Quick reminder that on weds I’ll be chatting to Joey Connolly on the increasingly fraught business of Poetry and AI. Joey is not just a fine poet, he’s one of our very few experts on this stuff - so come with questions! www.northseapoets.com/events/ai-an...

My monthly update.

A couple of times a year I run a day called ‘Introduction to Editorial’ for Get Into Book Publishing (online) – next one 6th June. We learn basic copyediting, proofreading & how editorial jobs in publishing work – what they involve and where you find them. getintobookpublishing.co.uk/courses/an-i...

'(NielsenIQ BookData) sales of poetry anthologies are up 1.3m in volume terms, worth £14.6m. For context, the market in 2016 was worth £9.6m. ... News to gladden the heart.' (BookBrunch) You can gladden your heart further by reading my poetry here! - a.co/d/02W1D4hq

Congratulations to everyone shortlisted for the Seamus Heaney First Collection Poetry Prize! ⭐ Isabelle Baafi ⭐ Dean Browne ⭐ Sasha Debvec-McKenny ⭐ Catherine-Esther Cowie ⭐ Laura Wainwright www.qub.ac.uk/News/Allnews...

If you tell your publisher or agent that people are getting excited about your book on Bluesky you feel a bit like a kid reporting to his parents that he won at Scrabble & now plans to turn pro at Scrabble. But this is where I'm finding my readers. And I mean READERS. bsky.app/profile/love...

Sunday light reading -- for writers, poets, publishers and readers open.substack.com/pub/theright...

Just 5 seats left for the morning show tomorrow at the Tunbridge Wells, Trinity. Afternoon show sold out. See you there! trinitytheatre.net/book/615401/...

I've seen a lot of posts today about the Guardian's 100 greatest novels but I couldn't see Glitterballs by @michelehowarth.com on the list so it must be a hoax.

I've done 5 videos for pre-schoolers to help them learn poems. They've had in all more than 50k views with themes of Food, More Food, Dogs, Animals and Numbers. (5 more to be posted in the next few months) www.youtube.com/c/MichaelRos...

📣 English PEN is recruiting for a new Chair of Trustees to support our mission to protect and promote the freedom to write and the freedom to read in the UK and around the world. 🗓️ Apply by 29 June 2026. Find out more and apply ⤵️ www.englishpen.org/jobs/vacancy...

Music. Greatest of the arts. And never done. Beethoven has mattered to me all my life. Yet I was less familiar than I should’ve been with his sonatas and miscellany for cello and piano. Astonishing invention, from mellow melancholy to surprise changes in mode. Bravo, Maestro! Here’s the 3rd sonata:

3 short poems. I’ve written another one.

“They wanted to raise awareness of the nuclear weapons policy of the British government, specifically the plan to site cruise missiles at an RAF base near Newbury as part of a defence policy known as Mutually Assured Destruction, or MAD for short.” @eanstruther.bsky.social’s sparkling new novel!

The Tunbridge Wells Literary Festival is brilliantly creative & one of the great things they do is open lots of the author events with a spoken word poet. I’ll be ‘opening’ for Essie Fox on 9th May with a couple of very short poems. Really fun! Link: twlf.ssboxoffice.com/events/cathe...

This light show was mesmerising. More here: open.substack.com/pub/theright...

In-person workshop, Saturday 2nd May, for any writers who want to know how to publish a book. Sorry that the info is mainly a huge picture of my face 🫣. More details if you click swiftly past it! twlf.ssboxoffice.com/events/demys...

Poetry published via social media – according to Chinese technology titan Tencent, 'the volume of contemporary poetry created in China every single day now exceeds the entire body of classical Chinese poetry ever written.' www.bookbrunch.co.uk/page/article...

There are some great unique tips here: open.substack.com/pub/kellygra... #poetrytips #writertips #writingtips #writebetter

In-person workshop, Saturday 2nd May, for any writers who want to know how to publish a book. Sorry that the info is mainly a huge picture of my face 🫣. More details if you click swiftly past it! twlf.ssboxoffice.com/events/demys...

Good to see this being discussed @thebookseller.com "...for most of us, writing books is already a second or third revenue stream to make ends meet. Is adding in a fourth realistic?" www.thebookseller.com/comment/subs...

There are stacks of sign ups for this session tomorrow apparently. Really looking forward to it. I’m going to leave plenty of time for questions because in my experience the @the-ciep.bsky.social community ask great ones!

I've done something terrifying this month. open.substack.com/pub/theright...

And here's Brittin telling journalists to use AI or "risk missing out". The BBC board has made a terrible error. Like the UK press, it's trapped in a 90s bubble where Google's a whizzy start-up & tech will save us...the most dangerous myth of our time 7/

Creativity In An Ill Body - a series of sketches. #chronicillness #invisibleillness #chronicpain #chronicfatigue #creativity #art #drawing #blackandwhite

On Friday, 1 May, Jem Calder will discuss his debut novel, I Want You to Be Happy, at Foyles’s Spring Debuts Panel. www.foyles.co.uk/events/sprin...

