Darren Simpson

Fancy grabbing yourself a signed and dedicated copy of my new teen folk horror novel #THIRST while raising money for #ChildrenInRead? 📚♥️ Make your bid at www.jumblebee.co.uk/auction/deta... Good luck! #ChildrenInRead @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social

Thank you to Julia Golding for having me on the Oxford Centre for Fantasy's #Mythmakers podcast! Was fun to talk about #THIRST, Terry Pratchett, magic systems and "corpse hydraulics"(!). You can find the episode in the usual podcast places and also at youtu.be/OSaynnQsqY4?... 💀🩸

Not long now until comic con!!!

Join me, Logan Hanning and @lewishancox.bsky.social at noon on the Sunday for a panel about queer comics, and then a signing!

#Take10ToRead, peeps! It'll do you wonders in so many ways.

My better half and I went to see @divinecomedyhq.bsky.social last night. If you're only familiar with the likes of "National Express" and "Alfie", I promise you've barely scratched the surface. Witty, moving and beautifully crafted songs. Highly recommended.

Signed copies of #THIRST now available on the top floor (snuggled cosily alongside SJ Wills and Liz Hyder) at @WaterstonesNG.🩸 Get 'em while they're hot. @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social

If you get a chance to see the #Radiohead x #Nosferatu mash-up that's doing the rounds in indie cinemas, BTW, I recommend it highly. 📽🩸

Signed copies of #THIRST are now available at Shelf Editions and Lark Books in Lincoln. Beautiful indie bookshops well worth your time. 📚♥️

Fun times at #LincolnBookFestival today. Really enjoyed giving folky scares in a public library, and even got to meet some sword dancers! (Thanks to Sarah Tagholm for this photo.)

I wouldn't say no! Thanks so much for the offer. Shall I DM you?

Thanks so much for visiting Maimsbury, Mark!

This is like nothing else. #WhenWeCeaseToUnderstandTheWorld by Benjamin Labatut offers ceaselessly rolling pieces that blend fiction and fact while exploring the toll taken by science, progress and obsession on individual scientists and on humanity as a whole. Fascinating stuff.

Left a heap of signed copies of #THIRST at #TheRabbitHole in Brigg. Do check out this wonderful Lincolnshire bookshop. It's a cosy warren packed to the rafters with books of all kinds, and its owners, Nick and Mel, are absolute legends. 📚♥️ @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social

A poster of a manifesto about reading, by Loki, with 6 points on reading "bad" books, short books, comics, audioooks, webcomics and fanfic, plus not finishing bad books cos life is too short.

This is my Lokifesto #KidsConf #UKkidlit #edusky lokibooks.com/lokifesto/

School Reading List's Shop - TES The School Reading List recommends children's, teen and YA books to teachers, parents, librarians and schools in the UK.

Teachers! Grab FREE downloadable PDF reading activities, games, reading lists, reading challenges, posters, wallpapers and much more on School Reading List's TES page. ⬇️📖✨

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www.tes.com/teaching-res...

#freeresources #edutwitter #teachersofx

Celebrating the genius of @natsmillie.bsky.social with close-ups of some of my fave details from #THIRST's front and back cover. I'm particularly fond of the riverweeds and rats. Check out more of Natalie's stellar work via www.nataliesmillie.com

Time seriously flew while reading David Mitchell's #TheBoneClocks. Characters and tales interlock across time and place to tell a broader story that’s as much realism vs fantasy as it is good vs evil. The Bone Clocks is eclectic and ambitious, and always entertaining.

"Simpson winds up the tension expertly, as one horrific revelation follows another. But there’s more..." I adore this @booksforkeeps.bsky.social review of #THIRST:
booksforkeeps.co.uk/review/thirst
It gets right to the beating heart of the novel. Thank you to Clive Barnes for such insightful words.

Took a while to fit this in, but I've posted on my blog about #THIRST's launch and a busy but brilliant fortnight.
darrensimpsonwrites.co.uk/2025/09/25/thirst-is-out
Have a gander. There's plenty more THIRST action to come...🩸 @pushkinchildrens.bsky.social

One thing I'll never get used to is taking my kids to school open evenings and seeing my books in the school library. ♥️

Just spotted that #THIRST is one of #SchoolReadingList's top titles for the autumn term! 🎉 Thanks so much, @schoolreadinglist.bsky.social. 🤓 You can find their full (and very fine) list at schoolreadinglist.co.uk/new-book-rel....
@pushkinchildrens.bsky.social

When the sky looks like ripples in a lake.

If any other #teachers or #librarians would like these treats for their classroom or library copy of #THIRST, simply DM me and I'll get them in the post for you. 👍

Folk horror thrills for teens. Just the thing as the dark draws in.
#THIRST is out now. Find out more at pushkinpress.com/book/thirst

finding fine company amongst other authors/illustrators, and getting to meet the lovely folk who waited so patiently in the drizzle to have me sign books after my #THIRST event. There's a whole further day of goodness to come. If you're in Lincs, get yourself to Normanby Hall today! It's FREE!

[1] A few pics from #NoLimits yesterday. What a glorious happening this free festival is! Personal highlights include Matt Goodfellow's hilarious/insightful talk, meeting Pushkin-crony Liz Hyder in person, sharing green-room sarnies with a panto dame, learning of Normanby Hall's albino peacock ->

Bah. Tell you what. If you like, you can DM me an address and I'll post a signed bookplate plus some THIRST goodies to you. Hope that helps. 👍

If you're treating yourself to #THIRST, order from @fiveleavesbooks.bsky.social and I'll make it worth your while by SIGNING and DEDICATING your very own copy!✒️ Simply leave a request when you order from fiveleavesbookshop.co.uk/product/thir.... Go on. You deserve it.♥️
@pushkinchildrens.bsky.social

A few highlights from our walk through Birmingham's Digbeth on our way to see @dadimakesmusic.bsky.social live. (I highly recommend seeing Dadi live if you get the chance; the guy's a one-man party.🚀)