My column on the latest developments in the Post Office scandal - an incredible tale of total corporate psychopathy that I absolutely BEG you to stay very very cross about theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Save your money on a creative writing MFA and just watch this instead.

Nowadays libraries offer more than just access to books, they’re often a lynchpin of their respective communities, giving people a space to commune and access to resources they may not be able to afford otherwise. It’s imperative we fight to keep them open
theguardian.com/books/2023/jun…

A woman driving a car, Barcelona, 1900, National Gallery’s post-Impressionism show. Painting by Ramon Casas.

Travel back with me 111 years to the pre-war streets of Paris. It is La Belle Époque, and this anonymous autochrome of a street flower kiosk was taken way back in 1912. It is original colour, not colourised.

To Penzance’s indie ⁦⁦⁦The Morrab Library⁩ AGM. An inspiring visit. Flourishing community of readers, researchers, staff, trustees and volunteers 📚🌊

This picture by Mabel Frances Layng was painted in 1918 at the end of WW1 and shows the Roman gods Venus, the goddess of love, and Mars, the god of war, in an allegory of beauty and valour; though apples in art can mean just about anything, here they symbolise fertility.

Did a quick Q&A for Bloomsbury Books UK about OXBLOOD, Manchester, literary influences, and teaching creative writing/crime fiction at UEA. bloomsbury.com/uk/discover/ar…

Just got back home after winning(!) the Young Writer Award. A passenger overheard my missus and me talking on the train and then the whole carriage full of lovely & absolutely hammered randoms took turns holding the award and shaking my hand. One of the best nights of my life!🙏🖤

Of all the decades of photos I've restored, the 1850s look the most sensational, bursting with character! When I get my time machine working it's the first place I'm returning to - what a dinner party this would be! I've collected my 4 favourites together for you to enjoy & share

Cracking cover. And inside it’s properly savage, promise Abigail Burdess⁩ ⁦Hatchards⁩ #mothersday

This is gutsy, moving and erudite. Not just an insight into facing MS, it’s also a literary love letter, frankly funny about reclaiming life ‘piece by piece.’ Robert Douglas-Fairhurst Official

Wow. Congratulations Tom Benn - brilliant writer and UEA teacher New Writing

Gwen John, 'Self-Portrait with a letter', c.1907-9

I had no money growing up. My dad was a labourer and my mum did everything to make ends meet. Men worked hard. Women worked miracles. But education was free. As was the local library. I knew books were my passport to a better life. #SupportLibraries

UEA’s Creative Writing MA in Crime Fiction is open to applications for Sept '23. Write a novel over two years. Almost two dozen published graduates since 2017, including Sunday Times bestsellers, CWA Dagger winners, Waterstones Book of the Month & more. uea.ac.uk/course/postgra…

Good work whoever did this.

380,000 children in the UK don't own books. I was one of them. We'll have to invent libraries all over again once they're gone. My piece for @thetimesmagazine tomorrow and online from today. #Books #Libraries #EmpireLand #TheBoyWithTheTopknot #literacy

thetimes.co.uk/article/186229…

Gutted to read UEA plans redundancies. It's a world-beating community and staff should be protected with every penny. Sell land, management, if there's any going; beg from the Sainsbury Centre Trustees, or borrow and pray. But don't axe your real assets.

Guild is brilliant because it’s niche - built around the Dunbar number. Small is BIG in groups yes yes - Ashley Friedlein lightyears ahead