Elva Hills

Very few folks have entered this, so odds of nabbing a free copy are high 😅 👀

Another year, another application to the New Writers Award.

Proof that applications are worth submitting to even if the odds aren't in your favour: when asked 'what do you plan to work on?' I finally put pen to paper and outlined a novel that's been knocking around in my brain for years.

My last hope for in smoke as Zarah "welcomes" Mark Serwotka.

Looking forward to joining Beth, Mark and Welsh comrades on 25th October! See you there! 9:10 am 2 Sep 2025 23.2K ViewS Zarah Sultana MP @zarahsultana Beth Winter Please see below a statement update from myself and Mark Serwotka regarding Your Party in Wales "Your Party" Wales Update from Beth Winter and Mark Serwotka It is clear that support for "our Party" has been overwhelming, with 23,000 plus signed up in Wales alone, and over 800,000 across the UK. This is a different kind of politics-outward facing, community orientated and rooted in grassroots movements - and we are pleased to say that this is exactly what is happening here in Wales. We are keen to move things forward in Wales and have just completed the initial mapping exercise tooking at engagementv with "Your Party", at a local level. The results are very encouraging and show that people are getting together and meeting across Wales, from Ynys Môn to Cardiff; from Ceredigion to Clwyd and from Rhondda Cynon Taff to Swansea -to name some of the 12 groups we have so far identified. We are now beginning to work to coordinate the existing groups and develop new ones. We are conscious of the need to keep those who have expressed an interest in our new party as wellinformed as possible. In the coming weeks, we will do our utmost to attend as many local group meetings as we can to keep people informed - if not in person, then Zoom/video calls are always an option. We remain committed to ensuring we have the kind of autonomy and self- determination that reflects our needs and demands here in Wales. We are also conscious of the upcoming Senedd elections next year which will require decisions by all of us. To that end, please mark October 25th 2025 in your diaries for the first all-Wales meeting to discuss the way forward for US here in Wales. Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana have been invited to attend. The venue details will follow in the near future. We thank you for your patience as we continue to …

Double billing for transphobe & abortion rights avoider Hussain, and apparently also transphobe Corbyn

You've just warmly welcomed Serwotka - the husband of the woman who set up a TRANSPHOBIC HATE GROUP ("A Woman's Place") into #YourParty.

Meanwhile Corbyn is sharing top billing with a transphobe and anti abortion rights MP.

Your Party is dead. What the hell are you both thinking?

Essential reading.

I want to explain a few things and then it might be clearer why UK trans people are upset.
In 2001 I married my wife, Sylvia.
In 2005 I started medical transition. (1/13)

What in the utterly petty hell is this nonsense, Florida 😒

a woman in a black dress is talking to a man and saying judging , judging so hard . ALT: a woman in a black dress is talking to a man and saying judging , judging so hard .

@smmrsessions.bsky.social

As a chronically ill/disabled person who couldn't even get on the wait list for accessible seating at Chappell Roan, I'm equal parts dread and excitement about tomorrow. Organisers could have accommodated more peoples' disabilities if they want to but you're supposed to suffer or miss out I guess.

Why I withdrew my book from an LGBTQ+ literary prize | Jason Okundaye The Polari first book prize claims to promote trans rights and trans voices. But when I saw the longlist, I had to act, says Guardian writer Jason Okundaye

THIS is more like it.
Great work @jaseokundaye.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I am one of the 14 authors who chose to leave the Polari Prize, and I find myself frustrated and saddened at the way this entire story has been represented. 1/

a woman with red hair is dancing in a dark room with her arms outstretched ALT: a woman with red hair is dancing in a dark room with her arms outstretched

My toddler's obsession with Chappell Roan continues. His favourite is now "Chappell Roan gets her hair stuck", as he refers to The Subway. He is going to be so crushed that he's not coming to her show end of August, so I guess it's best he learns the lyrics now. #SheGotAway

Have you read Milo and Marcos At The End of the World by Kevin Christopher Snipes? An anxious Florida teen thinks he's causing the end of the world by falling in love with a boy. Very sweet and non-judgemental book, I couldn't put it down.

Look you just have to make the cool weird shit that excites you. You must. In this world besieged by bland, scrubbed boring, computer slop, you must. Make the thing you’re embarrassed to make, the thing that feels “too much” because otherwise we get drowned in a sea of cowardly work made by a button

Disappointing statement from the Polari Prize.
The inviolable right of our trans & non-binary siblings to live safely, without fear, abuse or discrimination is not a matter for debate, nor "a substantive issue" & you cannot "hold a different position”
You cannot “both sides” people’s right to exist

Re John Boyne and the Polari Prize. I didn't think it could get worse, but here we are.

In case you needed a reminder of how disgusting and contemptible John Boyne is.

A large group of protestors against Trump in Edinburgh. Some are holding signs reading 'Nae Trump', 'Stop Trump, Welcome Immigrants' and 'No fascists, no rapists, no Trump'.

Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer speaks to anti-Trump protestors.

A sign held above a crowd reads 'Stop Trump, Migrants Welcome'.

A large group of protestors against Trump in Edinburgh. Two signs are visible, one reading 'Scotland hated Trump before it was fashionable', the other reading 'Stp Trump, stop the far right.'

Donald Trump is not welcome in Scotland.

This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman is a phenomenal cosy fantasy adventure, subverting expectations and breathing new life into fairytales, that will make you laugh and swoon. Melilot is going to be one of my all time favourite protagonists forever and always. 🧡

I have a horrible cold and a flare up, so every part of my body hurts and I feel heavy like a bag of wet cement BUT not being able to sleep meant I finished reading the most amazing book yesterday.
#ThisPrincessKillsMonsters

I'm really enjoying This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman. It's got some romance but don't think it fits the romantasy box (I'm about halfway through).

“AI is inevitable, we’re just going to have to live with it” sounds a lot like “Covid is inevitable, we’re just going to have to live with it”

We’re all being conditioned to accept mass atrocity as normal

Absolutely dystopian juxtaposition from the Guardian front page. Difficult to understand how anyone of decency and conscience can defend this government at this point. Just sheer moral degeneracy to arm a state that does this and arrest people for objecting. Wtf are we doing as a country?

a painting of people with the word frolic on the top ALT: a painting of people with the word frolic on the top

Listening to the Pink Pony Club cover by Hildegard von Blingin' makes me want to write a medieval fantasy, a genre I've always been too intimidated by to attempt, but undeniably where my writing aspirations began.

A perk of being an unpublished writer: I can write anything I please. 🙃

For the first time in my knowledge, my toddler has an opinion on my outfit and baby does not like denim waistcoats. (Rude.)

absolutely fuck this but it's crucial to think seriously about the fact that things like 'displaying a pride flag' and 'using customers' preferred pronouns' are being seen as unacceptable.
this country is far, far further along the slide into fascism than i think many people realise

I am obsessed with the floppy pages of a US paperback. They're light. They're breezy. They hold themselves open. My arthritic hands are grateful.

happy pride month. that’s right. july is pride month too. in fact it’s pride year, bitches. the pride will continue until rights improve.

a cat standing next to a bowl of food and a water dispenser ALT: a cat standing next to a bowl of food and a water dispenser

What must summer be like when all those lovely flowers and trees and sunshine doesn't leave you wanting to claw your eyes out? I may have been born in June but I'm counting down the days 'til autumn.

The Boy I Love might just be the perfect read if you're a queer person like me feeling a bit hopeless and despairing when looking at the state of the world. William Hussey brings so much kindness and tenderness to the page. This book destroyed me in all the ways a reader could wish. 😭

Never a great first impression when half the ads are for the army.