I’ll be running the Virtual Cocktail Hour on Saturday at 8pm BST. Grab your ingredients so you can follow along! #RomancingtheGothic

This weekend is the #RomancingtheGothic online conference! Sign up now for a weekend full of talks, events, workshops, live readings and an author round table—all centered on Ann Radcliffe and marginalised genders in the Gothic. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/more-terro...

'More Terrors Than Her Reason Could Justify': An Online Gothic Conference

On 22nd and 23rd August we celebrate 200 years of Ann Radcliffe's posthumous publications and marginalised genders in the Gothic!

eventbrite.co.uk

SATURDAY!!

Unseen Crafts@unseencrafts.bsky.social · 3w ago

Here’s the poster for this year’s art auction to raise funds for @sewh.bsky.social. I will be offering 2 burnings, including my map of Middle Earth. I have some great artists joining me. Please do share, and if you are an artist who would like to be involved then check out the info in the group 😁

Join me, @caitlinstarling.com and writing duo @mkhardywrites.com at the author roundtable! Get your tickets now! The conference is all online, and mostly recorded [live], so you will get the recordings afterwards if you miss panels or workshops.

Dr Sam Hirst@romgothsam.bsky.social · 2d ago

There's still plenty of time to buy tickets (£15/25) for this week's online conference. For talks, writing workshops, poetry readings, author panels and more! Come for the full time or a single session! Sessions you can't make are almost all recorded! www.tickettailor.com/events/roman...

the guardian describes decades of peer reviewed medical science, study, and research as an ‘orthodoxy’. they did the exact same thing with gender affirming care. this is the same playbook. get a right wing quack to cast doubt and then have a bunch of columnists present it as reasonable.

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 20h ago

The Great ADHD Myth? review – the most controversial show of the year is here

anyone got any advice for my young trans buddy?

raye (they/them)@snek.bsky.social · 2d ago

hey all i need some advice for a pal who wants to find an eu country to move to as a student, it has to be somewhere with decent trans healthcare and access to free healthcare either universally or for uni students - pls does anyone have any tips?

Really excited to be on the author round table talking gender in Gothic and much more besides! Get your tickets now!!

Dr Sam Hirst@romgothsam.bsky.social · 3w ago

Are you interested in Ann Radcliffe? Women in Gothic and Horror? Trans horror? Writing workshops with amazing people? You can get it all for one online event. Come to as much or as little as you like! 22nd and 23rd August www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1993974113...

Last year I started "The Big Green Books 500 Club" I asked people to donate £1 a week (or whatever). The idea was that once we reach £500, I then send a school £500 of books of their choice! 7 schools have benefitted so far. Check it out! www.biggreenbookshop.com/big-green-bo...

Casual reminder that the myth of “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” is a cruel hoax designed to convince poor people from all walks of life that the injustices they face are a result of their own actions, rather than an oppressive system rigged against them.

Join me for an evening of Radcliffean horrors and dark poetry as I join the Romancing the Gothic convention Sunday, August 23rd 8:30 PM BST (3:30 PM EDT) and read selections from my new collection of verses THORNS: A BOOK OF POEMS! www.tickettailor.com/events/roman...

There's still plenty of time to buy tickets (£15/25) for this week's online conference. For talks, writing workshops, poetry readings, author panels and more! Come for the full time or a single session! Sessions you can't make are almost all recorded! www.tickettailor.com/events/roman...

I missed #nationalblackcatday in all the excitement. And OF COURSE I will be painting more cats (I still intend to get the #kittyditties book done!) Prints of this one are available (see alt text for detail) “Peek-a-mew” #cat #catart #art #watercolour #artist

This will be up for auction on Facebook this Saturday, the group is called Artists Raising Money for Wildlife.

Unseen Crafts@unseencrafts.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The Middle Earth map is done. Official photos to follow another day. All hand burned onto the wood. This will be available in a Facebook auction to raise funds for @sewh.bsky.social in August. It will not be available outside of the auction so it’s a rare thing 😁 #lotr #maps #handmade #fantasy

This is happening on Saturday!!

Unseen Crafts@unseencrafts.bsky.social · 3w ago

Here’s the poster for this year’s art auction to raise funds for @sewh.bsky.social. I will be offering 2 burnings, including my map of Middle Earth. I have some great artists joining me. Please do share, and if you are an artist who would like to be involved then check out the info in the group 😁

My latest books cartoon for @theguardian.com

Approving new oil and gas developments would be a failure of a Prime Minister's basic duty to protect our environment and communities. We don't need more short-term capitalist thinking; we need bold decision-making to build an economy which puts people and planet before profit.

Hey, #13MorbidMondays! Join me within Ann Radcliffe's woods and get some inspiration for writing your own! Sat., Aug. 22 — 3:30pm British (10:30am Eastern) Part of the #RomancingTheGothic online conference! Full schedule and tickets: www.tickettailor.com/events/roman... or Eventbrite (next post).

#13MorbidMondays@morbidimagining.bsky.social · 2d ago

Today's the 7th of our #13MorbidMondays until October! Prompt: WITHIN THE WOODS Chat questions on theme GOTHIC SETTINGS posted Noon Eastern Share posts inspired by the prompt/theme or general posts of macabre art, writing, reading recs, music, folklore, history, etc. No A.I. Please use alt text

This coming weekend! All online!

