Alice Jolly
@alicejolly.bsky.social
Winner of the 2026 Walter Scott prize for 'The Matchbox Girl' (about Dr Asperger) published by Bloomsbury Books in 2025. Rep'd by Eleanor Birne at Rogers, Coleridge, White. Oxford University whistleblower. Active member of Just Stop Oil.
The op-ed by @stuhennigan.bsky.social challenges Booker Prize judges to look further afield to anoint big-prize winners as heavyweights – he's flying the flag for indie presses. inews.co.uk/culture/book...
The Booker is a shambles - and everyone in publishing knows it
Plenty thought my novel would make the list – it didn't. Here's why I don't give a toss
inews.co.uk
Do look up the outstanding joint winners: Nell Osbourne (Ghost Driver)and Rebecca Grandsen (Figures Crossing the Field towards the Group)
Stu Hennigan@stuhennigan.bsky.social · 24h agoYes, the Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize (formerly Republic of Consciousness) celebrated it's 10th birthday this year, i was on the panel with @susannacrossman.bsky.social and @marinabenjamin.bsky.social www.republicofconsciousness.com
Macron calls crisis meeting as wildfires force 300,000 to flee in Spain and France
Macron calls crisis meeting as wildfires force 300,000 to flee in Spain and France
French official says uncontrolled fires still headed toward Bordeaux, an urban centre of 265,000 people
irishtimes.com
Deeply irresponsible. We're in a climate crisis. This is such a terrible start. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Burnham to announce plans for new North Sea oil and gas drilling
Drilling has become a controversial topic for the Labour party after the 2024 manifesto pledged to not issue new licences.
bbc.co.uk
Will be @hatchards.bsky.social in Piccadilly on Weds 22 July (this week) with Rachel Seiffert and Angela Findlay. 'The Matchbox Girl' @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social and 'Once the Deed is Done' (Virago) both recognised by @walterscottprize.bsky.social www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/alice-joll...
Alice Jolly and Rachel Seiffert at Hatchards, Piccadilly
Alice Jolly and Rachel Seiffert discusses their novels 'The Matchbox Girl' and 'Once the Deed is Done' with Angela Findlay.
eventbrite.co.uk
Thanks @writersreview.bsky.social 3 amazing novels plus equally interesting memoir. Have we heard enough about WW2? No. The true significance of what happened may only be starting to become clear now. Time to ditch the heroes and villains and dig deep into how collaboration and complicity operate.
@writersreview 📚@writersreview.bsky.social · 3w agoGuest Alice Jolly has won the Walter Scott prize for historical fiction with The Matchbox Girl - here she chooses 4 novels set in/after the Nazi regime in Germany and asks 'What would you have done?' reviewsbywriters.blogspot.com/2026/07/gues... @alicejolly.bsky.social #Nazism #SecondWorldWar
I am seeing more and more stories of this kind and I am cheering all of the way. Time to acknowledge that mainstream publishing is no longer interested in literary fiction - and the small presses are doing a great job of taking up the challenge.
Ian McMillan@imcmillan.bsky.social · 4w agoGreat to see a celebration of the brilliant And Other Stories press in the Observer!
Why not? Because they stole the work of millions of writers and paid nothing for it ....... but by all means do cosy up to the people who will put you out of work ..... why not?
Dr Ian McCormick@wokestudies.bsky.social · last mo.Jeannette Winterson: “Every writer can make their own choice. Humans are tool-using animals. That has been our success story. At present all AI, including generative AI, is a tool. Would I work with an LLM? Of course! Why not?” #creativity #novels #writing #authors #fiction #HigherEd
Writers are so grateful for her support of Beeban Kidron in the fight against generative AI. Publishers and agents are not supporting writers but she cares and takes action. THANK YOU!
THE NERVE@thenerve.news · last mo.Acclaimed British film-maker, peer and activist Beeban Kidron on why Burnham would do well "put a pin in" the cosy relationship between politicians and big tech - and why Tony Blair is one of the worst offenders. 1/3
Thanks so much @lindasbookbag.bsky.social Linda was very supportive and kind to me when no-one else wanted to know! I don't forget!
Linda Hill@lindasbookbag.bsky.social · last mo.My penultimate The People’s Friend paperback column hits the shelves on 11th July with Katie Fforde @olgawojtas.bsky.social @sarramanning.bsky.social @alicejolly.bsky.social @jennyashcroft.bsky.social Jennifer Ross @orionbooks.bsky.social @bloomsburybooks.bsky.social @saraband-books.bsky.social HQ
So exciting to receive advance copies of the paperback release of The Matchbox Girl, due in the shops on 16 July. @alicejolly.bsky.social
Letter in today's Times by climate scientist Sir Brian Hoskins: "The discourse around net-zero is increasingly decoupled from…science and our changing weather. "Net-zero is not an arbitrary slogan, rather it is dictated by the laws of physics."
Such a painful and brilliant book.
Stu Hennigan@stuhennigan.bsky.social · last mo.Today's tome, by another writer reffed in Keshed reviews. Only read Hangover Square by him, which i loved. This comes on high rec from @alicejolly.bsky.social and @hannahfearn.bsky.social so anticipating a similar response. #BookSky 📚
Many thanks to everyone who has sent messages and shared info. Very exciting that 'The Matchbox Girl' @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social won @walterscottprize.bsky.social Many thanks to the judges and to Abbotsford (the home of WALTER SCOTT).
