Only a few tickets left for my event this Saturday at Farnham Lit fest with @stephmerritt.bsky.social @drmatthewsweet.bsky.social. Come along if you’re in Kent or nearby or actually far away. Make a bloody effort.
www.farnham.gov.uk/farnham-even...
Celebrated children’s authors will participate in a virtual read-in to support Minneapolis youth on March 10 https://pen.org/press-release/virtual-read-in-3-10-by-celebrated-childrens-authors-to-support-minneapolis-youth/
I'm thinking of writing an article about how literary agents are often their own worst enemies and are creating an environment in which it is really difficult for authors to actually find a home for often excellent manuscripts.
As opposed to one about all the mistakes authors make when submitting.
Congrats to Wendy and Kit! @wednesdayerskin.bsky.social @kitdewaal.com www.irishtimes.com/culture/book...
It is a legal requirement that prisons must deliver at least 15 hours of education per week to children of statutory school age.
Feltham, Werrington and Wetherby failed to reach this standard in 2025.
https://howardleague.org/news/new-figures-reveal-continued-failure-of-prisons-holding-children/
As part of the Big Issue's series on the special education system, mother Elizabeth Padilla shares her experience of struggling to get support for her two children.
‘Some of the most foundational relationships with art I have had have had nothing to do with “enjoyment”’ The National Year of Reading celebrates the ‘joy’ of books. But let’s not forget they can also be deeply troubling, too | Charlotte Higgins
A state so small, that it will fit neatly in your bedroom closet, from where Danny Kruger will be counting your sexual partners, and Matt Goodwin will check you are using each ovulation wisely and sending you a tax surcharge if not.
Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, on FB: "I'm happy to live in a country where there is free and equal access to health for all. Where it’s not insurances and wealth that determine whether you get proper treatment. You have the same approach in Greenland. Happy Sunday to you all 😊".
Here’s the LBC recording of Bannon talking with Farage about getting rid of Theresa May, just as his text messages to Epstein suggest he’s work with Boris Johnson to the same end youtu.be/nU0F8rP7dr4?...
"At least three prison officers at Lowdham Grange who had a duty to monitor Matthew Osborne three times an hour, failed to do the necessary checks, and faked entries."
Channel 4 News: https://www.channel4.com/news/falsified-welfare-checks-led-to-deaths-of-vulnerable-inmates-inquest-told
Emily Thornberry spitting blood about Mandelson and his appointment as ambassador is a sight to behold.
DRINK YOUR COFFEE. READ YOUR BOOKS. IT'S CHAOS OUT THERE.
#SelfCare Too
15-minute cities has proven controversial on X with Sharron Davies and Right Said Fred speaking out about a traffic scheme in Oxford.
"The recalled prisoner population more than doubled from approximately 6,300 in June 2018 to 13,500 in June 2025, contributing to the prisons crisis."
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jan/29/record-number-offenders-recalled-prison-england-wales-drugs
Announcing 50 finalists for our 2026 Literary Awards and two career achievement honorees—Edwidge Danticat will receive the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature, and Julia Cho will receive the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award. pen.org/press-releas...
Research at King's College has looked at why some of us feel profound gratitude and wonder for being alive, while others feel... nothing.
The Boss is singing about ICE on the Streets of Minneapolis.
You won't hear this played at the Kennedy Center or on Fox News.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWKS...
New on our blog: Here are a few ways to support the book community of Minnesota, whether through donations, buying books, or reading about their experiences. pen.org/book-communi...
Line graph showing an increase in prison deaths in England and Wales from 1978 to 2025, peaking near 400 deaths.
The number of people dying in prisons in England and Wales has risen to the highest level on record, official data reveal.
Prisons recorded 394 deaths in 2025 – a 15% increase on the previous year.
https://howardleague.org/news/revealed-the-rising-death-toll-in-prisons-in-england-and-wales/
Happy 80th birthday to our founder, John Bird.
35 years ago, he created the Big Issue to offer a hand up, not a handout.
Since then, over 100,000 vendors have sold 200 million magazines and earned more than £150 million.
From all of us at Big Issue, thank you. Here is to what comes next.
Finally got around to a bit of research I'd been meaning to explore, and: There is no documented instance of an ICE officer being identified and assaulted while off duty because he wasn't masked. www.pbump.net/o/ices-excus...
🎂This week, our founder John Bird turns 80.
His birthday message is simple, but incredibly important: the Big Issue model only works when customers take the magazine they buy.
A reminder of our founding principle: a hand up, not a hand out.
Read more: www.bigissue.com/opinion/ta...
A new anthology of writing on Gaza urges us all in the direction of sense and empathy, and a fuller understanding of the suffering.
Residency for two emerging writers to explore the feminist archive at Nottingham Women's Library.
Details in link.
Please share :)
Edwin Morgan's poem 'Grendel', in which he voices the creature from Beowulf, has thrilling opening lines:
It is being nearly human
gives me this spectacular darkness.
The light does not know what to do with me.