Dr Sam Hirst@romgothsam.bsky.social · 3w ago

Are you interested in Ann Radcliffe? Women in Gothic and Horror? Trans horror? Writing workshops with amazing people? You can get it all for one online event. Come to as much or as little as you like! 22nd and 23rd August www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1993974113...

Google plans to bulldoze a wildlife haven in Essex – home to rare species – for a data centre. Sign the petition now to help save it before it’s gone forever 🐝🦋 you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/sa...

Save Arena Essex- Tell Google to search elsewhere!

  Wedged between the Mar Dyke Valley and Lakeside Retail Park, the former Arena Essex Raceway is not your usual wildlife haven. Where once stock cars and speedway bikes lined up to cross the fini...

you.38degrees.org.uk

Just this week, Khan was saying warm words about trans rights. Now he's delighted that the biggest enemy of trans people in the UK will have even more money to ruin their lives. Words are easy, I guess.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan@london.gov.uk · 4d ago

“The wand chooses the wizard.” 🪄 And in this case, it chose Oxford Street. Congratulations to Warner Bros on the UK’s largest Harry Potter shop. Another brilliant new destination for the West End, and proof that Oxford Street is well and truly on the up.

Come and join us! Suzan's workshop is part of an online conference. You can come to as much or as little of it as you like and we keep the prices as low as possible while still paying speakers. £15 or £25 (which is a bargain for Suzan's workshop alone!) www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1993974113...

'More Terrors Than Her Reason Could Justify': An Online Gothic Conference

On 22nd and 23rd August we celebrate 200 years of Ann Radcliffe's posthumous publications and marginalised genders in the Gothic!

eventbrite.co.uk

Suzan the chalant goth@sillysyntax.bsky.social · 5d ago

Hi I'm popping in to mention that I will be at this virtual conference and will be teaching the character arc workshop I did in person as the Brampton writer in residence in the spring. (This account will deactivate shortly cuz I got writing/ community work to do)

One week to go! So many excellent talks and workshops! If you've never come before you could always dip your toes in this weekend with the regular schedule. A nice way to see what to expect next week with a choice of workshop (Sat) or talk (Sun): www.tickettailor.com/events/roman...

Romancing the Gothic

Romancing the Gothic – Romancing the Gothic runs free-to-access talks on Gothic, horror, folklore and supernatural topics. We run weekly talks and a b...

tickettailor.com

Dr Sam Hirst@romgothsam.bsky.social · 3w ago

Are you interested in Ann Radcliffe? Women in Gothic and Horror? Trans horror? Writing workshops with amazing people? You can get it all for one online event. Come to as much or as little as you like! 22nd and 23rd August www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1993974113...

interested in the Gothic? if so I highly recommend you to this excellent and inclusive conference Dare I say, I will be delivering a paper on The Woman of Colour and the ‘Radcliffean Gothic’ and my firm intent is mix some sh!t up so come along if you are game 🖤 #Gothic #18thC #19thC #literature

Dr Sam Hirst@romgothsam.bsky.social · 3w ago

Are you interested in Ann Radcliffe? Women in Gothic and Horror? Trans horror? Writing workshops with amazing people? You can get it all for one online event. Come to as much or as little as you like! 22nd and 23rd August www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1993974113...

The sitting MP got 22k votes in a joke election where a novelty candidate got nearly 10k, and has thus beaten the establishment or something, at a cost of some £300k to the taxpayer. Cool. Can we now get back to the parliamentary standards enquiry into that £5million bung?

My subscription book for this month arrived today, and Simon is excellent at choosing. I have been meaning to buy myself a copy of this for ages.

Big Green Books@biggreenbooks.bsky.social · 2w ago

Today i'm picking this month's Big Green Book Club books. This is a monthly subscription service, where I individually choose, wrap and post a book out to each of the members, based on the kind of stuff they enjoy reading. 3, 6 & 12 month options. HERE! www.biggreenbookshop.com/book-club/in...

Sunday Times Rich List 2026 The richest family in the UK is worth £38 billion A 99% tax would leave them with £380 million That’s more wealth than most people could dream of in a lifetime So forgive me, but I think they’ll survive @greenparty.org.uk's proposed 1% wealth tax Wealth tax. Now.

BladeoftheSun@bladeofthes.bsky.social · last wk.

It's important to know that if a billionaire loses 10% of their wealth, or 50%, or 90%, or even 99%. That they are still far richer than most people will ever be and it has zero negative effects on their life. I don't know why more people aren't demanding they get poorer.

If you can't afford to buy books right now, all my books are available through Kobo plus (their equivalent to Kindle Unlimited). Just go to kobo.com and search for my name. They even have a 30 day free trial. And if you can't afford Kobo plus, can request any of them from libraries.

Really? Is that it? If this is all that’s come from COBR, it’s pitifully inadequate. As crisis deepens, it beggars belief that there aren’t eg plans to increase resources for the fire service, support for farmers, max workplace temperature, funded community cool spaces & obvs ban on new fossil fuels

Andy Burnham warns of summer ban on disposable barbecues

Andy Burnham said he would consider if a restriction on purchasing the products during the summer months could be justified

independent.co.uk

Hello Bluepals, we are open.