Thanks to everybody who came to the launch-- and if you didn't, there's a link where you can buy the book below.

Are you at Eastercon #Iridescence2026? Help us celebrate Jacey Bedford’s new book release, PSI-TECH, out now with Wizard’s Tower.

@milfordsff.bsky.social
@easterconuk.bsky.social
@wtpress.bsky.social

Fiona Moore reads from the Hidden Shadows Milford anthology in a panel room.

Adriana Kantcheva holds a copy of the Hidden Shadows Milford anthology and smiles at the camera.

The two Milford anthologies: On the left, the Ecelctric Dreams anthology: The cover is a linocut of birds and flowers on long stalks in front of the silhouette of a castle in dark blues, light lilac and cream. On the right is the Hidden Shadows anthology: The cover is purple with an image of a quill pen with a sword image inside it all surrounded by two rings and some stars.

Cover of a book being held in a hand. The cover is purple with an image of a quill pen with a sword image inside it all surrounded by two rings and some stars. Hidden Shadows: A Milford Anthology

Adriana Kantcheva reads from the Hidden Shadows anthology in front of a sign with information about the Milford SF Writers organization.

Susan Oke reads from a paper in front of a sign about the Milford SF Writers organization.

Jacey Bedford and Mark Bilsborough sit at a panel table behind a pile of books while Mark reads from the Hidden Shadows Milford anthology.

Last weekend, Milford was at #Eastercon in Birmingham where we had the launch for our second anthology, Hidden Shadows! More info about ordering the book: linktr.ee/milfordantho...
@catchingwords.com @jaceybedford.bsky.social @drfionamoore.bsky.social @markwb.bsky.social @wyldblood.bsky.social

People who say there are no politics in their stories absolutely have politics in their stories. They tend just to be the politics of maintaining the status quo.

The Subtle (and not so subtle) art of Critique – by Jacey Bedford I was vastly amused by this quote from H. G. Wells:“No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else’s draft.” I would like to know why I can spot typos in someone else’s manus…

Some ins and outs of critiquing and how the Milford method works, from someone who knows (@jaceybedford.bsky.social): milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/08/26/t...

Read news by humans who care about what they write! Follow all on this starter pack of news orgs, including @globalvoices.org
See our LLM policy here: globalvoices.org/about/global...

Some thoughts on Nisi Shawl’s Everfair By Rochita Loenen-Ruiz Nisi Shawl’s novel, Everfair, was published in 2016.  At that time I was going through some challenging stuff. I made a note of the book and somewhere between its publication and the…

Rochita Loenen-Ruiz shares her thoughts on @nisishawl.bsky.social's Everfair, a novel that challenges our ideas about relationships, borders, and the choices we make: milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/08/19/s...

Fantastic news in the UK today - the government has apparently ditched its plan to force creatives to 'opt out' if they don't want AI companies training on their life's work.

www.thetimes.com/uk/technolog...

🧵 1/4

Book cover is a photograph of a very blue sky with only a few whispy bits of clouds. Text reads: If You Want to Write: A Book About Art, Independence, and Spirit by Brenda Ueland

Pete Sutton is back with another Writing About Books About Writing post where he discussed the types: How To English, Nuts & Bolts, On Mount Olympus, & Golden Parachutes. He also considers the balance between rules and joy. milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/08/12/w...
#writing

Background image is a book cover: the top third is bright green with yellow text that reads Tiffani Angus, Val Nolan. The middle third is black with white text that reads Spec Fic for Newbies Vol. 3; the bottom third is green with yellow text that reads A Beginner's Guide to Writing Even More Subgenres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. Foreground text: “Procedural fiction is, in some ways, the ultimate party attire. It goes with everything. Detectives on the moons of Saturn? Check! Civil servants struggling to respond to climate collapse? Check! A dragon who takes a job as a firefighter? Unexpected, but sure, why not?” p. 55

SF Procedurals are ER, Law & Order, and Brooklyn 99 but ... in spaaaaaace (or another SF setting)! SPEC FIC FOR NEWBIES 3 breaks down the history, types & pitfalls plus provides 2 activities to get you started writing! Pre-order now for the 24 March pub date! linktr.ee/specficforne...
#writing #sff

The photo shows the inside of Gladstone's Library in Hawarden, Wales. Downstairs are wooden tables and bookshelves; upstairs is a loft with beautiful carved wooden railings, dark wood book shelves, and cark wood rafters.

