Today at 2pm in Nottingham Central Library, celebrate the 50th anniversary of Stanley Middleton's Booker Prize win for Holiday. The prize statuette will be on display. Free talk. Here's my DawnoftheUnread Stanley story, Shelves, illustrated by Ella Joyce. dawnoftheunread.com/issue-14-01.ht…

Happy first birthday to Nottingham's new City Library, home to Nottingham City of Literature (is away & reading) and, as of yesterday, Stanley Middleton's Booker Prize statuette (in Local Studies for the next two years). Proud to talk about Holiday with Stanley's family & Nigel Hawkins Thanks, all who came.

My Christmas sonnet for my dad, broadcast on ⁦BBC Radio 3⁩ this morning.

Delighted to receive this beautiful anthology of Record Mirror columns, edited by Mike Atkinson (aka Mike Atkinson the late James Hamilton's stepson) in the post today. A good read, valuable history & great reference book. Volume 2 to follow. You can order here superweirdsubstance.com/james-hamilton…

2024: the sleeve notes (or skip straight to the playlist: open.spotify.com/playlist/3k2al…) davidbelbin.com/blog/2024/12/2…

Outstanding instore by White Denim at Rough Trade Nottingham. The band were wearing in a new bassist, Dan, and played a full 95 minute set featuring the new LP, 12, bangers & requests. James Petralli in rare form.

R.I.P. Jimmy Carter, the first rock'n'roll president, cruelly defeated, the most dignified of men, friend of Bob Dylan Hunter S. Thompson & all who needed help.

R.I.P. David Lodge, who I knew a little. A fine novelist, lovely man & big influence on me: as a Catholic novelist & on my career as an academic, where his work on writing (especially the columns published as The Art of Fiction) was so lucid, insightful & helpful to my students.

Cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigns from Washington Post amp.theguardian.com/media/2025/jan…

Six minutes of decency, intelligence and common sense as Starmer denounces lies& praises Jess Philips while eviscerating Musk and Bad Enoch without stooping to name them. And yeah I like the way autocorrect makes me spell the Tory leader's name.

As a lifelong Liverpool FC supporter, couldn't think of anything that'd stop me supporting the club - until I read this. theguardian.com/football/2025/…

The new Uncut Magazine has four acts I have tickets for in #Nottingham (The Weather Station, Richard Dawson, Delines & Nadia Reid) so I'm obviously in the right place. Hope BPB will tour too. Btw shouldn't Uncut be in the blue place by now?

Isobel Hardman in the Observer belittling prison libraries. Annoying when writers use cheap throwaway remarks on what they know little about. I’ve visited over 70. Most are excellent particularly if part of local council service. Each is a proper library and valued as such.

Sending solidarity and birthday wishes to Gaie Delap, a peaceful climate protester who is spending her 78th birthday behind bars – all because the private company responsible for fitting electronic tags couldn't find one the right size for her. Will keep pushing for her release.

Sad to receive an email saying Cineworld is closing its Nottingham cinema on February 2nd, having failed to secure a rent reduction. Their unlimited card has given great value for more than 20 years. Still, has to be good news for my favourite Nottingham cinema Broadway Cinema

The Cineworld closure news is especially bad for members of the Indian, Pakistani, Korean, Chinese/World communities in Nottingham, who are currently pretty well served. See, for instance, the offerings currently listed on the CW website. Hope Broadway Cinema can do more here.

Tesla Gigafactory, Berlin - right now! In cooperation with Led By Donkeys

Poking my head up here to share this fine Richard Lapper obituary of my friend and fellow Sheffield born author Geoff Nicholson who died suddenly, after a long illness, last month. theguardian.com/books/2025/feb…