The Accidental Immigrants came out a year ago today. Huge thanks to Kevin, Hetha, Lin, and everyone who’s read and enjoyed the book. One year on, and the politics are just as relevant… @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
Jo McMillan
@jomcmillan.bsky.social
Fan of alphabets and characters - complex and simplified. Have called Beijing, Melaka and London home. Looking for Utopia. Currently in Berlin.
A dual national who’s given up her British passport is stopped at the UK border. February 25th, as predicted in The Accidental Immigrants… @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
‘Scandalous and unacceptable’: readers on the new UK entry rules for dual nationals
Some say they may stop visiting or even renounce their British citizenship owing to stricter requirements
theguardian.com
Scottish Book Trust asked indie booksellers for their favourite books of 2025. Thank you Samantha and all at Nairn Books! @scottishbooktrust.bsky.social @nairnbooks.bsky.social @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
Thank you Daisy and Stanley, and again to Nairn Bookshop! @nairnbooks.bsky.social @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social ("...its cover that is 'not' an easy sell in Scotland...") 😂
tinyurl.com/msbe78aw "The novel’s political bite comes from its realism: every comic moment rings disturbingly true. It’s a witty, empathic portrait of people navigating systems never designed for them—and finding connection despite it all." @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social @orwellprize.bsky.social
Find your next read - Orwell Prize 2025: Political Fiction - The Next Page
Novels that confront power, truth and the politics shaping our lives
thenextpage.co.uk
👇 💙
Bluemoose Books @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social · 10mo agoGood morning. Delighted that we've just published our 3rd novel by Colette Snowden. Our 4th from Anna Chilvers later this month. Our 3rd by Sharon Duggal next year. And our 2nd by Devika Ponnambalam in 2027. Supporting the writing careers of our authors. @thebookseller.com
Great to see the growing enthusiasm for The Accidental Immigrants up and down the country: @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
A vital novel whose complex characters struggle against their own and their family’s expectations, against a society that doesn’t see or value them, and against the random cruelties of the UK immigration system. A thoughtful and touching must-read. @tawseefkhan.bsky.social shorturl.at/topdh
Determination
‘A compassionate, beautifully told portrait’ Guy Gunaratne ‘Absorbing, witty, eloquent fiction, as well as a trenchant political critique’ Tom Benn’A hymn to empathy, …
shorturl.at
Insider knowledge makes this novel special. Years of experience in asylum and immigration law have been turned into a drama that’s propulsive and intricately plotted, has razor-sharp dialogue and is just waiting to be brought to the screen. shorturl.at/o0fBX @tomgaisfordwriter.bsky.social
Sanctuary, the debut novel by Tom Gaisford
Can novice refugee lawyer, Alex, prove himself worthy of the job and the woman he adores? In SANCTUARY, desperation reigns, art mirrors life and twisty thriller meets witty love story.
shorturl.at
Animal Farm at Eighty “I took it out of the library, and read it quietly, in bed, under the covers.” On the 80th anniversary of its publication, read my first encounter with Orwell’s Animal Farm: orwellfoundation.substack.com/p/it-all-mad... @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social @orwellprize.bsky.social
"It all made such shockingly perfect sense." Animal Farm at Eighty
Friends of the Foundation recall their first encounters with George Orwell's masterpiece
orwellfoundation.substack.com
A lovely perceptive video review of The Accidental Immigrants from Bob The Bookerer. Thank you! www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Y5... @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
Weekly Reading Wrap-Up: Betrayal, Love, and Jumping Through Hoops
YouTube video by Bob The Bookerer
youtube.com
Many thanks to Sam Reid from Fieldzine for a great conversation about The Accidental Immigrants. We talk about the myths of immigration, the far right – and rage, resistance and writing. Listen to the podcast here tinyurl.com/2z4vu57z @fieldzine.bsky.social @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
"Great writing and extremely timely ... a gripping read with some memorable characters and set-pieces that deserves the wide praise it has received to date." www.ontheprize.co.uk/blog/the-acc... @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social Many thanks to ontheprize.co.uk
The Accidental Immigrants (2025) by Jo McMillan - Book Review — Eyes on the Prize
Reviewing The Accidental Immigrants, nominated for the 2025 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and tackling the rise of the Far Right in contemporary Britain and Europe.