Want to run away and write for a week *and not have to cook or clean or do any chores*? And hang out with cool people? The Milford Writers' Retreat has a couple open slots left for May 9-16 at @gladlib.bsky.social! Info and booking form: www.milfordsf.co.uk/retreats.htm
#writing #retreat

There are only a few spaces available on this September's Milford workshop! Read more about how it goes here:
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/09/09/m...
And find a link there to instructions on how YOU could be part of a new critique group meeting at @gladlib.bsky.social in six months' time!

Bursary Report: Milford 2025 by Ashley Deng I have been in a deep writing block and burnout for three years now. Something undiscernable a few years back made writing very difficult for me and caring about publishing was even harder. I had k…

One of our recent recipients of the Milford writers of colour bursary, Ashley Deng, has reported on her experience last year of finding herself back into the rhythm of writing again:
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/11/25/b...

Judging Books by Their Covers: Bookbinding! | Bite Sized Book History YouTube video by Book Historia

Did you know books have been bound in leather not just from cows, but from reindeer, seal, and even shark?🦈 Learn more about historic bookbindings in my new episode of Bite Sized Book History! youtu.be/3aUdEy0Edf4?...

It's #WorldBookDay today!
The Mabinogion has been translated surprisingly little beyond English, a reflection of the long marginalisation of the Welsh language.
Still, excellent translations exist. Here are a few recommendations that people have shared with me over the past couple of weeks.

DIY Fantasy Books: Kickstarting Anthologies and Novels – by Trip Galey Hello! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Trip Galey. Let’s talk about Kickstarting fantasy books. I have successfully funded two anthologies with my small press, Bona Books (half of us…

On the blog, @trip.bsky.social spills all the tea about running a Kickstarter. His new one *just* launched (find a link there)! So you get advice *and* an opportunity to take part in an older publishing model that now offers swag along with the book!
milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2026/03/03/d...

One of our fellow Milfordites has an *amazing* Kickstarter running! Looking for Drag Race crossed with a gay Game of Thrones, all set in a world called Twixt that is built upon the remains of other worlds? Yeah? Then THIS IS FOR YOU!

There are only 4 spots left on the Milford Writer's Retreat, running 9 May-16 May at Gladstone's Library. Get a week in an en suite room (complete with a writing desk), breakfast & dinner included (you can also find lunch in the dining hall or at the local pub or deli), access to the common room (complete with honour bar and all the overstuffed couches & chairs you could want), plus, of course, access to the grounds and to a SILENT and *gorgeous* library where you can write to your heart's content! More info here: https://www.milfordsf.co.uk/retreats.htm

A week in a RESIDENTIAL LIBRARY, surrounded by fellow sf writers, with nothing to distract you from your WIP. Bliss.

I'd be going if I wasn't moving house, but there are still a few spaces left!

@milfordsff.bsky.social

Writers, assemble! by Sandra Unerman and Kate Macdonald In January five of us were sitting in Sandra’s living-room at a meeting of Middleoak, a critiquing group which has been going for about twelve years. These days our regular meetings are held by Zoo…

Anthologies sometimes spring out of thin air (well, the ideas for them do!). @jaceybedford.bsky.social describes how author Kate Macdonald led the charge on the creation of the Several Worlds anthology: milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/07/29/w...

Super useful for those who are querying (and even for those of us who are not, it's always interesting to see what people are looking for. Also, I get a kick out of the niche preferences like "no horses please")

The Long Way Around to Exo by Colin Brush Aged 33 – heart brimming with trepidation, head swimming with expectation – I took the prologue and first chapter of my (uncompleted) first novel to Milford in York in 2003. This November, 2025, Di…

We too often hear about a novel that's written in a flurry of creativity, instantly lands an agent & published with barely a hint of sweat. And then there is the reality. Colin Brush recounts the saga of being published after attending Milford in 2003. milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/07/22/t...

RECOG – My First Writers’ Group, by Jacey Bedford Way back in the days of dial-up, usenet, and newsgroups on the internet, umpty twiddly years ago, I found a bunch of serious writers on the group misc.writing who taught me what manuscript format w…

Back when we had to dial up the internet & it yelled at us, finding a writing group was a bit more difficult. @jaceybedford.bsky.social shares her experience of finding a group for critique, support, and celebration! And you can, too; they're out there! milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/07/15/r...

