An image advertising HistFest 2026 at the British library from 18th to 19th April. The picture has a grey background and various speaker headshots, including Ruth Goodman, Greg Jenner, Saara El-Arifi, Michael Palin, Raksha Dave and Jess Venner.

📣 LAST CHANCE TO GET TICKETS TO HISTFEST 2026!

BRITISH LIBRARY | 18-19 APRIL

There’s still time to grab your tickets to the most exciting history festival in London. Speakers include Sir Michael Palin, Ruth Goodman, Raksha Dave, Greg Jenner and many more!

BOOK NOW! histfest.org/histfest-2026/

You can read one writer’s account of being targeted by one of these scams at stephaniewilliamswrites.substack.com/p/what-every...

The Firearm Revolution 29 April 2026, 2pm

Coming up I have an event on Wednesday 29 April at the Royal Armouries in Leeds (both in-person and online), book here to get your free ticket or link.

How about giving a few quid to support a new blue plaque in London celebrating Black history? Only takes a minute to do your good deed for the day 🗃️

This looks like a super interesting talk! Richmond Unchained is such a good book for anyone interested in Black British history or the Georgian/Regency period. Or boxing!

Out today!

Donate to Blue Plaque to honour Bill Richmond and Tom Molyneaux, organized by Black History Walks 200 years ago African-Americans, Bill Richmond and Tom Moline… Black History Walks needs your support for Blue Plaque to honour Bill Richmond and Tom Molyneaux

Black History Walks have campaigned and received permission to have a blue plaque installed on the National Gallery in Central London for Molineaux and Richmond. It's not cheap, and fundraising isn't quite there yet. Every little bit helps, thank you:

www.gofundme.com/f/blue-plaqu...

Champion Black Boxers and businessmen in 1800s London In advance of the blue plaque in Trafalgar Square, a film/talk on Bill and Tom and the real history in TV hits like Bridgerton,1000 Blows

We're in a big auditorium at UCL on Weds for Champion Black Boxers and Businessmen in 1800s London - talk, film, panel, about Bill Richmond, Tom Molineaux, Bridgerton, A Thousand Blows!

Join Tony Warner, Roberto Nigro, Luke G. Williams, S. I. Martin & me:

FREE: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/champion-b...

A stack of colourful books against a grey background. The top book is Nature's Genius by David Farrier. The cover is light blue and depicts the image of a sparse little tree growing against a cliff's edge.

Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Conservation Writing, NATURE’S GENIUS by David Farrier is a mind-expanding account of how we shape the lives of animals and plants – and how they shape us 🌲

uk.bookshop.org/lists/out-to...

A stack of colourful books against a grey background. To book on top is Forgeign Fruit by Katie Goh in paperback. A navy cover with the image of an orange being peeled on the front.

FOREIGN FRUIT by Katie Gogh is a hauntingly beautiful hybrid memoir that uses the cultivation of the orange to explore identity 🍊

Available now!
uk.bookshop.org/lists/out-to...

A stack of colourful books against a grey background. The top book is Food Fight by Stuart Gillespie. The cover is green and show the image of the earth with a fork stuck into it.

FOOD FIGHT by Stuart Gillespie follows a veteran of four decades at the frontline of global food policy, exposing how malnutrition is enmeshed with other crises and what we can all do to change it 🍔

uk.bookshop.org/lists/out-to...

A stack of colourful books against a grey background. Top book is Lonely Crowds by Stephanie Wambugu. The top of the cover is bright yellow with orange text and the bottom half shows a black and white image of a woman's side profile.

LONELY CROWDS by Stephanie Wambugu is a piercing debut set in the glamorous 90s NYC art scene, centring on a friendship teetering on the obsessive 🎨

uk.bookshop.org/lists/out-to...

Happy publication day to all!

Robert Seethaler stuns with THE CAFÉ WITH NO NAME a historical tale set in 1960s Vienna, THE LAST MOVEMENT, a portrait of an artist at the end of his life. Plus, his Man Booker International shortlisted A WHOLE LIFE!

uk.bookshop.org/lists/out-to...

Canongate buys Lindsay Kohler’s ‘rallying cry to overhaul the world of work’

Canongate has acquired Dissenters: A Handbook for Rebels and Reformers at Work by Lindsay Kohler, a London-based behavioural scientist and Forbes contributor.

