A friend & I were talking yesterday about how much better city centres in the north of England are than when we were young. Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Bradford, every one that I'm familiar with has been dramatically renewed since the early '90s.
Andrew Knighton
@aknighton.bsky.social
Writer of sff + comics. Rearranging words for a living since 2013. he/him Mailing list: https://eepurl.com/Zviqn Also found at andrewknighton.com
Today's writing is meant to be history, but I've got a dentist appointment first, so things could easily swerve into body horror. Sure, plaque removal is a good thing, but that scraping sensation on my teeth, a stranger sticking a metal spike inside my mouth, the bright lights & intrusion... urgh.
Oh, CRIME TYPE AUTHORY FRIENDS, or if you know 'em. E-arcs of Mal and Jackie in... INCY WINCY are available if you think working class detectives getting in a mess might be fun, or you just want to be rude about RJ Dark. Drop me a dm or reply here. 1/2
A really interesting World Fantasy Shortlist! Also I think I can get this one looked at too! locusmag.com/2026/08/2026...
2026 World Fantasy Awards Finalists
The World Fantasy Awards ballot for works published in 2025 has been announced. The awards will be presented during the 2026 World Fantasy Convention, scheduled for October 22-25, 2026 in Oakland C…
locusmag.com
One of the best, and most important, voices in RPG journalism could really use a hand. www.rascal.news/state-of-the...
State of the Rascal: August 2026
An earnest appeal and radical honesty.
rascal.news
For @prospectmagazine.co.uk I interviewed @jeffnoon.bsky.social about his fabulous new novel MOON OVER BRENDLE, out now from @angryrobotbooks.bsky.social www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/culture/7428...
Welcome to Brendleshire: inside the twisty-turny fiction of Jeff Noon
We speak to the sci-fi genius behind ‘Vurt’, whose latest book transports us to another meta-fictional alternate reality
prospectmagazine.co.uk
Today's writing is about education - my brief & ill-fated experience as a teacher still comes in handy from time to time. Anyone who talks down the challenge of teaching has not spent time in a north London high school 😬
Four years today since Spooky joined our household. I sometimes wonder if we've adopted a hobbit rather than a cat - nervous of both change and strangers, very food focused, tiny furry feet - but either way, he's a source of joy & occasional bewilderment. Keep up the good work buddy.
Ah yes, the epic tale of Odysseus, from whom we get the word "odyssey" - and Telemachus, from whom we get the word "telemarketing."
I'm enjoying exploring the thematic connections between these two stories as I read them. It's like a really good themed anthology that way. The combo of bone magic in @julietk.bsky.social's story & extreme body modification from @emfaulds.com has me pondering the boundaries of the human body...
Wizard's Tower Press@wtpress.bsky.social · 4d agoLove novellas? How about two in one book? Wiz Duo #2 contains stories by Juliet Kemp & E M Faulds wizardstowerpress.co...
Also a reminder that bullshit transphobic panic damages cis women and children as well.
Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2d agoAn initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play
Fantasy worldbuilding does not get better than the Craft universe. Treat yourself!
Max Gladstone@maxgladstone.bsky.social · 2d agoWant a deal on some books? In honor of the Craft Wars being up for the Hugo Award, these are $2.99 in ebook for a limited time, on all retailers: THREE PARTS DEAD (bookshop.org/p/books/thre...) TWO SERPENTS RISE (bookshop.org/p/books/two-...) DEAD COUNTRY (bookshop.org/p/books/dead...)
*Nobody in the history of human bombing has ever said, "Well, we got bombed, so the veil has fallen from my eyes now. Wow, me, grandma and the kids really deserved this. We totally had this bomb-campaign coming. I'm grateful to be set straight"
Today's writing includes farming turned into horror & agricultural labourers rising up against the government. Apparently this is my rural week.
One of many blunt posts from an uncompromising thread on AI mania with citations, and link to an essay version at /2 for those who prefer.
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C)@doctorow.pluralistic.net · 4d agoSuresh says he's *never* seen a successful enterprise AI project: "Every single one – we have seen 0% success in a year and a half." Not one of their clients would face a business challenge if OpenAI went out of business tomorrow. 27/
For those who missed it yesterday, the fourth instalment of my Avatars of Ruin series is now out in the world! More info on places they can be found on my website: tejturner.com/epic
I have decided that the instant any of this stops being fun...I will stop doing it.
Charlie Jane "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" Anders 🏳️⚧@charliejane.bsky.social · 5d agoI was just thinking about how "you need to become an influencer to sell books" is ruining everything
With the show in the midst of a London run, Asian Pirate Musical director and co-author @witchywonderer.bsky.social answered @aknighton.bsky.social’s questions about their creation. britishfantasysociety.org/asian-pirate...
I've got a joke about Rorschach but everyone interprets the punchline differently.
Today's writing is a brief bit on regulatory technicalities, then off for a peasant's revolt. Nice way to ease into the weekend - get the thinky stuff out of the way, then go burn down the local castle before having a couple of beers.
A delightfully brutal take on how Europe works.
John Bull@garius.bsky.social · 6d agoAnd then this World Cup happened. and FIFA did the Balogun thing. And the target was Belgium. and if European history teaches us anyrhing its that no European power gives a shit about Belgium until suddenly EVERYONE does. Because if you can fuck with Belgium, you might do it to any Euro power.
General life tip: mixed messages usually aren't. Most of the time, it's motivated reasoning trying to "prove" the answer you *want* to see instead of what's there. If you're at the point of reading the tea leaves or making a murder board with string, the answer is probably the one you don't want.
New comic from me, in which the cowardly Cadman puts other people's lives on the line for the sake of his lunch. andrewknighton.com/out-now-cadm...
Out Now - Cadman: Quartermaster
Cadman the fighting coward puts his men's lives in danger for the sake of better rations, in his latest Commando comics adventure.
andrewknighton.com
This is like Churchill's famous speech made in June 1940 after the retreat from Dunkirk. The one that went, 'Ah well lads, we tried. Time to start learning German.'
George Monbiot@georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 7d agoI'm not qualified to judge whether such people are psychopaths. All I can say is that they behave as if they are. From today's Telegraph.
Today's writing ranges from medieval England to a future of AI-guided healthcare, so I'm not sure I'll be spending time anywhere healthy.
Claude write this story for me. Claude go outside and appreciate the birdsong please. Describe it in detail. Claude can you take my wife on a date to a nice French restaurant and figure out why she's crying all the time.