Been gone for a bit thanks to reading for Woodpig Press, getting a new issue going for the FGTS magazine, and also trying to recover physically after metamorphosing into a slug over Christmas. I am (hopefully) back to posting silly pictures and dusty WIPs. Oh, also running the FGTS Bluesky!

When we open to submissions in 3 weeks, every submission will receive brief feedback. Rejection sucks, but what sort of feedback would be useful? This post outlines how our submissions process works. Feel free to leave comments and suggestions. woodpigpress.substack.com/p/submission... #booksky

Submissions and Author Feedback

Week 14 – in which I finalise the submissions process, and work out just what authors want to hear when they don't want to hear what you have to say

woodpigpress.substack.com

I stand neither in the wilderness nor fairyland but in the fold of a green hill the tilt from one parish into another… —Kathleen Jamie, “The Wishing Tree” SELECTED POEMS (Picador, 2018) #BookWormSat #poem Hear “The Wishing Tree” on @thepoetryarchive.bsky.social poetryarchive.org/poem/wishing...

Shaymaa Abulebda, an influential writer & scholar from Gaza, should soon be starting a PhD at the University of Edinburgh [part of which is an internship at Comma]. Instead she lives in a tent in al-Mawasi displacement camp in the ruins of southern Gaza. www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...

Celebrating Disability Pride Month with these book recs!!📚 This article explores great recs to add to your tbr! www.thepublishingpost.com/post/book-re...

Book Recs for Disability Pride Month

July marks Disability Pride Month, with the entirety of the month dedicated to embracing disabled identities, having important conversations and supporting those in the disabled community.

thepublishingpost.com

Hello, we're launching Small Press Scotland CIC! SPS is a new organisation dedicated to uplifting Scotland's small press scene and running events that prioritise indie creators. You might already know one of our events, @tagsfest.co.uk! 📚 Learn more and sign up to our newsletter at smallpress.scot

Something whimsical this way comes…✨ You can’t crack open Crossroads just yet but you can feast your eyes on our fantastic cover 😍📚💙 #booksky #books #bookcover #scotland #anthology #toberead

Happy Trans Day of Visibility! Here's a comic essay we made last year about Lunar Boy and QPOC representation 🌈📚 (1/4) #Art #Comics #OC #OCsky #Booksky #Artsky #TDOV

The more I research my dissertation topic, the more passionate I feel. Which is great because it means the pre-submission burnout will just sear my edges instead of setting me alight! I hope.

Day 4 of our meet the team posts and it's time to introduce our dedicated Design and Layout team! Check out this thread to get to know them 💙📚 #Booksky #Publisher #Design #Art

Landed at LBF! All it took was an 12 bus journey, a strange stop at Birmingham, and a Final Destination-esque incident on the M6…

I've got a toaty Bluesky following but I'm still going to try and convince you all to follow Stryvling Press! (Totally not biased. Totally not an editor there...)

Stryvling Press@stryvlingpress.bsky.social · 2y ago

(1/4) Stryvling Press is officially on Bluesky! ✨🦢 But who are we? Take a peek at this thread to find out!

Trying to plan for this year's London Book Fair has been a bit of a nightmare, given the hoops that students have had to jump through. I'm still very excited to attend, but it'd be nice to feel slightly more welcomed. Instead I feel as if the vibe has been instead to deter students from attending. 🤐

It's beyond me why folks in the publishing industry are now trying to pawn off *reading literature* to AI. If gracing a handful of writers with actual, human feedback seems like too much effort, then I might suggest a career change...

The Bookseller@thebookseller.com · 2y ago

A writing competition judged by artificial intelligence (AI) and dubbed the “first-of-its-kind" has launched with backing by tech companies MyPoolitzer and Quantifiction with Canadian publisher Blue Denim Press 👇 #BookSky

I started my work placement @ Edinburgh University Press this morning. Aside from it being absolutely great, and everyone being a joy to work with, it also let me develop ideas for my dissertation. Which is good seeing as it's been stuck in my brain for the past three months without much progress...

Today, the UK government announced a proposal to change copyright law - for the benefit of AI companies - that would cause huge, irreversible harm to creators. More info below, but most importantly here's what you can do (wherever you live): 1. Email your MP. Template letter in 🧵 👇 1/10

Working on this final essay, which involves researching all of JK Rowling's horrendously transphobic controversies from the past five years, has proven to not get me in the Christmas spirit.

Had to snag these X & Pearl novelizations by @timwaggoner.bsky.social because just look at how gorgeous they are— how could I possibly resist?

You may know about Project Gutenberg, which is an online repository of older, public domain works where copyright has expired. Its offshoot, Project Gutenberg Self-Publishing, lets authors upload their own modern works while retaining all rights. 💙📚

Jumped up when I saw the #WIPSnips word today because I've got the word 'cherry' in this draft at least five times, for some reason. Here's my favourite use, though!

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · 2y ago

Welcome to a new week of #WIPSnips The word for December 9th is "cherry" 🍒 Cherry pie? Cherry red lips? 💋 The cherry on top? Lots of options here! #WriteSky #writers #authors #WritingCommunity #WritingPrompts

Irvine Welsh to publish new sequel to Trainspotting

Irvine Welsh to publish new sequel to Trainspotting

Men in Love will pick up the stories of the original crew immediately after the close of the 1993 classic as they become serious in their quest for romance It has been just over 30 years since readers first encountered Trainspotting’s Mark Renton…

theguardian.com

Uni library during postgrad finals season is a scary place to be. Someone in the corner has whooping cough. I just witnessed another suck down two cans of Monster in ten minutes. It has never been more empty, yet never more dangerous. Natural selection. I fear I will not make it out of here alive.

Congratulations to Pàdraig MacAoidh [Peter Mackay] on his appointment as Scotland's new Makar (National Poet). Pàdraig is the first Scottish Gaelic poet in the role. He recorded his poem Crann-cuinnse [Quince Tree] to promote the announcement. The English translation appears in the thread below.

Today in pulp I look back at the simple idea that launched a thousand fanzines: Letraset! Launched in 1959 by Dai Davies and Fred Mackenzie it heralded a graphic design revolution that brought funky fonts and trendy typefaces to the masses... #fontsunday #booksky

In absolute shock to be included in this anticipated list of 2025 books from Cosmopolitan 😭❤️ if you have a wee penchant for feminist queer cannibals, please consider checking it out 🎀 @wnbooks.bsky.social #booksky #horror

A little excerpt for #WIPSnips after a very strange weekend. Writing will commence when I have recovered from the absurdity of life, maybe!

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · 2y ago

Welcome to a new week of #WIPSnips The word for December 2 is "lift" #amwriting #writingcommunity #writers #authors #writesky #writingprompts

And for St. Andrew’s day, an excerpt of a short story I’ve been finishing up this weekend. Apologies to all the non-Scots speakers. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Late night for #WIPSnips while I ponder this manuscript and finish class readings… 🐛

✨#WIPSnips✨ A Daily Writing Share Tag@wipsnips.bsky.social · 2y ago

The #WIPSnips word for November 27 is "chemistry" Maybe this can go with yesterday's word "neighbor". Got any chemistry with those neighbors? 😂 Remember the word doesn't have to be exact! Synonyms, variations and ✨vibes✨ are fine! #amwriting #writers #authors #writingcommunity #writesky

this festive wee guy is now doing the rounds across Scotland – grab a copy to The Skinny guide to Christmas + Hogmanay, it's free, ho ho ho, etc etc