A poster for Sheffield Indie Book Festival, with the words "SIB FEST 25th + 26th April 2026" and an illustration of four tiny people holding a massive book

The first-ever edition of Sheffield Indie Book Fest takes place this weekend, and the line-up's fantastic 📚

Highlights include @junodawson.bsky.social, @michelletea.bsky.social and others, curated by @junobooks.bsky.social, @labiblioteka.bsky.social and more.

Tickets 👉 sheffieldindiebookfest.com

A poster for an event titled "Kate Pickett: The Good Society" on 6 May. It also includes the Festival of Debate logo and a profile shot of Kate Pickett, with her arms folded and smiling away from the camera

How do we ensure everyone has good health? How do we ensure justice and a sustainable environment for all?

On 6 May, @profkepickett.bsky.social comes to #Sheffield to talk with with @simonduffy.bsky.social about building The Good Society 🏗️

More info and tickets ➡️ tickettailor.com/events/festi...

A poster showing an image of a young girl on a swing looking out over some mountains. The text states "HOW TO REIMAGINE TRAVEL. A free event featuring a panel of local speakers and Q&A discussion. 23rd April 2026, 6:45pm. Join us in Sheffield or online"

This event by @flightfreeuk.bsky.social in #Sheffield on Thursday evening looks great ⤵️

"Join our panel of local speakers as we explore why it's important to fly less AND how we can still travel without the high carbon footprint."

Free tickets and more info ➡️ www.tickettailor.com/events/fligh...

Why we can’t tackle Sheffield’s most urgent problems without talking about neighbourhoods — Opus …and why neighbourhood governance without economic agency is a performance we can't afford.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀 🏠

On the Opus Blog, we've got a fascinating new think-piece by James Lock about why neighbourhood governance without economic agency is a performance we can't afford ⤵️

‘I think we feel stuck’: Kate Pickett on how to build a better, fairer, less stressed society In her new book, the co-author of The Spirit Level gathers jaw-dropping facts about the inequality crisis in the UK – and explores creative ways to address it

“We have fallen out of the habit of thinking that we can choose to do what it takes to create the best society possible"

@profkepickett.bsky.social joins us at the Festival of Debate in #Sheffield on 6 May to discuss her new book, The Good Society 📚

Tickets ➡️ tickettailor.com/events/festi...

Looking forward to this

How can Opus approach AI wisely and with intent? Some ideas (and an invitation) — Opus Late last year here at Opus, we came to the conclusion that we need to open up an intentional space for co-learning around AI technologies and what they mean for a system change organisation like us.

Late last year here at Opus, we came to the conclusion that we need to open up an intentional space for co-learning around AI technologies and what they mean for a systems change organisation like us.

Some ideas (and an invitation) ⬇️

We're not running a full festival programme this year, but there are a few things we couldn't pass up the opportunity to platform...

Come and join us #Sheffield

The Festival of Debate isn’t running a full program this year, but a few events will be held through the year. The first is on 6th May ⤵️

Select tickets – Festival of Debate presents Jessica den Outer: The Forest Fights Back, A Global Movement for the Rights of Nature – Sheffield Energy Hub Festival of Debate presents Jessica den Outer: The Forest Fights Back, A Global Movement for the Rights of Nature – Sheffield Energy Hub, Thu 21 May 2026 - In association with the River Dôn Project 6p...

Then Jessica den Outer is here on 21 May with The Forest Fights Back, about how the Rights of Nature movement is taking on the legal system to recognise the rights of rivers, forests, and mountains to exist, flourish, and sustain their ecological balance ⬇️

#RightsOfNature

Select tickets – Festival of Debate presents Kate Pickett: The Good Society – Sheffield Energy Hub Festival of Debate presents Kate Pickett: The Good Society – Sheffield Energy Hub, Wed 6 May 2026 - 6.30pm Doors, 7pm Start All tickets will include one complementary drink of red wine / white wine / ...