We are aware #LongCovidAwarenessDay isn't the easiest of days. So instead of asking you to do anything we thought we'd give you a present! 🎁 You can download for FREE our medical binder here 👇 🖇️https://www.longcovidadvoc.com/toolkit

Today is #LongCovidAwarenessDay Long Covid changed my life beyond recognition. I got ill. I never recovered. Lost my job. Became housebound. I rely on others to do things for me. I lie on my bed most of the day. Watch the Guardian's short film about my life with #LongCovid 👇

It's #LongCovidAwarenessDay & co-incidentally my 4th anniversary of #LivingWithLongCovid. Good news: every month I get that little bit better. I am the Queen of pacing! Bad news: there is no cure, no treatment, just patience. Sending love & spoons to all my fellow #ME/CFS #LC friends today.

I described in my book how having #LongCovid felt for me. This is one of the poems. #LongCovidAwarenes #LongCovidAwarenessDay Poetry for Life and Other Chronic Conditions: short poems from Long Covid amzn.eu/d/03C0YR0Z

This moves me so much. I got my first Covid infection in March 2020 too. I cannot begin to describe how fortunate I feel to be finally recovered - nor how dismayed I am that the illness is still invisible: to friends & family, but also, catastrophically, to medics & policymakers. #longcovidawareness

Today the world comes together for International Long Covid Awareness Day

Events are being held in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal Calgary to amplify the voices of people living with #LongCOVID. 😷 See the full list of events organized by @CanCovSoc and ways to get involved: covidsociety.ca/priorities/lon g-covid/events-lcad-2026/ #LongCovidAwarenessDay #LongCovidAwareness

This Long COVID Awareness Day marks six years of COVID, and another marker in a hard road for Long COVID patients. Make a difference for someone in your life with Long COVID by asking them how you can help.  #internationallongcovidawarenessday #longcovidawareness

Millions of people are still waiting for answers, treatments and a path to recovery. Progress depends on sustained research. Fund Long Covid research for the answers. Longcovidsos.org/research #longcovidawareness #fundlongcovidresearch #everyheartbeatcounts

The NHS England GP Patient Survey 2025 asked approx. 700,000 people if they have #LongCovid. Yes: 4.2% I don’t know: 9.5% These figures are staggering evidence of the likely prevalence of symptomatic people & the continuing lack of education on Long Covid. #LongCovidAwareness

Recovery from Long COVID takes a team. International #LongCOVIDAwareness Day is a reminder that millions continue to experience lasting impacts beyond clinical care. Access ASTHO resources that support collaboration and community recovery: https://discover.astho.org/4c5LBhm.

Saviez-vous que…? Chez certains patients atteints de #CovidLong, le passage à la position debout entraîne une accélération excessive du cœur (POTS), avec vertiges, fatigue et palpitations. #LongCovidAwareness #LongCovidHeartBeats #LongCovidAwarenessDay #LongCovidAwarenessMonth #ApresJ20

Long Covid awareness Day (March 15) aims to raise awareness of the long-term health problems people may experience after a COVID-19 infection. You can find out more about Long Covid and the symptoms here: https://meassociation.org.uk/vqei #LongCovid #LongCovidAwareness #LongCovidAwarenessDay2026

New from @latimes.com: “Yet new COVID infections are producing new #LongCovid patients. People who were healthy and active just a few months ago are still arriving at USC’s clinic with cardiovascular and cognitive problems that have upended their lives.”

“You’re not just becoming disabled, you’re realizing how easily society at large and people in your life will abandon you when you cannot offer them things.” ⬇️⬇️⬇️ #LongCovid #LongCovidAwareness #LongCovidHeartbeats

Landmarks across Scotland are lighting up teal for #LongCovidAwareness - but is Scotland doing enough? ( Spoiler Alert - No, nowhere near) Read this update to find out what's happened, why it matters, and what we can do about it together #LongCovid www.longcovid.scot/blog/upd...

‘Going to the boulangerie exhausted me so much I had to sleep for two hours afterwards’

In other words, we’re know you’re tired of hearing about COVID-19. We’re tired of hearing about it too. But ignoring it does not help it to go away, so please continue to take protect your health.

🎥 “We’ve been really left on our own.” In new footage, journalist Lise McNally speaks to families about the reality of living with Long Covid and the urgent need for greater support. 🔗 Watch the full footage www.itv.com/news/granada... #LongCovid #LongCovidKids #LongCovidAwareness #ChildHealth

“Before I got ill I was active and independent" Molly, aged 17, describes things many people never have to think about, standing up, concentrating, eating, or leaving the house, can suddenly become incredibly difficult. www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/2593333... #LongCovidKids #LongCovidAwareness

Join us today in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary or Vancouver covidsociety.ca/priorities/l... #LongCovid #ILCAD2026 #LongCovidAwareness

Long COVID has made me aware that I once took the views from the summits of Schiehallion, Beinn Alligin and Buachaille Etive Mòr for granted. Heck, I took walking up a hill without breathing hard for granted. But I'm glad for Pacerpoles. #LongCovidAwareness

We invite you to reflect on the many losses of Long Covid, including those who have passed and those whose lives have been altered. #LongCovid #ILCAD2026 #LongCovidAwareness