My union: could be yours too.

The Society of Authors@societyofauthors.bsky.social · 8h ago

Did you know we administer a number of grants for authors? Grants currently open for applications include: 🖊️Authors' Foundation grants for works-in-progress 📜Strachey Trust Grants to enable authors to access literary manuscripts in a UK or Republic of Ireland archive

Just enjoyed the new katsu chicken bake from Greggs, but I’m sure no one in the UK seems to realise that “katsu” is not the name for Japanese curry sauce, but for the breaded pork/chicken cutlet that often accompanies it. I live in a country of Philistines.

a gap in the hedge and the landscape of childhood and then I wake up #haiku #poatry #lostsummers #dreamscape

not white noise but green the woodland’s voice a prism of all sounds’ colours #haiku #poetry #soundscape #voicesofthewoods

Good morning butterflies! We're off to Leeds today to talk about #StudioGhibli for #SeedTalks. Take a look at leemansfield.co.uk for stunning images like this one of Leeds Clarence Dock

I had to highlight this tribute to Mamoru Oshii's live action film "Stray Dogs - Keberos Panzer Cops" in the new animated movie "Patlabor EZY - File 1". They literally recreated almost all of the shots from the original 1991 trailer.

A Kyushu group dedicated to publishing #manga that pass down the experiences of people in #Japan during the war seeks crowdfunding support for its 6th publication: the story of the high school girls who supported young pilots setting off on their final missions in 1945. mainichi.jp/english/arti...

Pony Canyon was founded in 1966 as a record label, Pony Inc., and has hung on through 60 years of change in #Japan's economy. It became Pony Canyon on merger with another label in 1987. Its strategic partnerships enabled its games, music and programming to spread across the world.

Anime Business@animebusiness-ab.bsky.social · yesterday

Pony Canyon registered an operating profit of ¥867 million in the first quarter of the fiscal year ending in March 2027 with overseas sales of the "Petals of Reincarnation" anime contributing for the result as well as reduced production costs. gamebiz.jp/news/430552

a flush on my cheeks and grass seeds stuck in my hair haymaking season #haiku #poetry #highsummer #makehay #countrymatters

...We were inspired by @helenmccarthy51.bsky.social's Ghibli lecture a few weeks back in Dundee!

McDonald’s Japan's new Pokémon Happy Meals feature starters from all nine Pokémon generations!

Pokémon comes to McDonald’s Japan for new Happy Meals toys, brings every generation’s starters

You can’t celebrate 30 years of Pokémon without 30 years of starters, plus a few more Pocket Monster all-stars.

soranews24.com

Well done, Stross and Scalzi - every word true and every word relevant to the future of creative craft, not just in SFF but across every discipline where humans invent stuff.

The Register@theregister.com · 2d ago

Sci-fi authors Scalzi and Stross decry AI's dystopian impact on their craft

My books will be on my shelves where they belong. A few friends used to laugh at me for keeping what they called obsolete things like vinyl records and old books. They all agree it was a good idea now.

Like many places in rural #Japan the town of Wake has an ageing, shrinking population. Locals love #cosplay and hope that cosplayers from all over Japan and around the world will come to their town, spend money in local businesses and help to promote its natural beauty. www.asahi.com/ajw/articles...

Okayama town seeks cosplayers to revitalize old community | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

WAKE, Okayama Prefecture—Municipal officials here have embarked on a bold project involving neighboring cities, international tourists—and especially cosplayers--to revive this rural aging town.

asahi.com

#Japan's newest form of cycling, the #Komichari, is a big success with locals and visitors. A special vehicle lets two cyclists and a passenger enjoy unique woodland views of Chiba's Boso peninsula and its wildlife, using the rails of the Kominato line. Until Dec. 14. www.asahi.com/ajw/articles...

Rural Chiba line offering rail bike rides during daytime hours | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

ICHIHARA, Chiba Prefecture--Passengers on the Kominato Railway, which operates a train line in the scenic Boso Peninsula, can really get the up-close feel of “riding the rails” in a special offering.

asahi.com

I love to share great sites on #Japan. This issue of Eve Kushner's Joy o' Kanji newsletter leads with a lovely story on the closure of Peter Goodman's personal office and what #StoneBridgePress has meant to all of us fortunate enough to publish there. www.icontact-archive.com/archive?c=81...