First up, we have The Spirit Level author @profkepickett.bsky.social joining us on 6 May with her new book The Good Society, which shows how a fairer, healthier, more caring and sustainable society is entirely within our grasp ⬇️

A poster for two Festival of Debate events. One is on 6 May and is titled "Kate Pickett: The Good Society" with a picture of Kate Pickett next to it. The other is on 21 May and is titled "Jessica den Outer: The Forest Fights Back, A Global Movement for the Rights of Nature", with a picture of the author next to it

Festival of Debate returns for 2026! 🥳

We might not be running a full festival programme this year, but fear not! We're instead hosting a series of special events throughout 2026 inviting some of the most exciting and innovative thinkers of our time to Sheffield⤵️

#Sheffield #FofD #FestivalofDebate

Write for Now Then We use our platform and our skills to help people make sense of a Sheffield in transition, sharing s…

Got a good idea about #Sheffield and fancy writing for Now Then? ✍️

We've recently updated our 'Write for Us' page to set out more clearly the kinds of pieces we're looking to publish.

Give it a read, and get in touch with your ideas ⬇️

Tell us what you want to see from Now Then's return to print Fill in our short survey or join us in person at The Showroom on 5 March – either way, we want to hear your ideas.

As we recently revealed in our newsletter, we’re cooking up exciting plans to return Now Then to paper and ink later this year 📰

We want to know what you, our readers and contributors, want from a print edition of the mag. Find out how you can tell us online or in person 👇

#Sheffield #NowThen

What we've been learning from: February 2026 Here's our regular round-up of some of the most interesting and thought-provoking things our team have been reading, watching and listening to over the past month.

On the Opus Blog, we share a monthly round-up of articles, podcasts, books and more that our team have been learning from and found inspiring to our work 📚

Here's February's, featuring @amahra.bsky.social, Jack Becher and @indyjohar.bsky.social of @darkmatterlabs.org ⬇️

#SystemsChange

A watercolour and ink illustration of two people. One of them is holding a can of spray paint, and is painting a picture of the world on the side of the bridge behind them. The other is sitting on the floor cross-legged and playing a guitar. Behind them, a train is passing over the bridge.

The series continues over on the Opus Blog, where you can read six more reflections from #ThePeoplesNewsroom team about how storytelling can help us transition to new economies on a liveable planet.

Read 'Lessons for a Story Commons' now ⬇️

www.weareopus.org/blog/categor...

The People's Newsroom - Lessons for a Story Commons: how storytelling can open the door to thriving futures Organisers across the UK share how storytelling can help us transition to new economies on a liveable planet.

'Lessons for a Story Commons' is a new series from the team at #ThePeoplesNewsroom.

For the past two years, they've been exploring how changing the way we tell stories can be key to changing the future itself 🔮

The introductory piece is in @nowthenmag.bsky.social ⬇️

Research shows that 9 in 10 people globally want more action from their governments on climate, and 7 in 10 are prepared to put their own money in to help.

On 14 Feb, South Yorkshire Climate Alliance are hosting a free event in #Sheffield on how we can mobilise this climate majority 🌎

Details ⬇️

We Keep us Safe: Active Bystander Workshop · Luma In collaboration with Sheffield-based poet Sarah Lasoye, Cradle is hosting a special event in Sheffield! We’ve come together to plan an afternoon of…

📢 Abolitionist collective Cradle Community are hosting an event in #Sheffield on 31 January, in collaboration with local poet Sarah Lasoye.

Expect an afternoon of creativity, learning and experimentation, exploring how we can become active bystanders in our communities.

Tickets ⬇️

Where the old maps and mandates fail: civic work in the spaces between When we look at complex problems, they often fall outside any one remit – but if we're to overcome them, that needs to change.

"When we look at complex problems, they often fall outside any one remit – but if we're to overcome them, that needs to change"

Over on our blog, Opus co-founder James Lock shares his thoughts on how we can begin to tackle the most urgent problems we collectively face ⬇️

#SystemsChange

Reflections on the criminal invasion of Venezuela The United States’ illegal incursion into Venezuela, universally regarded by legal scholars as a crime under international law, is the latest and most full-throated assertion of a return to colonial l...

