Mahua Cavanagh

Hey how about you don’t send me a fucking email asking if I meant to unsubscribe from your fucking emails

We had a fun morning in Baden. #dogsofbluesky

🤣❤️🤣❤️🤣❤️🤣❤️ and a shit ton of 🥰

Long Beach will open up its e-book library so teens from other states can read banned books It's part of a nationwide push to let young people access reading material that may have been thrown out of their local libraries and schools.

We love to see this: The Long Beach Public Library is offering digital library cards so readers can access banned books to help offset censorship!

lbpost.com/news/educati...

Bloomsbury 'exploring' AI licensing deals with opt-ins for authors Bloomsbury is “exploring” licensing some of its books to tech companies to train generative artificial intelligence (AI) and is offering authors the opportunity to opt in.

"Anna Ganley, chief executive officer of the SoA, told The Bookseller: “It is important to note that AI training rights are new rights that are the author’s to license rather than the publisher’s, and these are not automatically granted to the publisher." www.thebookseller.com/news/bloomsb...

Pedro Pascal’s encouragement and Snoop Dog’s Affirmation Song are getting me through this day.

Grab and hold onto whatever joy you find. We all need more of it these days.

The Block BEARD Act of 2025 could be a game-changer for authors, many of whom have seen their books illegally distributed by offshore websites.

The sites are the main source of ebooks that AI companies have used to train their AI systems.

Our statement: authorsguild.org/news/ag-appl...

Trust me, I know from experience that you’ll definitely feel glam when you have electricity during a blackout.

In fact, this may be the smartest move you ever made. I think more and more of us will need these in the coming years.

(And now the phrase “power is power” is stuck in my head.)

The Anti-Book Ban Laws Passed in 2025 (& What They Mean): Book Censorship News, August 1, 2025 What does it mean to pass an anti-book ban law in 2025? Here are what states have done it and what these laws mean.

An excellent look at legislation that protects your right to read, and other book censorship news, courtesy of Book Riot.

bookriot.com/2025-anti-bo...

Maddie is done for the night. #dogsofbluesky

A periodic reminder.

I’m still working on the blurb, but in a nutshell, it’s about a private banker in Vienna, Austria who discovers that a client is laundering money…the reason behind the money laundering…and finds herself tangled up in the whole web.

Unbound successor Boundless 'goes into administration' after months of financial uncertainty Boundless – the publishing company formed after its predecessor Unbound went into administration in March this year – along with its imprint Neem Tree Press have entered administration and ceased trad...

Wow. Boundless, the successor to Unbound, the crowdfunded publisher that collapsed amid authors' complaints of non-payment and millions owed to creditors, has reportedly gone into administration itself & "will be closing down entirely, with no rescue" www.thebookseller.com/news/unbound...

Big news…I have a title for the next book: The Vienna Vantage. Edits are still in process. There is still work to do, but I’m excited to finally have a title! (Please excuse the grainy shot of my monitor.) #amwri̇ti̇ng #writersofblusky

This. All of this. I need it.

Return of the Nigerian Prince: A New Twist on Book Marketing Scams - Writer Beware Marketing scams have always been plentiful. Over the past year or so, though, they’ve really surged. I’ve written about one type of marketing scam–the “friendly author” social media scam, in which som...

New #WriterBeware blog post: a new & aggressive marketing scam from overseas. Many of you will already be familiar with the highly personalized solicitations typical of this scam; these also illustrate how essential generative AI has become to publishing fraudsters writerbeware.blog/2025/08/01/r...

Current mood

AI Could Exacerbate Inequality, Experts Warn | ACLU At the ACLU’s Civil Rights in the Digital Age AI Summit, leaders convened to evaluate the civil rights landscape of artificial intelligence and tech, and how we can call for policies that center privacy, fairness, and equity.

At our first ever AI Summit, we brought together civil society, nonprofit, and industry leaders to ensure protecting civil rights and civil liberties is prioritized wherever AI is in use.

Here are our takeaways.

A scam text message allegedly from the UK Department of Work and Pensions. Do NOT provide any info The message reads: Department for Work and Pensions official reminder: According to DWP records: You have not yet submitted your application for Winter Heating Allowance 2025-2026. To ensure you receive your £300 payment, please complete your application before 29 July 2025. Failure to submit an application by the deadline will render you ineligible for the stipend. Please take action now and complete your application via the link below: https://gov.uk-apply-subsiidy.ink/uk (Please reply Y, then exit the text message and open it again to activate the link, or copy the link to your Safari browser and open it)

In the UK? Help elderly relatives/ friends to NOT fall for this SCAM text message allegedly from the Department of Work and Pensions

Two feet. One in a sock. One in a partially knit sock. Socks are blue and yellow striped.

I’ve been sick the past several days. I’m still feeling pretty bleah, but I managed to do a little knitting. Okay, it was knit>snooze>knit>snooze and so on. But, hey, I managed to do something. Even if it’s only a few rows on socks, it’s progress. #socks #knitting

I believe (checks notes) this dogs was only given one breakfast on the day of the alleged crime. Under Canine Law Pawrticle 4, any dog has the right to two counts of plate sausage when such grievance occurs. Hence, the only thing in question is whether the defendant is owed another sausage.

The Dark Side of Being a Female Shark Researcher Being a scientist should not require developing the grit to continually endure misogyny, discrimination, harassment, assault or bullying

The Dark Side of Being a Female Shark Researcher | Scientific American

Bartz v. Anthropic: Judge Alsup Certifies Class for Rightsholders of 7 Million Books Used by Anthropic Late last week Judge Alsup, presiding over the Bartz v. Anthropic copyright AI litigation, granted a motion to certify a class representing authors and rightsholders of nearly 7 million books. If y…

If you are a book author (or a publisher, or an heir to an author), you should be paying attention to Bartz v. Anthropic. Last week, Judge Alsup granted a motion to certify a class representing authors and rightsholders of nearly 7 million books.

www.authorsalliance.org/2025/07/22/b...

RIP Ozzy

We must resist the use of the word "artifact" by AI and its promotors to describe a product of AI processes. "Artifact" means "anything made or modified by human art." AI cannot therefore produce artifacts. The distinction is important.

I also cut my ends. 😣

Crispy, crumbled bacon is an excellent topping for vanilla ice cream.

photo of a corona beer bottle that’s, uh, conical along with these posts: @EM_RESUS Hi, ER Doc here. I don't know who needs to hear this but do NOT even think about it. replying to World of Engineering & @engin... Japanese design firm Kenji Abe has designed a glass beer bottle that you can stick into the sand on the beach

reader i sputtered

#writinggroup Sundays are the best.