A week of beautiful kabuki music live in Scotland, starting on 7 August www.jpf.org.uk/whatson.php#...

hawk/moth what connects two species so other strength and precision elegance in flight #tanka #poetry #hawk/moth #connection

« #PrincesseMononoke » adapté en « Super #Kabuki » au #Japon. Retrouvez le chef-d’œuvre de #HayaoMiyazaki et du #StudioGhibli au théâtre Shinbashi Enbujô à Tôkyô jusqu'au 23 août. 🔗 www.buta-connection.net/actualites/a... #Mononoke #Miyazaki #Ghibli #Theatre

What is insane (but lovely) about the US/UK #anime market at present is that history is being dished up to fresh audiences as distributors grab IP from decades back. Samurai Pizza Cats, The Big O, Memories, Patlabor - all huge back when British fandom was tiny. Oldskoolers can say we told you so.

Anime News Network@animenewsnetwork.com · 4d ago

Discotek announced at Otakon nearly 20 new releases slated for this year, including: Toradora, Digimon Frontier, Big O, Samurai Pizza Cats, Pani Poni Dash, and much more.

In Takamatsu city, locals are split over the projection mapping software that brings art to Kinashi station's clean, welcoming new restroom. No, not a #manga plot - the local authority hopes to encourage young artists and attract more visitors. www.asahi.com/ajw/articles...

Locals split over artistic restroom with projection mapping | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

TAKAMATSU--On a recent weekday night, only a few people were seen around the restroom at JR Kinashi Station in this capital city of Kagawa Prefecture.

asahi.com

Last night the 51st Edogawa-ku Firework Festival lit up the skies over Tokyo. Local company Souke Hanabi Kagiya Co., which dates back to the Edo era, has handled the display since 1976. japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/gene...

#ShareGoodNews - still a long way from a cure, but scientists are working together across the world to find and explore new possibilities in the fight against Alzheimer's disease. mainichi.jp/english/arti...

Japan-US research team discovers substance seen as 'seed' behind Alzheimer's disease - The Mainichi

The team, including researchers from Japan's National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, focused on the protein amyloid beta, or A-beta. In the brain

mainichi.jp

Tadahiko Mori continues his series in the #Mainichi on Isabella Lucy Bird's travels in Japan. With all the faults and virtues of a passionate Victorian Christian and a meticulous observer, she presents #Japan exactly as she sees it, and values the kindness of the poor. mainichi.jp/english/arti...

Isabella Bird's 'Unbeaten Tracks in Japan': Peering eyes and Tochigi's rural beauty (Pt. 7) - The Mainichi

Rich rice paddies and wheat fields: the Kanto Plain On June 11, 1878, Isabella Bird and her party set out from Kasukabe (located in present-day Saitam

mainichi.jp

the skeletons of the creative spirits are mounted and shown off by the techbros who profit from stealing dinosaur art #tanka #poetry #AI #trophies www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Tyrannosaurus Rex most expensive dinosaur ever sold

The dinosaur skeleton, which roamed the planet 67 million years ago, was sold by Sotheby's in New York.

bbc.co.uk

living simple lives leaving no trace but beauty karma of hawkmoths karma of hawks is rending their road written quill and claw #tanka #poetry #karma #hawk/moth

I had a really great evening yesterday at the 5th Brixton Free Books Fair. There's loads more going on today, lots of events and free books for all ages to take home! It's at Brixton House of Coldharbour Lane, a short walk from the station. brixtonhouse.co.uk/shows/free-b...

The 80/50 problem: #Japan faces a looming crisis of hikikomori in their 40s and 50s relying on parents in their 70s and 80s, whose savings are being drained to keep their adult chicks in the nest. What happens when they die? unseen-japan.com/japan-hikiko...

Japan’s Hikikomori “80/50” Crisis is Putting a Strain on Elderly Parents - Unseen Japan

Japan coined the word "hikikomori" for teen shut-ins, but no one stays young forever. Today, many hikikomori are in their 40s and 50s.

unseen-japan.com

Our 6th campaign is almost here! 🎉 『Galette Special English Edition Vol.6』 launches on August 19, 2026 at 9:00 AM JST. It will be a fast-paced 15-day campaign, so follow the project and join us from the start! www.kickstarter.com/projects/gal...

How is it wrong to spend as much as you can afford on a great piece of clothing made in the UK by well paid and fairly treated British workers? Some spend a fortune on crap made by poorly treated sweatshop workers with no benefit to Britain. Is that good? www.theguardian.com/fashion/2026...

No apologies, no freebies: the man who makes Andy Burnham’s jackets on how to weather a storm

Private White VC’s James Eden says PM should not be criticised for wearing a high-quality British-made brand

theguardian.com