Read more 👇

Keir Starmer urged to ban ‘cruel’ greyhound racing in England Exclusive: Group of MPs and animal charities call for end to practice after Scotland and Wales vote to phase it out Keir Starmer is coming under pressure from backbench Labour MPs to ban the “cruel” practice of greyhound racing. The Welsh and Scottish governments voted last month to phase out the practice. Animal welfare groups say thousands of dogs in the UK have died in recent years owing to racing in the “inherently dangerous” sport. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer urged to ban ‘cruel’ greyhound racing in England

A hardback copy of Son of Nobody by Yann Martel, sitting against a grey background

The past is never done with: always the song continues

Happy Publication Day to Yann Martel with SON OF NOBODY, a gripping new novel that connects the lives of a foot soldier in the Trojan War with a scholar struggling to make sense of life in modern-day Oxford.

uk.bookshop.org/p/books/son-...

Francis Lovehall portraying Alec Munroe in A Thousand Blows, a young Jamaican British actor shirtless in the boxing ring, spectators in background

Alec Munroe - Alexander Hayes Munroe (1849, Kingston, Jamaica - 1885, Whitechapel, London). I usually have to crawl under a bush to say hello, but it has lost all its leaves!

Good morning, Sugar Goodson 👊🏻 #AThousandBlows

A woman in a red National Trust fleece stands in a wooded valley looking up at the light that illuminates the lush green surroundings. Overlaid text reads, Nature = Future

The message is simple: our future depends on nature.

Join the Nature = Future campaign today: buff.ly/7ipENOm

An outstretched hand holds a newspaper against a painted wall. The wall has been decorated with images from nature, clovers, mushroom and bee can be seen. The full page of the newspaper has an ad for Nature = Future, a campaign by the National Trust. The NT logo is on the top left side and the image is a woman, Director-General, Hilary McGrady, looking up to the light that streams through a lush green valley

We need to have a real conversation about nature.

Nature is fundamental to our wellbeing, our prosperity and our long-term future.

When we restore, protect and invest in nature, we can lower everyday bills, create healthier communities and ensure a better quality of life for everyone.

Bringing Birmingham to You: Dinosaur Detectives YouTube video by University of Birmingham Alumni

Interested in hearing more about dinosaur research at Birmingham, including the "Dinosaur Highway" and the "punk rock dinosaur"? Join @profaliceroberts.bsky.social me &
@kirstymedgar.bsky.social online on Thursday 7 May, 6pm.
www.birmingham.ac.uk/events/bring...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K88...

I’m running a 2 hour online workshop for teachers, heritage professionals, journalists & anyone who wants to be able to discuss the British Empire and its afterlives with nuance and concision. It’s on 1st June. Do sign up if interested?

onlineshop.sussex.ac.uk/product-cata...

Who was your gran before you came along? 🩷

Where did she grow up? Who was her first love? What did she do for work?

Gisèle Pelicot and Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe among Hay Festival 2026 speakers The line-up for this year’s festival includes Emma Thompson, Malala Yousafzai, Ian McEwan and other prominent authors and figures

www.theguardian.com/books/2026/m...

Psst: My book is now available in the U.K. today.

I spent two of the happiest years of my life as a graduate student there, studying economics and philosophy.

It brings back some fond memories... robertreich.substack.com/p/psst-my-book-available...

Daily Mail Headline: Pupils' drawings could be blasphemous under Islamic law, Labour councils tell schools - while music and dance classes may go against the teachings of Islam

Oh boy! What a headline...

Ask yourself:

"What am I being asked to believe?"

"Who am I being told to blame?"

Take a few seconds to imagine what the Daily Mail (And Telegraph, GB News and Express) WANT you to think is going on.

Let's see what's ACTUALLY happening...🧵

1/21

Two weeks today! Book your FREE ticket now: commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...

Love history? Love podcasts? Historian Lucy Worsley has a great recommendation for you 🎙️

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts ⤵️
https://bit.ly/4ra35gB

A black and white newspaper clipping from "The Birmingham Daily Mail" dated March 24, 1890, reports on an assault involving George Eastwood, where a bottle was used as a weapon. The clipping mentions the "peaky blinder gang." The background shows partially visible individuals.

Today's the day... 'Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man' hits cinemas 😮 🎥

Will you be heading to see it? Or perhaps delving into our newspapers to find evidence of the real Peaky Blinders? 📰

Annie Macmanus moves to Canongate with ‘electric’ new novel

Canongate has landed The Fox from Sunday Times bestselling author Annie Macmanus, popularly known as Annie Mac 👇 #BookSky