Anna Benn

Democratizing the arts looks like universal income, low-barrier grants for both emerging and working artists, well-funded municipal arts & recreation programs, vibrant third spaces, and a well-funded public school system with progressive curriculum.

Not a free pass for corporate-owned slop engines.

Do you know who did the translation? There's a husband-wife duo who got very trendy in the past 20 years for translating Russian classics, and I've found their work bland and hard to keep my attention on. (I read their translations of Anna Karenina, and The Idiot, was underwhelmed by both.)

Once again, German wins in the arena of idioms and/or mind-bogglingly specific compound words.

Letter From Minnesota: Can You Hear Us, America? Since early December of last year, thousands of ICE officers have streamed into Minnesota to carry out a violent and grossly unconstitutional campaign of state intimidation upon the people of Minne…

Over the next few weeks @literaryhub.bsky.social will be publishing letters from Minnesotans about ICE’s authoritarian occupation of their home. First up today is poet Dobby Gibson. lithub.com/letter-from-...

He was bound to drop that scarf in some time zone or other.

Chaotic Forager just published a book, she's very good. www.chaoticforager.com/workshops

The cover of Loki A Bad God's Guide To Being Good by Louie Stowell, with an orange cover, a black circle surrounded by runes with horns, and lots of pictures such as a devil, a snake, a hammer, a sword, a chicken, a house, a pencil, a book

For anyone who may be hastily returning certain books they bought as Christmas presents, here's a thread of excellent children's books I highly recommend you buy instead:

Loki A Bad God's Guide To Being Good by Louie Stowell

Funny, chaotic and a little bit naughty
okay, a lot naughty

I was just talking to a translator friend who's lost literally all her translating work in recent months, but has been offered jobs by the same clients to "clean up" AI translations at a fraction of the pay, which is the same if not more work on her end, because AI translations are so shoddy.

Gorgeous Christmas cards arrived from @ciaraioch.bsky.social plus a few surprises! It's almost like she knew I've had a fascination with corvids lately!

Turns out a combination of not using That Other Site and the economic landscape at the moment in general does, in fact, makes fulfilling the whole "starving artist" stereotype a whole lot more achievable 😅

Dad’s books are full of empathy, common sense, and a healthy suspicion of the powerful. But at its heart his work is also about how systems keep people poor while pretending it’s their own fault. So I hope Kemi’s taking notes as well as reading the jokes.

"We call prose “purple” because we’ve gotten too used to prose without any color at all." @alixeharrow.bsky.social has summed up wonderfully multiple different unsettlednesses that have been eating away at the back of my mind.

If you see this, quote with the energy you bring to Bluesky.

The Mischievous Letters of the Marquise de Q. The cover depicts a white hand resting on a pillow, holding a book, with one thumb between the pages. The title is written on ripped pieces of paper.

It's the Narratess Indie Sale this weekend! Browse 300+ discounted or free sci-fi, fantasy, and horror ebooks at https://indiebook.sale/

My novel THE MISCHIEVOUS LETTERS OF THE MARQUISE DE Q is $0.99. It's a bisexual romance about solving problems with polyamory and murder!

are you tired of "dark academia" that is neither dark nor academic?? do you want gothic, folkloric horror in a wonderfully specific college setting???? THE BEWITCHING is here for you!

So, I think it's time I begin, in detailed specifics, talking about the mess that is Unbound / Boundless as a book publisher, in essence stealing most of a years royalties from me and many other authors, as a result of poor financial decisions, and legal BS.

Please read and share this thread.

I had a brilliant time ringing in the @ilfdublin.bsky.social at Merrion Square over the weekend. So many savvy speakers giving us the inside scoop on publishing, book tents, and of course we couldn't have asked for better weather!

Your occassional reminder that Google has an AI-free search they don't promote: udm14.com

April is full of fab new Irish children's books. Check out the @irishkidsbooks.bsky.social posters for some of our favourites for all ages.

Designed by @bexsheridan.bsky.social
#DiscoverIrishKidsBooks

The posters can be downloaded free from discoveririshkidsbooks.ie/new-irish-ch...

Please share!

The Crow is a super(anti)hero, right? The soundtrack has The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine... surely a top contender!

Spending all morning researching zeppelin designs so I can write a convincing sentences about gas cells in the keel is difficult and frustrating!

Going out of my comfort zone to write a more sci-fi/steampunk scene and oof, there is a reason I do not stray from fantasy. Writing about forests that are older than time, vengeful ghosts and girls with powers that are magical and bewildering is easy and right up my alley...

Protest Meta's Theft of Irish Writing I've just signed this petition protesting Meta's theft of Irish writing, which they've used to build their AI tool. Will you sign too?

I've just signed this petition protesting Meta's theft of Irish writing, which they've used to build their AI tool. All seven published books were stolen and used to train their system. my.uplift.ie/petitions/pr...

The Essential Tanith Lee (Gift Article) The eclectic, prolific author wrote more than 90 novels — primarily fantasy and science fiction, but also horror, erotica, mysteries and historical fiction. If you’ve never read her work, here’s where...

I wrote a profile for the NYT talking about Tanith Lee's work and suggestions to where to start with her vast bibliography.
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/b...

This meme was my laptop wallpaper for years!

Reposting this partly because, Happy Trans Rights Readathon! And also partly as a reminder to myself, who am badly remiss at reading short fiction, to check these out once I take a break from my TBR list of much-too-long novels.

A heartening thread to remind us that people are still decent and curious and trying to understand each other.

I can attest, my appetite for horror, blood & guts, etc. in fiction was pretty limitless when I was a kid. I only got squeamish about it as a grownup.

Reminder: Kennys Bookshop delivers for free in Ireland. Easons have free delivery over 10 euros (and also sell toys and games and stationary). Lots of lovely booksellers in the actual stores too, like Books Upstairs, Gutter Bookshop, Hodges Figgis.