Joanne Harris

I do, but I keep losing them... :-)

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 276:
So many ideas come to us because we interact with the world. Things we notice; things we read; people we meet; roads we tread; questions we ask. Don't just sit at your desk waiting. Be curious. Go looking.

They so often do...

Barbara Newhall Follett (1914-1939?) was an American child prodigy. Her first novel, The House Without Windows, was published in 1927, when she was only 12. Her second novel was a betseller when she was 14. In December 1939, aged 25, she disappeared. She has never been found. #CelebratingWomen

Right now I'm roasting root vegetables with harissa as part of a spicy couscous plan...

Here, too. It's like an M.J. James story...

And this morning the Shed is a black sedan, waiting at a crossroads…

Bestselling author, Joanne Harris, joins Finbarre Snarey for a fabulous three-card conversation! Take a listen on Saturday 7th March at TarotDMs.com

#booksky #JoanneHarris #tarot

March 12th.

New paperbacks are here!!!

Worried about the demise of reading? Come to France, where we’re up to our eyes in print | Alexander Hurst From hefty literary magazines to thriving book sales, the French publishing industry refuses to let printed matter die, says Paris-based writer Alexander Hurst

Worried about the demise of reading? Come to France, where we’re up to our eyes in print | Alexander Hurst

De Quincey famously managed to go for whole pages without hitting a full stop. (No audiobooks, though:-)

BBC Radio 4 - BBC National Short Story Award - Submissions open for 2026 BBC National Short Story Awards with Cambridge University Find out how to enter this year's competition.

Discovered this morning, after one of my Curae prize folk checked with the team, that 'established author' for the purposes of this prize can mean a SINGLE published story. Not only that, but you can enter THAT short story, even though it says 'prior' publication... www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/a...

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 3290126:
Vary the lengths of your sentences. Short sentences create impact. Longer ones are for when you want to introduce a lyrical note. Don't make them too long, though; it can be confusing, and your audiobook reader needs to breathe...

Josephine Garis Cochrane (1839 – 1913) was an American inventor. She was the inventor and manufacturer of the first successful hand-powered dishwasher. #CelebratingWomen

WILL YOU SIGN THE LETTER? Not In Our Name: Women in support of the trans+ community notinourname.org.uk Sign held by Zack Polanski

Awesome to see @zackpolanski.bsky.social supporting the @nionwomen.bsky.social campaign of women opposed to transphobia.

notinourname.org.uk

Just finishing this beauty by the marvellous Joanna Cannon - heads up - it’s utterly charming…

And this morning the Shed is a pattern on the wing of a butterfly: basking sweetly in the sun; fluttering through the shadows…

I have never seen so much social capital pissed away so quickly by any one. It's extraordinary. All Starmer had to do was be seen to be acting on principles of good will and hope. Instead, he chose appeasement of the far right and cosying up to dictators. And so, he got Chamberlained.

Ten days to go!

The shorter they are, in my experience, the harder they are to write...

Matilda of Tuscany (1046 – 1115) was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as the Attonids) in the second half of the eleventh century. Matilda was one of the most important governing figures of the Italian Middle Ages. #CelebratingWomen

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 8643:
Writing a synopsis is one of the hardest things to do. That's because in long form, it's easy to overlook things that don't make sense, or are not properly explained or developed. A detailed synopsis lays these things bare, which is why it's worth persevering.

And this morning the Shed is a safe haven for anybody requiring one…

The best that anyone can hope to leave behind is love and fond memories.

Sending love. Your grandmother must have been very special, to make you feel that way.

((hugs))

The cover of JITTERBUG by Gareth L Powell features a stylised rocket silhouette at the centre of an orrery, with a space suited figure dangling in its wake

RELEASED TOMORROW!
A traumatised bounty hunter. A betrayed pirate queen. An ambitious politician. Can they somehow work together to save the human race? Published by @titanbooks.bsky.social and available through all good booksellers.

Kazumasa Nagai, the pioneering graphic designer whose work helped define postwar visual culture in Japan, has passed away.

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 119:
Villains can be fun to write. But historically, portrayals of villainy have also been filled with stereotypes. Your villain isn't a villain because they're ugly, or from a different race, or disabled, or mentally ill. They're a villain because of their choices.