Rebecca Starford

In Praise of Librarians in Dangerous Times Librarians are on the front lines of history and current events, when news and change arrive at a furious clip that only quickens every day. And without libraries, my work would simply not exist. I…

@sarahweinman.com on the importance of librarians in dangerous times as seekers and keepers of truth.

ICYMI: Nigel Featherstone discusses the raw and honest 1990s memoir that became a beloved local queer classic in our latest podcast episode. Queer Critics is hosted by @rebeccastarford.bsky.social. Listen now: apple.co/4qpc91O

absolutely loving this podcast series

Startup launches ‘industry-first’ certification for human-made books UK start-up Books By People has launched a new certification – the Organic Literature Certification – with a group of independent publishing houses to “counter AI-generated books”.

We're very proud to be the first publisher to have the Books By People stamp - and that it should be going to Telenovela, a book about the fight against authoritarianism and all the associated nonsense:

www.thebookseller.com/news/uk-star...

Really loved working on this episode - Sumner Locke Elliott is such a fascinating writer. If you're interested in the arc of OzLit and queer voices, please have a listen to the series, I can't believe we're already up to Ep 4!

Part Two of Karl Marx: in which Karl goes wild in Soho, Bakunin acts like a godforesaken fucking maniac and we do a crash course in Marxist economics. Everything you need to know about one if the most important ideas in history.

Post from Threads user rodneyowl: "Ireland has declared the Basic Income for Artists scheme permanent. This will be officially announced in tomorrow’s budget. Details to follow. Congratulations to all who fought for it and the present and future artists of all sorts in Ireland. That includes me 👌We’re just comin to the end of a 3 year pilot scheme. It’s been a roaring success. For every €1 paid out to the 2000 participants, the government got €1.46 back. Can’t argue with that. Other countries are already taking note."

Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...

💪 *New* 30 Day Writing Boot Camp with @rebeccastarford.bsky.social

Gain immediate access to daily lessons, prompts, motivational tools and writing exercises designed to strengthen your craft, boost creativity and build a foundation for future writing projects.

Sign up: bit.ly/475C5XI

Really proud of this project! Please have a listen if you get the opportunity. Big shout-out of thanks to the smart-as critics joining me over the next six eps, my super colleagues @suzygracias.bsky.social & Mia Abrahams, wonderful producer @michellemacklem.bsky.social, and Copyright Agency! 🏳️‍🌈 📚

The Kill Your Darlings Podcast Books Podcast · Interviews, readings and discussions about books, culture and the arts in Australia and beyond, brought to you by Kill Your Darlings magazine.

🌈📚 Introducing our new limited series podcast: Queer Critics Series 🎙️
Launching Monday 29 September — listen to the trailer and subscribe now!

The success of the far right is not only measured in votes and seats but in its impact on rhetoric, policy and ideology. The fact that a (nominally) social democratic head of government with a huge majority choses to say and do this is maybe the biggest success of the far right in Europe yet.

Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that could transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC

“An emotional research team became tearful as they described how data shows the disease was slowed by 75% in patients.”

What an absolutely incredible, joyous achievement for everyone involved. Hurrah for science and scientists! www.bbc.com/news/article...

Glou Wine Bar in Collingwood - the bar that donated all of the drinks VS used during our federal election campaign - had Nelson Alexander reach out to ask if they could have their Christmas party there. Their response is marvellous.

Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, says UN inquiry Commission’s 72-page legal analysis cites examples including scale of killings, aid blockages and forced displacement * Middle East crisis – live updates A UN commission of inquiry concluded on Tuesday that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza and that top Israeli officials including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had incited these acts. It cited examples of the scale of the killings, aid blockages, forced displacement and the destruction of a fertility clinic to back up its genocide finding, adding its voice to rights groups and others that have reached the same conclusion. Continue reading...

Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, says UN inquiry

Banksy satirised the state silencing those opposed to Israel’s genocide.

The state then inadvertently made his artwork genius.

to my mind the woman who dies of sepsis because of antiabortion laws, or the person who dies because they can't afford insulin -- these are just as much victims of political violence as the man shot through the throat while making a racist speech

Warsaw opens metro station ‘express’ library to get commuters off their phones Metroteka aims to encourage people to read more in country that lost majority of libraries in second world war

Warsaw opens metro station ‘express’ library to get commuters off their phones

Seconded!

“Literary journals have never been a commercial enterprise, they have been a cultural enterprise ... To talk about the ‘problem’ of Meanjin as being a commercial one is to disavow the purpose of a university.” @sophtree.bsky.social

Very strange...

Perhaps they meant 200K?

This figure of $2m from CA can't be right?!

The closure of Meanjin is real blow to the Australian literary community. We're sad to see the loss of another place where writers, thinkers, and culture-makers have a voice and platform. Our thoughts are with staff and contributors.

Australian Ghost Story by Melanie Cheng Grief is a four-winged creature in this exclusive new story by the highly acclaimed author of The Burrow.

Introducing the first story in our New Short Fiction series, a new space for Australia’s best short fiction writers! Grief is a four-winged creature in this exclusive new story by award-winning author Melanie Cheng.

I Don’t Want to Die with a Smartphone in My Hand An iPhone detox didn’t make me more productive, but I did feel free.

An iPhone detox didn’t make me more productive, but I did feel free, writes Eloise Grills. I don’t want to wake up one day and realise that my most devoted relationship has been with a screen.

Not one Al Jazeera journalist left…

All systematically murdered by a regime desperate to conceal the truth

And while many of their western counterparts and media figures (who are safe and salaried) choose silence and complicity.

Really proud of @kydmagazine.bsky.social's gorgeous new website! The animations, the buttons 😍 This upgrade has been months in the making. Special thanks to our head of digital strategy Mia Abrahams and editor @suzygracias.bsky.social for all their hard work as we got this over the finish line!

A front page of the Guardian newspaper is entirely given over to the famine in Gaza. A large photo shows a mother holding her emaciated child’s body. The banner headline says, “We have faced hunger before, but never like this'

Tomorrow’s Guardian front page

Here's something absolutely cooked about books in Australia It's a big week for Australian culture, with announcement of the shortlist for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, one of the country's top writing prizes.

Looking forward to seeing who wins the Miles Franklin tonight.

A shame that they pay tax on their winnings but if you win the Block or a TV game show you don't pay tax.

Past time for change!

australiainstitute.org.au/post/heres-s...

Save the date: The KYD Creative Non-Fiction Essay Prize is back!

Find out more: buff.ly/DtOd0Fj