We have made the decision to formally close our X social media account. Once a vibrant platform to promote the interests of authors, we feel X is no longer a trusted place for balance, community support, and reliable information.

Tickets for FLF 2026 are now on sale! Lineup includes Bob Geldof, Jeanette Winterson, Ian McEwan, Charlie Higson & Jim Moir (aka Vic Reeves), Jenny Eclair, Sir Trevor McDonald, Rob Newman, Sarah Raven, Simon Armitage, Rachel Parris, Robert Macfarlane and much more See our website for details

Partly thanks to me – I don't usually read crime, but she is so BRILLIANT on The Traitors I bought a book. www.thebookseller.com/news/the-tra...

Ditch the voice you borrowed. Find the one that scares you. #SpineEdicts #KillTheTemplate #ChooseTuesdays

I think congratulations are in order

Good morning. #poetry #poetrysky #poem (from POETRY FOR LOVING LIFE)

I am very excited to share that my first poetry pamphlet is being published in 2026 with @vpresslit.bsky.social #poemsabout #poetsonbluesky vpresspoetry.blogspot.com/p/our-poets....

Merry Christmas Everyone! So excited to have my first ever solo Filmpoem published by @inksweatandtears.co.uk today for their 12 Days of Christmas #poetrycommunity #filmpoem it’s been such a brilliant year publishing under my real name, exploring new creative paths & relationships! Hap🎉🍈 🌒🐸🙏

Smashwords sale, stellar bargain here: you've got until 11:59 p.m. Pacific January 1 www.smashwords.com/profile/view...

I'll be updating the poetry magazines spreadsheet this coming week, so if you're not on my mailing list, join now (it's free) and you'll never be short of places to send your poems... robinhoughtonpoetry.co.uk/poetry-magaz...

Happy to let you know that in the northern hemisphere we’ve now done the darkest two weeks in the year. All the other 50 weeks will be lighter than this.

Oyez, oyez, oyez, my last newsletter of 2025 is out today Read for free here: open.substack.com/pub/theright...

Very nice end to 2025. A poem in @kandspoetrysoc.bsky.social Folio, selection by Ella Frears.

A shout out to all those indie businesses out there today - it’s the last UK Christmas posting date and if they’re anything like me it’s all hands to deck!

I get stupidly excited when I log in to my library account and see that my book a) is stocked in the library and b) is out on loan.

Copyright and AI. "88% supported option 1 - which require licences in all cases ... 3% supported option 3 (the Government's preferred option)" assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/693c70c0c72b0f8ccf33d70b/Copyright_and_artificial_intelligence_DSIT_webfv.pdf

I have always loved Joanna Trollope's books. She hoped people would find them a comfort, and I do. As she said: “It is a grave mistake to think there is more significance in great things than in little things.” The intense efforts of the homemakers keep society steady. RIP.

PLEASE SHARE: WoodPig Press is a new micro-press specialising in speculative fiction and non-fiction. We open to submissions on 5th January 2026. When we do, we're going to be doing things a bit differently... (thread) #books #booksky #writingcommunity #authors

I feel, though I am biased, that there is something poetic about this image, silent words on Yell being sent abroad, hopefully with some sense of the beauty of where they came from -- but with meanings also beyond us.

The only thing worse than self-promotion? Forgetting to get someone a Christmas present. My new book is a brilliantly low-stakes gift. It's just £9.99, feels nice, you're supporting an author you know, and it's unarguably well-intentioned. Order this week to get it in time. Amazon: amzn.eu/d/gcA1SO3

Robin of the Day: Bagobo Robin 📷 Miguel David De Leon

If you want to see if you like my poetry but aren't sure yet about buying a paperback, Smashwords have an amazing offer on the ebooks that has just gone live. Find it here: www.smashwords.com/profile/view...

Now available to buy in paperback on Amazon.com 🥳 (as well as co.uk). Link: a.co/d/bMtFeu4

🕰️ With the year coming to an end, we asked a selection of our contributors to give us their favourite poetry books and pamphlets of 2025. Next is Rachael Boast's pick: Weathershaker by Stewart Sanderson (Tapsalteerie). Thank you, Rachael!

Newsflash: open.substack.com/pub/theright...