Honoured to see #Prophecy featured in the @financialtimes.com Best summer #books of 2026! Thank you! giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Best summer books of 2026: Environment, Science and Technology
Pilita Clark, Clive Cookson and John Thornhill select their best mid-year reads
giftarticle.ft.com
UK publishing generated £7.4 billion in revenue last year. Compare that to: Premier League football: £6.6 billion Home entertainment: £5.6 billion UK film industry: 2.8 billion Now tell me again why authors don't deserve fair contracts and better pay.
This Sat in Leeds: @alicejolly.bsky.social Naomi Booth & me talking about short stories www.ticketsource.com/leedslibrary...
ticketsource.com
Reminder: Event at Leeds Central Library this Sat 6 June at 13.00 with me and @nicholasroyle.bsky.social and Naomi Booth. The Art of the Short Story. Hope to see you there. libraries.leeds.gov.uk/events/the-a...
The Art of the Short Story with Alice Jolly, Naomi Booth and Nicholas Royle | Leeds Library
A special panel event with three multi-award-winners discussing the art of short story writing. Essential for readers, writers and lovers of the short form.
libraries.leeds.gov.uk
BBC Question Time now doing exact same with AI they did with Farage? This ‘expert’ panel on AI is a disgrace: not one critical voice. Gilbert works for Tony Blair to promote AI. Jones is govt chief AI booster (& Blair flunky). Riparbelli is industry. Gawdat is ex industry. And a Tory MP
Darren Jones MP@darrenpjones.bsky.social · 2mo agoLooking forward to talking about the future of the UK tomorrow on BBC Question Time and how we’re applying Labour values to the big challenges we face as a country. 👇
This is an amazing novel. So moving, accurate and elegant.
Valeria Vescina@valeriavescina.bsky.social · 3mo agoFor outstanding #historicalfiction, look no further than @alicejolly.bsky.social's "The Matchbox Girl" and Rachel Seiffert's "Once The Deed Is Done". The two novels are on the shortlist for the 2026 @walterscottprize.bsky.social. Here is my review of both. valeriavescina.com/2026/05/22/r... #histfic
Many, many years ago Agnes Owens taught me on the first ever Arvon course I attended. I was sick all week because I was so nervous ..... She was so warm and generous and encouraging. I love her work and I owe her for her kindness to me at that time.
John Self@john-self.bsky.social · 3mo agoIt’s Agnes Owens’s centenary on Sunday. I was thrilled to be able to write about her life and her bitterly funny books for @theobserveruk.bsky.social, talking to her family, her first readers (“What the fuck is this?!”), her first publisher, and fans like Douglas Stuart:
Will be speaking at Leeds Central Library about the short story with Naomi Booth and @nicholasroyle.bsky.social chaired by @stuhennigan.bsky.social on Sat 6 June 1-3. Tickets below. Hope to see you there. www.ticketsource.com/leedslibrary...
ticketsource.com
Ben Myers on winning The Walter Scott Prize. 'This prize is just as important to their survival as it is mine; a win for Bluemoose would be like Liechtenstein winning the World Cup.' Readers, Liechtenstein won the world cup. @benjaminmyers76.bsky.social @walterscottprize.bsky.social
There are 107 screenings of the People's Emergency Briefing over just the next 7 days. Find one near you on our interactive map - now with a postcode search and the ability to switch to table view and find events within a certain distance. www.nebriefing.org/screening-map #PEBuk #TimeToStepUp
National Emergency Briefing
Find a People's Emergency Briefing screening near you, or spot a gap that you can fill by hosting a screening.
nebriefing.org
Dear @bbcnews.bsky.social @itvnews.bsky.social @channel4news.bsky.social 🔔This is all across local news. The government hasn't yet briefed the public on the severe threats from climate change and nature loss, so civil society is taking matters into its own hands. Articles from just last 10 days👇
National Emergency Briefing@nebriefing.bsky.social · 4mo agoWhat if the whole country saw the full picture? This is a national emergency. The impacts are already here. But the solutions exist. Communities are watching the People’s Emergency Briefing and discussing what to do next with neighbours and MPs #EarthDay Screenings www.nebriefing.org/screening-map
The People’s Emergency Briefing just landed in Australia 👇 Check out a screening near you (or why not hold one… we have all the tools to you need to screen it yourself) lnkd.in/eRe3K3vJ
Reminder: tomorrow at 7.30 pm at the Painswick Centre. @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social @walterscottprize.bsky.social www.firstthursdaypainswick.co.uk/event-detail...
The Matchbox Girl by Alice Jolly. | First Thursday Pains
Local author Alice Jolly’s new novel is a stunningly ambitious novel telling the story of a young girl’s battle for survival and the search for truth in Nazi Vienna.
firstthursdaypainswick.co.uk
New on the blog today. I've written about INCIDENTS IN THE RUE LAUGIER by Anita Brookner. I loved this precise, psychologically astute novel in which a young woman's life is cruelly shaped by an ill-advised love affair at an impressionable age. #BookSky 💙📚 jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/05/05/i...
Incidents in the Rue Laugier by Anita Brookner
I love Anita Brookner. Her insights into the loneliness and isolation that characterise her protagonists’ lives are painfully acute. Every time I read her, I seem to discover a new favourite, and h…
jacquiwine.wordpress.com
