James McConnachie

Good to see. I've always liked this line: 'If you have walked all these days with closed ears and mind asleep, wake up now!'

Frankfurt Book Fair 2025: Identity Stamps Two new startups, Books by People and Amlet, aim to certify a book’s authenticity in the AI era

The fact that our next book Telenovela is going to carry a Books By People stamp certifying that it is AI-free has also now been reported around the world in Publisher's Weekly: www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

I realised recently that there is a massive up-side to being a ghost writer: you wouldn’t be expected to market and promote the books you write.

Pretty disturbing. Authors need to argue for the legal right (written into their contracts with publishers) to veto AI translations of their work.

Love the idea that OpenAI is planning to "cash in on its intellectual property".

Why does Q always need a U? A quirky guide to the alphabet The letter A was once an ox’s head and O was an eye — you’ll never look at a keyboard the same way after reading Danny Bate’s fascinating linguistic history

The Times, specifically @jamesmcconnachie.bsky.social, has in this joyful review kindly bestowed on my book Britain's highest description: "lovely"
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...

...is it voilà mispronounced by English people as 'wa-la'? (I love those eccentric pronunciations. Like 'lingerie', which sounds neither like it's written in English nor how the French actually say it.)

It really is a lovely book! Thanks so much for writing it! But what is the silent V, Danny? PLEASE tell me.

never knew that! and you've just lead me to the splendid fact that shindig and trousers are borrowings from (Scots?) Gaelic. tapadh leibh!

some of us even do

Generative AI has access to a small slice of human knowledge | Aeon Essays Huge swathes of human knowledge are missing from the internet. By definition, generative AI is shockingly ignorant too

so interesting and important. And think of the gaps outside language-based knowledge! Gen AI has aeon.co/essays/gener... via @aeonmag

Anthropic Settlement: What Authors Should Know - The Authors Guild Copyright holders recently secured preliminary approval of a $1.5 billion class settlement in the Bartz v. Anthropic case, in which authors Andrea Bartz, Kirk Johnson, and Charles Graeber led a class-...

For those whose works were included in the Anthropic class action, the Authors Guild and settlement administrators are hosting a webinar on what you need to know: authorsguild.org/event/anthro...

You can check if your works have been included here: secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com/lookup/

venerable indeed, nowadays – 75, unless there are other issues. costs just under £100 at Boots – if you can get a slot.

do it

Whinnyfold. Magdalen. Alresford.

One of the more revealing insights into conspiracism. Explains why it so often goes hand in hand with auto-didacticism aka internet 'research'. The illusion of mastery of a subject.

Worse, it would kill our Creative Industries, which are our nation's soul, and bring £125 billion to the UK every year. Besides, the AI bubble is about to crash. And it's hard to take independent advice from someone who worked for Zuckerberg.

I know, right? With Godot's celebrated kick ball change/shimmy/jazz hands entrance

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

'“I just don’t know how you go around, asking everyone first. I just don’t see how that would work,” Clegg said.'

It's called a market.

One of the many benefits of my English degree (a degree in language and critical thinking, really) is that I can immediately see how narrow, short-sighted and stupid a policy this is.

I do this. I find most people are delighted - though people who struggle to process speech less keen obvs.

'may'

An image about the game developer's guide to publishing agreements feauturing otto the otter

Proud to announce Deviant Legal’s Game Developer’s Guide to Publishing Agreements: a free resource for developers wanting to learn about publishing deals. Publicly accessible, without requiring to provide your data: deviantlegal.com/guide/game-d...

wonderful. I love the use of the scores as a kind of vocal soft pedal

Part of Russell T Davies' speech on being awarded Outstanding Contribution to Television at the Bafta Cymru awards. (via www.instagram.com/baftacymru)

oh yeah. and maybe you'd have to pay capital gains tax if you sold

would it work differently if you incorporated first? (genuinely don't know)

fab. well done!

Title: One door leads to freedom, the others to certain death. You may ask one question. Image: Three guards with shields and speard stand in front of three doors. One guard sits at a folding table working at a typewriter, his shield and spear leaning against the wall. Caption: One guard always tells the truth, one always tells lies, and the third always tells an entrancing story that blends reportage with imagination in an attempt to reach a deeper authenticity by moving beyond the narrow categories of fact and fiction.

A riddle for @theguardian.com books page.
p.s. My new book 'Physics for Cats' is out this week in bookshops and online. Details at www.tomgauld.com