki Costume' is featured on Poetry Worth Hearing - thank you, Kathleen McPhilemy! You can read it online here: poetryworthhearing.biz/post/poetry-... You can listen to the whole episode here:

A review of Library of Ancient Wisdom and Between Two Rivers by Moudhy Al-Rashid in The Times Literary Supplement - thank you @lsmwilson.bsky.social for kind words!

Thrilled to be taking part in the Overboard! @classicsforall.bsky.social reverse balloon debate discussing which arch villain from the ancient world deserves to be chucked out rather than saved 25th September, London or online - tickets: classicsforall.org.uk/news-and-eve...

The label doth protest too much, methinks

Had a great time at Ancients history podcast! Thank you for inviting me, Tristan Hughes - it is always fun to talk about Ashurbanipal, his dynasty, library and more! You can give it a listen here: shows.acast.com/the-ancients...

Another amazing episode of Curator's Corner @BritishMuseum! Very informative and beautifully shot - Ashurbanipla's lion hunt scenes are presented in such incredible detail! www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...

In the bookshop this morning: PARENTS: “Okay, we’re leaving now.” CHILD: *pulls another book from the shelf and sits down * CHILD: “Then I guess this is goodbye.”

Imagine Excel but 5000 years ago… Early tablets like this one were used for administrative purposes to record the storage and distribution of goods, animals and people. This tablet comes from Jemdet Nasr, the remains of an ancient site in southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). 📝 AN1926.583

A new Sumerian myth discovered: archaeology.org/news/2025/07...

Had a great time at BBC 6 Radio Music @cerysmatthews.bsky.social thank you for having me! You can listen to our conversation here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Excerpts from my new book, Library of Ancient Wisdom, will be read during @cerysmatthews.bsky.social upcoming Sunday show at BBC Radio 6! Join in from 10:00 am if you can: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...

I'm pleased to announce the launch of my new website! If you'd like to see what events I have lined up for the next few months or easily access my past projects and media appearances, please visit: www.selenawisnom.com

Excited to be joining Cerys Matthews at BBC 6 Radio this Sunday, 27th July, at noon. I'll talk about the Library of Ancient Wisdom and the songs that remind me of great times at the British Museum's tablet room! Join in if you can! www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

At the Idler festival last week, I did a live liver divination - needless to say, I had a great time! Thank you, @idlerat.bsky.social for inviting me, and thank you to the fantastic audience for your insightful questions.

Super impressed with the illustrations for the @chalkefestival.bsky.social talks! Thank you for having me and for the great conversation!

Heading off to the amazing @chalkefestival.bsky.social! Talks, living history, debate, performance – all set in the beautiful Wiltshire countryside. This Thursday, I will be discussing all things Mesopotamia with Becky Wragg Sykes - so excited! www.chalkefestival.com/tickets/

I’ll be performing at this year’s Idler Festival which is at the beautiful Fenton House, Hampstead 11-13 July. You’ll be able to see me join Stewart Lee, Emma Thompson, Michael Palin, and more. Tickets can be found here: idler.co.uk/festival - Don’t miss out! #IdlerFestival2025 #idlerfestival

Just been to this brilliant exhibition for the third time - Satta Hashem’s ‘A World of Colour and Emotion’ at Leicester Museum and Art gallery. And got a tour from the artist himself! It closes at the end of June - do go if you can!

Thank you, Idler, for featuring Library of Ancient Wisdom as your Book of the Week! www.idler.co.uk/article/book...

Introducing Mesopotamia's most famous demon! www.historyextra.com/period/ancie...

Great interview with @daisydunn.bsky.social about writing about women in antiquity

Took a break from the book tour to speak about liver divination at Melammu Symposium 25 in Sofia! My talk was on what I have learned from my practical experiments forecasting elections. What a beautiful university!

Great news from Nineveh! Heidelberg University's team unearthed a stone relief depicting Ashurbanipal and major Assyrian deities. www.sci.news/archaeology/...

I am so excited to join Tom Hodgkinson at the @idler on June 5th to talk about all things Mesopotamia! www.idler.co.uk/product/a-dr...

Had a great time with History Extra podcast talking about witchcraft and wizardry in the library of Ashurbanipal, now out here! www.historyextra.com/podcast/

My cartoon for this week’s @theguardian.com Books

Had a great time visiting the Library of Ashurbanipal Chicago branch! An important collection relating to ancient and modern Assyrians. Thanks to Assyrian Cultural Foundation for having me!