ontheprize.co.uk
Thanks to the Orwell Foundation for a fantastic awards ceremony; to the judges for choosing The Accidental Immigrants as a finalist; to every writer there for deciding to write about things that matter. And many congrats to Donal Ryan. Cheers! @orwellprize.bsky.social @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
What one book powered the writing of The Accidental Immigrants? You might be surprised... shorturl.at/xr3Gr @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social @orwellprize.bsky.social
12 Orwell Prize finalists on the political books which shaped them
Winners will be revealed this Wednesday, 25th June
shorturl.at
"One of these books is not like the others." @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
The Orwell Prize@orwellprize.bsky.social · last yr."I never tire of solace." Read @jomcmillan.bsky.social's wide-ranging reading list, sparked by her Orwell Prize-shortlisted novel The Accidental Immigrants. One of these books is not like the others. From @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social: uk.bookshop.org/lists/the-ac... @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
George Orwell claimed that prose writers have four ‘great motivations’: sheer egoism; aesthetic enthusiasm; historical impulse; and political purpose. Why did I write The Accidental Immigrants? Read the answer here: lithub.com/making-sense... @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social @orwellprize.bsky.social
Making sense of the chaos: 12 Orwell Prize finalists on why they write.
The Orwell Prize for Political Writing and the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction reward books that meet “George Orwell’s own ambition ‘to make political writing into an art.'R…
lithub.com
Hitting the nail (and jelly) on the head. Thank you Jennifer! @jenniferbeworr.bsky.social @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social @orwellprize.bsky.social
Jennifer Bew Orr 📖🖊️📷@jenniferbeworr.bsky.social · last yr.#booksky Trying to define fascism is trying to nail jelly to a wall. It takes a novel to make us feel its insidious effects. This main character takes us along a path exploring how people become or resist becoming collaborators with the far right. @jomcmillan.bsky.social @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
Independent Bookshop Week 14-21 June 2025 #IndieBookshopWeek @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social @orwellprize.bsky.social @booksaremybag.bsky.social booksaremybag.com/IndependentB...
"When the island’s politics turn sharply against the British minority they are thrown into a desperate battle for survival and refuge...it illuminates the process of border-crossing and makes one think freshly about your own place in the world...” @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social shorturl.at/cfe79
Politics round-up: from the powerful to the powerless
Insights into Trump’s return to power, Blair’s public service transformation, immigrants and Britain’s white working class
shorturl.at
"...Jo McMillan uses the very real bureaucracy of the UK home office to construct a story of two fictional lovers: Tess, a dual passport holder, whose lover, Arlo, has come from Britain to the fictional island of St Mira and now has no passport at all.” @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social shorturl.at/cfe79
Politics round-up: from the powerful to the powerless
Insights into Trump’s return to power, Blair’s public service transformation, immigrants and Britain’s white working class
ft.com
Bluemoose Books @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social · last yr.Just received the invite to the Orwell Prize Awards. Conway Hall on 25th June. The Accidental Immigrants by @jomcmillan.bsky.social Finalist for Political Fiction. Marvellous. @orwellprize.bsky.social @theguardian.com @newstatesman.com @thebookseller.com @irishtimes.com
👇 🙏 💙
Hobeck Books@hobeckbooks.bsky.social · last yr.We’re off to Malvern today for a meeting. The Accidental Immigrants by Jo McMillan is my in-car reading today. This book is brilliant - it’s not often I say this but everyone needs to read this. It’s beautifully written. @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social @jomcmillan.bsky.social
