Chris Whitty’s ‘tour de force’ at MJA Annual Lecture mjauk.org/2026/03/06/c...

No need! You’re right - there’s no need to conform to what retirement should or shouldn’t be, or agree that’s it’s either awful or brilliant. It’s subjective and nuanced.

No, the article isn’t about that. It’s about retirement not as losing one’s identity but about replacing work with new identities, chosen not imposed.

There’s a great Substack piece I read recently by The Old Grey Thinker about how the traditional concept of retirement is longer fit for purpose. It can be hard, but not in the way you might think.

‘Goodbye, Captain. I’ll never forget that time when you painted me like one of your French girls.’ #GirlsOwnCC @girlsown.bsky.social

We’ve moved to Bluesky!

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The Crow Lady tried hard to fit in with the townsfolk though her long black wings and claw hands rather gave her away. But placing a clooty dumpling on her head was a cunning distraction #GirlsOwnCC

Join us on Bluesky TOMORROW, Thursday 24 July, at 6 pm BST for our live #WomenWritersNet #AuthorInterview with @annehamilton.bsky.social. Anne will talk to us about her recently released novel, “Letters from Elena”! See you there!
@legendpress.bsky.social

*A blush crept up her cheek and she clenched her jaw to suppress a grin* He has, and once you’ve been made aware of it you see it everywhere! Terrific lesson in avoiding elaborate and unnecessary showing. Love Harry!

Showing v telling: in a few stories I’ve read lately, descriptions of furnishings stand in for characters’ feelings, e.g childhood home was cold and garishly lit - lack of nurture explaining current alienation. Is it avoidance of ‘body part emotions’ as despised by @jerichowriters.bsky.social ? 😀

The latest one on Jane Austen is brilliant too.

The most annoying/insulting thing: when organisations respond to a request for editorial comment as if you’re trying to sell them an ad: ‘oh no thank you, we have other ways of reaching our customers’.

Really enjoying Code of Silence on ITV. Terrific premise and pace.

Fine. More semicolons for the rest of us.

Competitions 2025 - I AM in print Ltd Enter our writing competitions and be in with a chance of literary agent or publisher feedback and a cash prize!

Reasons to enter a #writingcompetition:

*Gives you deadline which can focus your efforts
*Increases your chances of being spotted by a #literaryagent
*Sparks new creativity
*Winning or being shortlisted can give you a confidence boost

So why not enter? www.iaminprint.co.uk/competitions-2025

Delighted to be longlisted in the @write-mentor.bsky.social novel competition! #booksky

One of my favourites is reading someone described as a ‘copper-bottomed ocean-going chateau-bottled weapons-grade ****’

Eating banana custard and watching Z Cars on @tptvw.bsky.social As OH has helpfully pointed out, I’m reliving A level year #thanks #notfeelingoldatall

Good luck!

Then it would be fine to email and ask her to be a bit more specific. On the other hand, an agent who just says ‘change it’ without offering suggestions may not be great to work with anyway, so maybe no loss!

Congratulations to all on the short list! 🥳

It would have been better if it had started with the par beginning ‘One Friday night’. Other than that I quite like it. When she describes the food, she does it well. But I’m surprised she’s 40. It reads like a review in an undergraduate magazine.

no idea who made this but it’s genius

👍

Thrilled to be on the longlist for the Exeter Novel Prize. Good luck to all the authors who’ve got this far! #booksky #amwriting #authorsky

Watch Retreat | Netflix While visiting a remote Scottish island, a young couple finds an injured man at their door claiming that a lethal virus has spread through Europe.

Fab Monday news! 🤩 #Retreat the psychological thriller I co-wrote with its director, Carl Tibbetts, is now on #Netflix 😱 featuring the huge talents of Thandiwe Newton, Cillian Murphy and Jamie Bell 🎥
www.netflix.com/gb/title/702...

When all news is fake, where do you find the truth?
Read about the propaganda war in WW2.
‘A superbly plotted historical drama… highly recommended!’ The Wishing Shelf
#99c #KindleDeal #WW2
amazon.co.uk/Shadow-Netwo...
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For a work thing, just read the whole of ‘The Old Vicarage, Grantchester.’ Blimey! Rupert got a lot off his chest didn’t he? #poetry #amreading

Once for for the evening crew...

Ooh, had some exciting writing news today! #amwriting #writersky #booksky