no one is doing it like jd vance, a loser across three continents in a single weekend

The Art of War

1. Start war
2. Kill people
3. Fail to achieve strategic objectives
4. Declare victory
5. Agree ceasefire

Join us on March 5th at 7pm for a special literary Ramadan evening with Tharik Hussain, discussing his critically-lauded book Muslim Europe.

In conversation with Fatimah Ali, this event explores 1,400 years of Muslim presence in Europe

🎟 buff.ly/bYifa3O

Come reflect and learn this Ramadan.

At least agents in the UK are steering writers away.

Hello writers and publicists, I'm programming for The Asian Writer @ 20 Festival. If you'd like to speak on a panel, host a session, or want to pitch your book for inclusion, please get in touch!

Delighted that The Writing Life podcast has featured Celeste Mohammed. I was thrilled to hear her speak about her work during her visit to the University of Lincoln last year - an inspiring & memorable event. Thanks to
@uolhumanities.bsky.social Global & Transregional Studies research group #booksky

Centrica boss to get £3.6m bonus despite sharp fall in profits Chris O’Shea will receive a total of £4.7m despite British Gas owner suffering a shareholder rebellion

Centrica, owner of British Gas, CEO gets £3.6m bonus despite fall in profits.

Profits fell because of warmer winter, CEO gets more.

Bills still too high. Ofgem formula guarantees high prices/profits.

Let customers/employees elect directors and vote on exec pay at essential sectors.

Okay, this is quite outstanding from Bedford Council.

So lovely to be at the launch of Deepa Anappara's book launch last night. The Last of Earth is my most anticipated read of the year. It's a historical novel set in Tibet and is published by One World.

Last weekend, we ran our ever-popular Meet the Agents Day, followed this time round by a brand new writer Q&A. 💭 The event brought agents Davinia Andrew-Lynch, Juliet Mushens and Maria Whelan, and writers Stephen Aryan, Jamie Mollart and Ella King to Nottingham. ✍️

See you all next time! 👋

The NIFTY Book Club is great - come join us! ☺️

The Welkin Mini 2026 - PEOPLE'S PRIZE Voting Form Vote for your favourite THREE stories from the Welkin Mini shortlist. You can vote for THREE stories. Each vote must be for a DIFFERENT story otherwise your entire vote won't be counted. Each vote is ...

Now that all the shortlist (barring my winners!) have been published, you can vote for your favourites in the PEOPLE'S PRIZE!!

You've got until the 31st Jan to cast your vote.

Vote for 3 stories.

The 2 stories with the most votes share the crown!!

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Last night The Subtle Art of Short Fiction visited The Leicester Writers Club via a short story writing panel with contributors Farhana Shaikh, Jonathan Taylor and Mahsuda Snaith!

www.flyonthewallpress.co.uk/product-page... #books📚💙 #editing

The York Literature Festival program is now live! 28th February to 30th March. Check it out.
yorkliteraturefestival.co.uk

a cartoon duck is writing in a notebook with a pencil ALT: a cartoon duck is writing in a notebook with a pencil

Submissions to our anthology (up to 500 words on the theme of BRIDGES) & our Microfiction comp (up to 100 words, no theme) are now OPEN until 15 Feb. Our anthology editors & judges are poised ready! You can read more here: www.nationalflashfictionday.co.uk

Excellent news. Can you please email me at farhana.shaikh2 (at) dmu.ac.uk so we can book in an initial chat?

I'm doing an apprenticeship in Coaching. As part of my training I'm looking to coach three people who need support with a performance related goal (not life coaching). You'll need to commit to a monthly coaching call until July. If that's you, please get in touch. UK writers/book folk pref.

The Subtle Art of Short Fiction – Club Event For our next club event, we welcome Jonathan Taylor, Mahsuda Snaith and Farhana Shaikh for a panel discussion chaired by Siobhan Logan on Thursday 22nd January 2026, from 7-9pm at Phoenix Cinema an…

The Subtle Art of Short Fiction hybrid event with panel of @farhanashaikh.bsky.social Mahsuda Snaith & Jonathan Taylor discussing short stories on Thursday 22 January from 7pm at Phoenix, 4 Midland St, Leicester LE1 1TG, details: leicesterwritersclub.com/2026/01/02/t...

They’re really pushing this narrative about the new CEO. If you want to believe women at HC have suddenly done the right thing, sure. But - Walliams’ editor/publisher was a woman, new head of kids dept & head of Corp Comms both women and new CEO all knew about this for 10+ years and did nothing.

If you get some time over the next few weeks apply for this!

The UK has 160 black professors (25% are women) out of a total of 22,885.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) offers funding opportunities, 81% of awards go to white applicants, 1% to black.

The statistics are likely to discourage black scholars from pursuing academic/science careers.

Need action.

Covers of 12 small press books

An absolute highlight of a wild year to have COLD TOAST included in Republic of Consciousness Foundations's 'Best Small Press fiction of 2025' 💥

RELEASE DAY FOR MOTHER KARMA @publishedbyjake.bsky.social!
I'm so excited to bring this story to you. I've seen some photos in the wild, and I would love it if you could share yours as your copies come in!
jakethemag.com/books/

Zoom launch Sat Dec 13 8pm BST/3pm EST: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

The Subtle Art of Short Fiction, Edited by Isabelle Kenyon

This would make a good Christmas present for anyone in your life interested in literary analysis or creative writing! I’m really enjoying it
🎄📚🎅📝⛄️
@flyonthewallpress.bsky.social @bradleybooks.bsky.social @farhanashaikh.bsky.social

A card reads: "rage bait / noun: Oxford’s 2025 Word of the Year is defined as “online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative or offensive.” Over the past year, according to Oxford’s data, frequency of use spiked by a factor of three."

Oxford University Press has chosen “rage bait” as its 2025 Word of the Year. The open-compound word, which beat out “biohack” and “aura farming,” goes back at least to 2002. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/a...

Writer internship for 18-25s ✍️ Apply now 👉 bit.ly/WEMTERNS

The ALCS WEMTerns internship programme closes 🚨 next Friday 🚨 What you need to apply: Answers to a couple of quick Qs about your writing and a written extract. 🤓📝

That's all! Get yours in by the 5th Dec.

Indie Press Guide (5th Edition) - Shop : Mslexia, a magazine for women's writing and women who write. Indie Press Guide (5th Edition) - Shop : Mslexia, a magazine for women's writing and women who write.

No agent? No problem.

The 5th Edition of our Indie Press Guide is available to pre-order!

With over 750 editors to choose from, there's never been a better time to take control of your writing!

mslexia.co.uk/shop/indie-p...

#amwriting #amediting #writingcommunity #writers

Mslexia Salon a magazine for women's writing and women who write. Online events, writing surgeries and workshops for women writers. Join our vibrant online community.

Explore writing about our relationships with women with Jennifer Lee Tsai on 17 November, 5-7pm via Zoom. We will take inspiration from a range of poets including Isabelle Baafi, Katrina Naomi, Dzifa Benson, Degna Stone, and more! Visit the Salon to register. #amwriting

Inspiring stuff, Tania 😍

So lovely to see you!