Delighted to take part in yesterday's conference at Magdalen College, Oxford. Huge thanks to Simon and Roddy HJ for being such good hosts. The crossword puzzle is great too so do have a go!

Honored to talk about puzzles on Survivor at the “Word ↔ Puzzles” conference at Magdalen College at University of Oxford. Thanks so much to Roddy HJ for the invite and to Anthony | SurvivorGIF.com for helping with the clips.

Ta-dah… My new book, coming in November. (Pictured: Marilyn Monroe getting lost in Joyce’s Ulysses, or possibly discovering herself there.) Details on Instagram at robertdouglasfairhurst and fernpress.

In Café Rouge, I am taking time to make order (7) Paul Mescal stripped off body parts (8) Drug supplied by Debbie Downer? (10) ...and more in today's The Independent cryptic: puzzles.independent.co.uk/games/cryptic-…

Republican in denial about country (7) Show note each time (4,5) One revolting bachelor breaks wind (5) ...and more, in my cryptic for today's The Independent puzzles.independent.co.uk/games/cryptic-…

My essay on Inimitability, written for brilliant Lewis Roberts, Jacob Ridley & Roddy HJ has just been published over at Textual Practice ✨🥂 tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.10…

Great to see that our special issue of Textual Practice is now out with Taylor & Francis! 💪🏼 Papers from our conference on literary influence, in honour of Bloom's Anxiety thereof. Ft. Adam Phillips, Beci Carver, mina gorji, Dr Eliza Haughton-Shaw, William Burns, Victoria Baena, and Hannah Fagan 🥳

🚨Thrilled to announce the publication of OF INFLUENCE🚨 ✍️ Edited by me, Jacob Ridley & Roddy HJ 🔙 Reimagines Bloom's Anxiety of Influence 50 years on 👭Adam Phillips, William Burns, Victoria Baena, mina gorji, Dr Eliza Haughton-Shaw, Hannah Fagan, & Beci Carver bit.ly/4gPlZWw

Thanks to Off Grid for featuring my July puzzle in their latest episode! 🎧 You can listen here: offgrid.tlmb.net/2025/09/28/cen…

You can listen to John Robins solve the clue from today’s The Independent on air for the BBC! Includes a good explainer for cryptics in general (28:06 onwards) open.spotify.com/episode/7MpHh8…

Do I hang on lip reader? Hm, on head occasionally (7,3) Ron DeSantis about to axe new facility (10) Family at first has trouble evacuating kids (4) …and more, in my cryptic for today’s @independent puzzles.independent.co.uk/games/cryptic-…

“Beastly Clues: T. S. Eliot, Torquemada, and the Modernist Crossword” in which Roddy HJ reveals the literary pleasures and imaginative creatures lurking in the lively grids of cryptic #crossword pioneer Torquemada: publicdomainreview.org/essay/beastly-…

and pre-order Across the Universe to read more! penguinrandomhouse.com/books/723796/a…

nice review of Across the Universe in the Los Angeles Times! latimes.com/entertainment-… "Last’s range and intelligence help sell the importance of the crossword, then and now."

Local batting like English — endlessly hopeless (10) 🏏 Something to reflect on, like touring team (4) 🏏 …and other, non-#TheAshes clues in my cryptic for today’s The Independent puzzles.independent.co.uk/games/cryptic-…