I'm in tender mode today, reflecting on the true nature of a writer... open.substack.com/pub/martingo...
Why Writers Stare out of Windows
On the work that happens before the first word
open.substack.com
Martin Goodman
@martingoodman.bsky.social
Writer and publisher. New book is the remarkable story of the Bishnoi, eco-warriors, MY HEAD FOR A TREE. www.martingoodman.com
What in the name of Beetlejuice ARE these things? They're zebra morphs of 'squat lobsters', likely in genus Allogalathea. They're not true lobsters & are more closely related to hermit crabs. Now which one is white with black stripes & which is black with white stripes? (📷: hoopderscotch)
On the roof of Ipswich's Railway Station... an oyster catcher! I loved folks' happy excitement when I pointed it out.
Rain and sunshine have the greens around the lagoon looking proud 📷 💚 …
From two weeks inside the French Pyrenees, bathed in the song of nightingales, some thoughts from my window. Why might writers gain from a retreat in Nature? open.substack.com/pub/martingo...
Writer's retreats
All writing, of course, is a retreat – the writer heads inwards, opening buried vistas.
open.substack.com
I'm being gifted a daily orchid along my walks. This one is a Yellow Bee orchid.
Today's beauty from my mountain trail... a Lady orchid
Hooray, my first orchid of the year. A narrow-leaved helleborine by my Pyrenean oath.
I'm on a writing retreat in the French Pyrenees. This short suggests why.
Brazil has created the South Atlantic’s largest marine protected area, spanning about one million hectares. Supported by Conservation International, the reserve—roughly the size of Jamaica—aims to safeguard biodiversity, fisheries, and critical ocean ecosystems.
Brazil creates the South Atlantic's largest marine park | Conservation International
Conservation International helped secure a million-hectare marine park, two decades in the making.
conservation.org
"Your voice is one of many. If you didn't share your voice, you wouldn't start a chant." Great wisdom from the young.
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 4mo agoWATCH — @aoc.bsky.social: “What law would you want to make?” 🔥 SMART KID: “🇺🇸 needs to let people go to the doctor free, because in other places they have it free.” #MedicareForAllNOW
This is hilarious. A bit sad for Suffolk, but funny.
Cuckoo takes one look at Suffolk after migration and flees
Ashok the cuckoo returns to Suffolk after his migration, but he quickly flees after a few hours.
bbc.co.uk
Red shouldered hawk spoiling the fun for the others. 🪶😎
Here's a pet peeve. People who remember their dearly departed by leaving wreaths on benches. So where are we supposed to sit? The practice is popular in Lowestoft. I try and get nice about it, think of it as folk art, but really I want to chuck them all in the bin.
What a way to end publication day! For the Guardian, I’ve written a piece on navigating the weird and wonderful word of Muriel Spark. Read it, and do give my book a read, too. LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: THE NINE LIVES OF MURIEL SPARK is out right now! 🐈⬛ www.theguardian.com/books/2026/a...
Where to start with: Muriel Spark
From an extraordinary debut inspired by a real-life breakdown to a creepy masterpiece, here’s a guide to the Scottish novelist’s works
theguardian.com
Exciting skies above Lowestoft. The sandmartins have returned. This is part of a large flock. Their homes of last year have washed away as the cliffs retreat inland so they will be building aafresh.
I'm honoured and chuffed to be on this admirable shortlist.
I flew back from a book festival in Kerala via Oman. Since then the airspace is shut down by drone warfare and news has become horrifying. So here are alternative snippets, including some great reading suggestions. open.substack.com/pub/martingo...
Wet and Safe - Some Notes from Writing in London
Back in the 1990s it seemed important to post on my online blog ‘This Writer’s Life’ every day.
open.substack.com
A flighty Northern Flicker deciding whether my presence will prevent her from eating. 📷 Olympus C-740 Ultra-Zoom #birds #shittycamerachallenge
This is cheering news - a shortlisting for MY HEAD FOR A TREE and its remarkable story of the Bishnoi people and conservation. And happy company to be in. Thanks! @profilebooks.bsky.social @greystonebooks.bsky.social
Richard Jefferies Award@rjaward.bsky.social · 6mo agoThe shortlist for the 2025 award has been announced Ghosts of the Farm by Nicola Chester A Wilding Year by Hannah Dale Peatlands by Alys Fowler My Head for a Tree by Martin Goodman The Lost Elms by Mandy Haggith Of Thorn & Briar by Paul Lamb The winner will be announced by late spring.
Periyar Tiger Reserve, a trendsetter in converting poachers to protectors india.mongabay.com/2020/03/peri....
Periyar Tiger Reserve, a trendsetter in converting poachers to protectors
A participatory forest management project comprising former poachers and sandalwood smugglers, completes 17 years of conservation in Periyar Tiger Reserve.
india.mongabay.com
Sunrise from the biopark in Calicut, Kerala, India. Just in case your day needs a little sun.
Kozikhode is India’s first UNESCO city of literature, holds a great book festival, where a man throws scraps of meat to attract a skyful of mighty magnifient birds, and it’s not a bad place at all to hang out in January. open.substack.com/pub/martingo...
Kerala – the Bookfest on a Beach
Why on Earth would a writer fly to an Indian beach in January?
open.substack.com