"The United States’ illegal incursion into Venezuela is the latest and most full-throated assertion of a return to colonial logics, as the old liberal-democratic order continues its precipitous collapse"

Read reflections from the Opus team on the criminal invasion of #Venezuela ⬇️

What we've been learning from: December 2025 Here's our regular round-up of some of the most interesting and thought-provoking things our team have been reading, watching and listening to over the past month.

On the Opus Blog, we've started sharing a monthly round-up of articles, podcasts, books and more that our team have been learning from each month 📚

Here's the first edition – featuring @georgemonbiot.bsky.social, @graceblakeley.substack.com, Vanessa Machado de Oliveira and more.

#SystemsChange

Ideas and Pioneers Fund We support individuals and groups who want to explore ideas for social change.

🚨🚨🚨

The Paul Hamlyn Foundation's Ideas and Pioneers Fund has reopened.

The fund offers grants of up to £20,000 to individuals and organisations who want to explore a bold and brave idea for social change that is still forming/emerging

⏰ Hurry: applications close 2 December

Crown of Blood | Sheffield Theatres 'Of what use is a good man without ambition' A powerful retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth set during the civil wars of 19th-century Yorubaland. General A

We're super excited to see the new play from our friends at Utopia Theatre, working with @sheffieldtheatres.bsky.social, in February 🤩

Set in nineteenth century Yorubaland, #CrownOfBlood is a Yoruba retelling of Macbeth, filled with heritage, spirituality and movement.

More info and tickets ⬇️

We've just invested £250 in @musicvenuetrust.bsky.social's brilliant initiative to help secure the future of some of the UK's best grassroots music venues, including #Sheffield's beloved Gut Level.

They're still £150k short of their target with 12 hours to go – consider investing if you can 👇

Sheffield Transformed - Sheffield Transformed reveal line-up for 2025 festival, with organisers promising “bigger and more diverse” programme The annual festival of left-wing politics features sessions on anti far-right organising and clean energy transitions, as well as zine-making, poetry writing and folk singing.

"This is your chance to recognise the deep challenges we face in #Sheffield and beyond, and be part of responding to them together"

We've got the full low-down on this year's @sheffieldtransformed.org, which returns to South Yorkshire later this month.

✍️ @sammgreg.bsky.social

This is our first #Sandbox event, a new series from the team behind Festival of Debate in which you can get hands-on with some of the most exciting ideas of our time, exploring how they could work in practice right here in #Sheffield 🚀

Find out more ⤵️

A poster for a new event series called Sandbox. Over a beige background and an abstract image of a sandbox, it has the text "Sandbox. How cities collaborate for transformation. Sheffield x Melbourne. In conversation with Alison Whitten (Regen Melbourne) & Helen Sims (Voluntary Action Sheffield). Thu 20 Nov, 8–9:30pm, The Circle, Sheffield. Below this are the logos of Regen Melbourne, Sheffield City Goals and Opus

Next Thursday, we're inviting the team behind Regen Melbourne – a community of more than 200 organisations committed to creating a thriving city living within our planetary boundaries – to Sheffield 🌏

Find out more at the link below, or grab a ticket ⬇

www.tickettailor.com/events/wordl...

Festival of Debate - We’re taking a break from the full Festival of Debate next year – here’s why We have an exciting lineup of keynotes talks in 2026, but we’re taking time to think about how the festival can play a more active role in building the new systems that we urgently need.

🚨 We've decided to take a year out from our full Festival of Debate programme in 2026

But don’t worry – we’ll still be hosting six headline events throughout the year that will welcome some of the most interesting and radical systems change thinkers to #Sheffield

@nowthenmag.bsky.social have more⬇️

A graphic advertising an event called 'Radical Abundance'. The poster features the words "Wordlife Present... a Reading Rooms event", the cover of the book 'Radical Abundance: How to Win a Green Democratic Future', and the words "In conversation with Keir Milburn and Debs Grayson. Thu 2 October. 7–9:15pm. The Workstation, Sheffield"

We live in a world where we have too much of what we don't need and too little of what we do – but it doesn't have to be this way 🌱

This Thursday, join us for an exciting conversation about Radical Abundance with Keir Milburn.

🕖 7pm
📌 The Workstation
🎫 tickettailor.com/events/wordlife/1838497