Happy Valentine's Day from the book loving Milford Mandrake to all of you book lovers out there! Spend some time today reading with your sweetheart or on your own (because nobody likes to be interrupted when they're reading)!

So what *is* spec fic, really? Tune in for more of @vallescurarule.bsky.social & my interview with @danielwillcocks.bsky.social at The Writer's Chair podcast where we talk all things SFF/F on the cusp of SPEC FIC FOR NEWBIES 3 coming out from @lunapress.bsky.social!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wcw...

Cover image of Damn Fine Story: Mastering the Tools of a Powerful Narrative by Chuck Wendig. The cover is orange with an illustration of a deer (with antlers) wearing a gentleman's coat and tie and a monacle.

A new Writing About Writing About Writing post from Pete Sutton! Have you read any of these, and have you found anything in them beneficial to your writing journey? milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/07/08/w...

Against a background of multi-colored confetti are three book covers. Spec Fic for Newbies Volume 1: The cover is split into thirds with the top and bottom third red and the center third black. Text on the top third reads Tiffani Angus and Val Nolan in yellow font. The middle third reads Spec Fic for Newbies in bold white font. And the bottom third reads A Beginner’s Guide to Writing Subgenres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror in yellow font. Spec Fic for Newbies Volume 2: The cover is medium blue on the top and bottom third with the center third black. In the top blue block are the authors’ names in yellow: Tiffani Angus and Val Nolan In the middle black block is the main title in white: Spec Fic for Newbies Vol. 2 In the bottom blue block is the subtitle in yellow: A Beginner’s Guide to Writing More Subgenres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Spec Fic for Newbies Volume 3: The cover is bright green on the top and bottom third with the center third black. In the top green block are the authors’ names in yellow: Tiffani Angus and Val Nolan In the middle black block is the main title in white: Spec Fic for Newbies Vol. 3 In the bottom green block is the subtitle in yellow: A Beginner’s Guide to Writing Even More Subgenres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Beneath that is the text "Soec Fic for Newbies Vol 3 is available for pre-order!" and “Out March 24!” In the center is a QR code and in the bottom right is a Luna Press logo.

And we have lift off!

Spec Fic for Newbies Vol. 3 by me and @vallescurarule.bsky.social will be out from
@lunapress.bsky.social at the end of March! This one is .... green! (ooh! aah!)

Pre-order here:
www.lunapresspublishing.com/product-page...

MIlford SF Writers’ Conference Each year a small group of published writers of speculative fiction get together for one special week in September at Gladstone’s Library, Hawarden, North Wales, to critique work, discuss ide…

If you're thinking about the Milford SF Writers' Conference at @gladlib.bsky.social Sept. 12-19, 2026, act fast because there are only 3 spots left!
en-suite room, bfst & dinner incl., access to the library, *and* daily critique sessions! milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/about-milfor...

Photo of the inside of Gladstone's Library in Hawarden, Wales. The room is Tudor style with wood rafters and railings, and there are desks against the railings in the loft and various tables and desks downstairs among the book shelves.

Photo of a bedroom in Gladstone's Library in Hawarden, Wales. There is a bed with a Welsh stripe coverlet, a wooden wardrobe, and a white and wood desk with a black chair and an old-style radio. The desk overlooks a window with greenery outside.

Photo of the common room at Gladstone's Library in Hawarden, Wales. The room is full of couches and chairs, all with red and red-patterned upholstery. A wood table in the centre holds a jigsaw puzzle, there are bookshelves on the left wall and a fireplace at the far end.

There are only 4 spots left on the Milford Writer's Retreat, 9-16 May at @gladlib.bsky.social. Includes an en suite room, breakfast & dinner, & access to a SILENT library where you can write to your heart's content! More info here:
www.milfordsf.co.uk/retreats.htm

8) The Irresistible End by Colin Brush The last instalment in Colin Brush’s series on how to write the perfect blurb for your book. ‘But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of th…

The final installment in Colin Brush's series about writing a blurb, and he gives you a choice of 6 main ways to end it to attract readers: milfordsfwriters.wordpress.com/2025/07/01/8...