Marina Sofia

Surely one of the best openings ever 😍😍

My college was full so I had to stay overnight at another college and it was a lot more expensive for a lot fewer amenities. Felt like they're ripping off tourists who want to cosplay the Cambridge experience 😒

The joy of the night train The magic of crossing countries and continents through the darkness and why the aim is not only the destination but the pleasure of the journey itself.

The joy of the night train. The magic of crossing countries and continents through the darkness and why the aim is not only the destination but the pleasure of the journey itself. My essay for The Winding Trail:

the-winding-trail.com/2025/07/25/t...

✨MARK YOUR CALENDARS✨ Starting March 24, visionary filmmaker Bi Gan’s ravishing third feature RESURRECTION — his deepest plunge yet into the realm of pure dreamscape — will begin streaming exclusively on the Criterion Channel alongside a new Meet the Filmmakers interview with the writer-director!

Artificial Intelligence To use or not to use...that is the question

Instead of my weekly roundup of #publiahing News #writing craft tips and #bookmarketing links I have an article on buff.ly/W5MBVhn

#writingcommunity

Happy to announce that Part One of my essay “On the novels I wrote that didn’t work, the novels I will never write and the one I wish I’d written” is now up on the Faber Journal!

Enjoy!

www.faber.co.uk/journal/rich...

Creative arts graduates aren't the problem – they're the subsidy Johnny Rich argues that low graduate salaries in the arts aren't a sign of poor courses – they're a sign of an industry that profits from exploiting its workforce

'some creative arts graduates don’t appear to earn a significant graduate premium, but the UK’s creative industries are worth £125bn a year or, to put it another way, more than £1 in every £20 in the UK economy – a larger proportion of the nation’s wealth than almost any other country on earth.' 1/3

“Turn gently towards your work.” #gwenjohn #ReadingWales26 When I was gathering together piles of options for March’s reading events, I found I had surprisingly little trouble pulling Irish Lit options off the TBR. However, Wales initially seemed mor…

On the Ramblings today for #ReadingWales26 my thoughts on a wonderful collection of the Letters and Notebooks of #GwenJohn - more here: kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/03/13/t...

Not surprised to read that

With perfect pacing, a wonderful mix of characters, and tension which grips throughout, I powered through this book in just a single day. I’m fully invested in Stella’s life, her various legal exploits, and appreciate her humour and sometimes cynical view on life... 😍😍😍

Read a couple. Reading more

⏰👉 Calling all professional and aspiring translators: the deadline for applications for Oxford Translates is fast approaching.

Apply by the 16th March to make sure you don't miss out on our scholarship places (see our website for details).

Apply by the 31st March for the early-bird discount!

Translating across borders both literary and linguistic, we’re excited to welcome award-winning translator and novelist Kate Briggs to #DeptfordLitFest 📚️ for an in-conversation with writer and critic @jennifer_hodgson_

📅 Wednesday 25 March, 7-8pm
📍 Room 137A, Richard Hoggart Building @goldsmithsuol

Still reading The Remembered Soldier. Beautifully nuanced and intriguing but it is very long and I'm only halfway through.

Loved that book, retraced the steps and houses of many of the women she mentions

Even more beautiful in summer!

“A new study from Northwestern University warns that coordinated scientific fraud is becoming increasingly common. From fabricated data to purchased authorships and paid citations, researchers say organized groups are manipulating the academic publishing system. To investigate the issue, scientists combined large scale analysis of scientific publications with detailed case studies. While misconduct is often portrayed as the work of individual researchers cutting corners, the Northwestern team discovered something far more complex. Their findings reveal global networks of people and organizations working together to systematically exploit weaknesses in the publishing process. The scale of the problem is striking. According to the researchers, traudulent studies are now appearing at a faster rate than legitimate scientific publications. The authors say the findings should serve as a warning to the scientific community to strengthen safeguards before public trust in s E ence begins to erode.”

“This study is probably the most depressing project I've been involved with in my entire life…It's distressing to see others engage in fraud &in misleading others. But if you believe that science is useful & important for humanity, then you have to fight for it”🧪
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...

I was kicked out of choir in school, they said it was just for three voices, not four. Not that I'm bitter or anything! 🥴

Breakfast at my local cafe, lunch and ice-cream in Potsdam, nightcap at the 60s Bond film bar at my favourite local cinema. Talked so much with my friend that my lips are chapped.

Today was all about Potsdam

Feeling ostracised and boycotted by the West has just led to more entrenched national pride. Of course with Israel and US acting like they do, they just laugh scornfully at the hypocrisy.

The educated middle classes have all got their sons studying or living abroad so not in danger of conscription. They can still meet up in Montenegro or Azerbaijan or Turkey. Their multinational employer like PWC simply changed names to a Russian one but nothing else changed.

Having a Russian friend who recently had to go back to Moscow to help her aged parents for 2 weeks is quite eye-opening. In some respects the war is having a positive effect on the country: with oligarchs' money no longer going abroad, there's been lots of internal investment.

The novel that changed my mind – ten experts share a perspective‑shifting read For World Book Day, we asked ten academic experts to share a work of fiction that has challenged their assumptions and changed their thinking in a lasting way.

For me it was getting Borges' THE BOOK OF IMAGINARY BEINGS and Calvino's IF ON A WINTER'S NIGHT A TRAVELLER as gifts, both in the same year as a teenager. Blew my tiny mind. "So you're allowed to _do this_?!!"
theconversation.com/the-novel-th...

Winding Up the Week #462 This week, as International Women’s Day approaches, I look at books read and reviewed, highlight some of the finest literary writing from across the blogosphere, mark a host of notable anniversarie…

Winding Up the Week #462 bookjotter.com/2026/03/07/w...

[Image Description: a graphic featuring a photo of Robin and Shawn, and the words Robin and Shawn chat about The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor]

Robin and Shawn chat about The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor

youtu.be/l99OpTg5Pd0

🤣🤣🤣

She's so cute!

Quakers? Arresting Quakers??? Can't believe it! 🤯

Paula Rego: Story Line | 16 April – 23 May 2026 The most comprehensive exhibition of Rego’s drawings to date shines new light on the artist's evolving use of line.

PSA for London art lovers!

The Victoria Miro gallery will be hosting an exhibition of Paula Rego's drawings and works on paper, PAULA REGO: STORY LINE, from 16th April to 23rd May. 🔥

#Art #ArtSky #PaulaRego #London

www.victoria-miro.com/exhibitions/...