Now available to buy in paperback on Amazon.com 🥳 (as well as co.uk). Link: a.co/d/bMtFeu4

Glass half full, glass half empty: I can't drink the water that comes out of my kitchen tap without boiling it currently (thank you, South East Water) – BUT, VERY excitingly, my follow-up to Poetry for Life and Other Chronic Conditions is now available in paperback! ☀️ Link to buy in bio ☀️

There's FREE SHIPPING at Bookshop.org this weekend. Support indie bookstores! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ uk.bookshop.org/p/books/poet...

This month's newsletter free to read here: open.substack.com/pub/theright... (Badge courtesy of The Poetry Pharmacy!)

‘An absolute delight’ 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼Nicola Upson

Nothing so unusual about this spam email I received - except the level of detail & that ‘Linda’, who writes from a gmail address, gives no details beyond her surname and a job title, ‘book promoter’. No website, no client testimonials, no business address. A bot, surely? This is getting FREAKY.

This is an excellent piece. Very interesting on pricing. It often feels like there are more book writers than book readers/buyers. Small presses that ask you to buy a book from them in order then to be able to query them have cottoned on to that.

@societyofauthors.bsky.social CEO Anna Ganley cites our authors' earnings research at Parliament, as she highlights the economic disparity between authors and the tech companies benefiting from the unauthorised use of their works. You can read the research here: www.create.ac.uk/wp-content/u...

Members of the Society of Authors have newly elected four of their peers to represent authors’ views on the Management Committee (the Board). SoA members @ajwestauthor.bsky.social, @iangiles.bsky.social, @pollyrowena.bsky.social, and @lucindahawksley.bsky.social now join the committee.

Poets! Take the hard work out of submitting to poetry magazines. Subscribe to my list of over 200 (mostly) UK & Ireland publications: when they're open, what to send & more. All for free and updated quarterly. robinhoughtonpoetry.co.uk/poetry-magaz...

We could live ten lifetimes & not achieve what Bach did in one. Self-regulation, often highly restrictive. Yet, through effort, real innovation. But most importantly, no compromise. Despite professional relationships & patronage, Bach doesn’t seem to have written a note that he, or God, didn’t want

Is there an answer to this question? Please don’t say Threads…

10 Marchfield Square has been included as one of Waterstones' Best Crime & Thriller books of 2025! Absolutely over the moon, and honoured to be in such company. Thanks so much, Waterstones, you've made my year! 🥰 www.waterstones.com/blog/the-bes...

A date for your diary! I’ll be there with my poetry books and chairing a panel on ‘Challenges authors face (and the advice you wish you’d had)’

Congratulations to Vidyan Ravinthiran, who has jointly won (with Karen Solie) the Forward Prize for Best Collection with Avidyā (Bloodaxe). Its brilliant final poem, "as a child", describes how an early speech impediment led him to be "a scrutineer of sound" with a love of "the avid void of English"

This month’s newsletter just out. Books, poetry, publishing - freelance pay rates, Kamala Harris at the London Literary Festival, and the latest reading. Free! Read here: open.substack.com/pub/theright...

Brilliant news for US readers! The paperback of my latest novel IN THE SHADOWS OF LOVE is currently for $4 only! A crazy bargain! Dive into the secretive world of Pakistan's elite for only $4 "Compelling and Lyrical" WOMAN & HOME www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1804...

*Just* in time to still be National Poetry Day we bring you our latest episode of Mostly Book Talk where we talk to Dr Julie Blake, founder and co-director of Poetry by Heart with lots of information about how schools can get involved #KidLitUK #UKkidLit @poetrybyheart.bsky.social

WoodPig Press is now open for publishing services. Alongside our traditional publishing activities, we’re offering high-quality cover design, editing and formatting from top-notch professionals to indie authors and small presses: woodpigpress.substack.com/p/publishing... #writing #books #booksky

76 Calls for Submissions in October 2025 - Paying markets publishedtodeath.blogspot.com/2025/09/75-c... #SubOp

rest in peace #JillyCooper – or revel in parties up there if you'd rather. Thanks for making reading (and life) fun 💕

Happy #NationalPoetryDay! Poetry: ‘Strength and power for healing and recovery.’

Happy #NationalPoetryDay! The power of poetry 👌 (Good Housekeeping magazine letters page.)

‘After only 5 years, long Covid has surpassed asthma as the most common chronic illness in children.’ Wake up, world, and look after our children. 🙌🏽 20-year-old Violet Affleck.

This is a great list