Seán Padraic Birnie

Open letter on the future of small press publishing in the UK The industry must work together to ensure the longevity of the UK’s independent presses.

"What is at stake if we cannot continue?"

Simultaneously very happy and crestfallen to be part of this Open Letter (written to the industry, as well as readers, writers, and - well - everyone who cares).

Please read, and share:

www.thebookseller.com/comment/open...

Need new glasses

For a moment there I legitimately thought Bill Bailey had won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Just got an email telling me it's the last day for 'prime deals.' Fug that crap. Want a real deal? Check out our selection of $2 eBooks for October. Any sale helps keep our indie spirit going. Thank you!

undertowpublications.com/ebooks

go shawty

argh such a pain in the arse. I hope today's a good day!

Thanks. v weirdly it coincided with a phase of really bad joint pain and fatigue, but while that's gotten better the cold has just proceeded. At least it's making me rest a lot. I hope your symptoms are currently manageable?

deactivating my account again out of embarrassment

I have a cold and my brain is mush and I didn't even see that. Christ.

!!!!!!!!!!

To move forward with focus, we must first understand this simple fact: we are up against an ideology that has given up not only on the premise and promise of liberal democracy but on the livability of our shared world – on its beauty, on its people, on our children, on other species. The forces we are up against have made peace with mass death. They are treasonous to this world and its human and non-human inhabitants.

The key paragraph from @naomiaklein.bsky.social & @astra.bsky.social's powerful piece describing the urgency of our present moment. They are right, and we better move quickly.

I'm not sure how long it's been up. Maybe the approx. 3 people who have read it just assumed it was some daft cutesy abbreviation I use?

Not as bad as the cover letter that began 'Dear Mr Editors'

Typo on my site bio: “In 2021, my debut collection of shorties, I Would Haunt You if I Could, was published by Undertow Publications in 2021.” I hope I haven't been sending that to publishers.

Join our meet and greet session on Thursday October 30th to share your experiences as a writer with a disability, as we devise a range of targeted supports for disabled writers.

Please contact Declan Meade by Wednesday October 22nd

We’d love to hear from you.

stingingfly.org/news/a-call-...

Very relatable!

Scientists develop first ‘accurate blood test’ to detect chronic fatigue syndrome Research could offer hope for ME patients – but some experts urge caution and say more studies needed

ME/CFS is a devastating condition that has long been denied, dismissed, psychologised and underdiagnosed. Research is at last starting to catch up with it, with glimmers of hope for those who have been left untreated for so long.
There's a huge BUT coming ...🧵
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Sorry brain slow with the lurgy today, silly assumption of mine.

Gaza: Books on Solidarity, Resistance, and Hope Books on the history of settler violence, global resistance, and Palestinian art and identity including Gaza: The Story of a Genocide.

Books on the history of Palestine, including our free ebook From the River to the Sea, and our new releases Gaza: The Story of a Genocide, The Idea of Israel by Ilan Pappe, and Men in the Sun by Ghassan Kanafani

if you work with AI in your job, you're known as a 'sloperator'.

Was that for a DYCP application? I've been thinking about applying again but it's so much work and I probably lack the capacity to do it again

Someone should train an LLM on it, might actually be worth something!

Writing a synopsis for a collection pitch, a style of document surely conceived to put off potential readers. Not as bad as artist statements in the artworld, but still.

www.artybollocks.com/generator.html

Deactivate account. Reactivate account. Deactivate account. Deactivate account. Wait—

Municipal Gothic is “a short story collection that’s basically non-stop highlights; the definition of all killer, no filler...”

theupstairswindow.substack.com/p/my-favouri...

That line about reading from the CEO of this silly website 'The book is here to serve me' has been playing and replaying in my head since I saw it in her post the other day.

In addition to the nice yellow Helpmeet cover type, that is.

I spy some nice yellow cover type in this display of beautiful books.

A park bench with a Kobo displaying The Best Weird Fiction front cover, a paperback copy of Fritz Leiber’s Night Monsters, a pair of sunglasses, and a coffee cup; behind which a buggy is parked with its sun shade down.

This morning’s office. Lovely and warm in the sun, cold in the shade. The memory of Storm Amy a strong breeze that has so far failed to wake the baby. Seagulls patrolling the site like officious ticket inspectors.

Now there’s a squirrel. No chance.

In Stoneham park a little girl crouches and darts as she pursues a cat, which crouches and darts as it pursues a pigeon. Neither gets what they’re after; only the seagulls manage that.