Every time I try to use Google Maps for cycling around London I'm certain it's plotting my death.

Terence! That's SO KIND, thank you! It was extremely cathartic to exorcise all my time working in tech into this book 😜

Purple leaves surround a text. The text reads 'On Writing for Young People. Panel 4: Practical Process. Online Conference 20-21 Nov 2025.'

We're so excited to be joined by the wonderful @clarefurniss.bsky.social and @sambeckbessinger.bsky.social for 'Practical Process' as part of On Writing for Young People, the online conference, 20-21 Nov. Last few tickets left: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/on-writing... #ukkidlit #academicsky #booksky

Ever felt ready to HOWL?

I'm thrilledddddd to reveal the UK cover for my adult debut novel FEMME FERAL, coming April 2026.

Hyper-competent Ellie thinks she’s going through perimenopause, but discovers she’s actually turning into a werewolf.

More: www.sambeckbessinger.com/upcoming-fem...

I love this city with my whole heart.

it’s London in September and I’m leaving the house for an hour, better pack sunglasses, a cardigan, a brolly, SPF50, a hat, raincoat, thickest woollen socks

Femme Feral: A Novel A hyper-competent tech leader who thinks she’s going through perimenopause discovers she’s actually turning into a werewolf in this feminist, dark-comedy debutThe head of a company she sta...

OH MY, what's this, a pre-order link for my perimenopause werewolf novel, OUT IN THE WILD??? U.S. @barnesandnoble.com Premium and Rewards members, use PREORDER25 at checkout for 25% off if you order before tomorrow: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/femme-fera...

Medieval dog licking its own testicles. Somewhat sheepish expression.

A collection of extremely good medieval dogs painted on tiles: williammorristile.com/medieval/med...

I’m currently updating a book I wrote 10 years ago, and it is the most excruciating writing project of my life!

(Although I totally agree it won’t make a huge difference on election outcomes in the short-term - they’re a tiny % of the population - although I do hope it re-energises faith in democracy in the long-term!)

What happens when 16-year-olds get the vote? Other countries are already seeing the benefits | Christine Huebner They turn out at high rates and are engaged, but don’t expect electoral shocks – they’re as politically diverse as anyone, says Christine Huebner of the University of Sheffield

Interestingly, the data shows 16-17s vote at higher rates than 18-20s, because they’re not in as transitory a life stage (uni, moving out of home etc) www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Writing a description of a boujie London neighbourhood, but nothing I could invent is as funny as the real nonsense I've seen walking around Chelsea: "Boutique Fitness Cafe", a "face gym" (face massages + electric stimulation of your cheeks), an on-demand therapy centre for "self-improvers".

Name a novel character after your worst boss Auction item 'Name a novel character after your worst boss' hosted online at 32auctions.

I covet MANY things up for grabs on the Genre for Trans auction, but I really, really want sweet revenge. @sambeckbessinger.bsky.social is offering the chance to immortalise your worst (male) boss in her upcoming menopausal werewolf novel all about that rage. www.32auctions.com/organization...

Support Us — Streetlight Schools WELCOME TO OUR HIGHSCHOOL NURTURING VALUES, BLENDING REALITIES, INSPIRING FUTURES

Donate here:
👉 www.streetlightschools.org/support-us (tax deductible) [5/5]

I’ve personally known the team since the beginning, and met many of these kids. Their stories are so inspiring I can’t even begin to tell you.

It’s easy to feel like everything is on fire right now. But this is a tangible, real thing you can do to help. [4/5]

£50/month = a full scholarship. That’s all it takes to put a child from a low-income area through a school that can transform their life prospects.

But truly, every bit helps. Even a £20 once-off. [3/5]

But gobal trumpfuckery has disrupted their funding - just when their model is starting to scale. They need donations to see them through the next few months until they can re-stabilise. [2/5]

Support Us — Streetlight Schools WELCOME TO OUR HIGHSCHOOL NURTURING VALUES, BLENDING REALITIES, INSPIRING FUTURES

81% of kids in South Africa can’t read for meaning by age 10. In countries like Norway? Just 6%.

Streetlight Schools is proving that low-cost, high-quality education is possible. They’ve already brought the cost of excellent education down to a fraction of what the government spends. [1/5]

Ultimately, Freeman’s column isn’t pitiful because it rubs salt in the wound—it’s pitiful because it lays bare the true aim of the anti-trans movement. This was never about policy or bathrooms or youth sports. It’s about a cohort of people who feel culture shifting beneath their feet, who were raised in a world where casual cruelty toward transgender people was normalized, and who now find themselves resentful that society has moved on. Rather than reflect or grow, they double down, demanding that their revulsion be seen as virtue—that their discomfort be not only accepted but celebrated. Freeman’s yearning for social validation, cloaked in the language of righteous indignation, reveals the movement’s hollow core. The title of her piece says it all: this isn’t about the law, it’s about the isolation that comes from being wrong. And no court decision—no matter how cruel—will win back the friendships lost to hate, or rescue those who chose the wrong side of history from the consequences of that choice.

From my latest piece.

The true motivating energy behind the anti-trans activists of today.

The Topsy Foundation - "Selinah" YouTube video by Upstairs Post

I think so often of this video made by the Topsy Foundation. HIV treatment is one of the most amazing achievements of the human race. To be taking this away from our world's most vulnerable people to score cheap political points is a moral stain on our species. www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdol...

I really struggled to read this.

False alarm, real heat: Firefighters surprise crowd of romance novel fans A fire alarm interrupted Abby Jimenez’s book event — but the real sparks flew when a crew of firefighters walked in to cheers from the crowd.

Possibly the purest & greatest thing to ever happen at a book event: a fire alarm went off at a romance book con, so actual firefigters arrived: www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/fa...

As an author, logging onto Goodreads feels like hiding in a bathroom stall to try to eavesdrop on people gossiping about you.

Love and solidarity to my trans sisters in the UK today.

Extremely random question for my novel: when they're just sitting on the shelves, before you light them, do fireworks have a smell?

The Friday Poem: ‘Monica’ by Hera Lindsay Bird The most exciting new poet in New Zealand letters takes on her most complex subject yet – Monica Geller, from Friends.

Obsessed with this poem. "I am falling in love and I don't know what to do about it | Throw me in a haunted wheelbarrow and set me on fire" thespinoff.co.nz/books/13-05-...

AI 2027 A research-backed AI scenario forecast.

Many things freak me out about AGI/superintelligence, but this extremely plausible and well-researched (albeit annoyingly US-centric) scenario about how misaligned AGI could wipe out all life on earth by 2030 is probably the freakiest: ai-2027.com

Graphic for the Society of Authors' day of action against Meta. Compensation for creators. Meta must #DoTheRightThing

Copyright law is clear. If you want to use a creator's original, copyright work for any purpose, you need to get their permission and agree payment.
Copyright law does not need revising. It needs enforcing.
#DoTheWriteThing

META BOOK THIEVES - They Must Do The Write Thing The Society of Authors are protesting Meta’s HQ today This image shows illustrations of authors holding placards saying “make it fair” and “do the write thing”

Today UK authors are protesting against Meta for stealing our work to train their AI model. Authors earn an average of £7000 per year, we are not rich, and yet a trillion dollar company decided it didn’t want to license our work fairly as it was “too expensive”

Theft is not a valid alternative.

1. One of capitalism’s greatest successes is to shut down our imaginations. With the help of its favoured tools - neoliberalism and fascism - it persuades us that “there is no alternative”. Our first task is to re-ignite our moral imaginations and name our alternatives. 🧵