Selena Wisnom - Hay Festival The Assyriologist takes us on an immersive tour of the extraordinary library of Mesopotamian king Ashurbanipal, with some live divination.

The talk (event 224): The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History
Wednesday 27 May 2026, 5.30 pm hayfestival.com/p-25379-sele...
Learn to Write in Cuneiform, the World’s First Writing System (event 265)
Thursday 28 May 2026, 4 pm

I'm thrilled to let you know that I will participate in the Hay Festival this year - twice. On 27th May, I will discuss the literary culture of Mesopotamia and perform liver divination with my audience. The next day, I will teach you how to write in cuneiform!

You can also read it online: www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/a...

A review of 'The Library of Ancient Wisdom' is featured in today's Daily Mail Book of the Week - and what a fun title! Thank you, Kathryn Hughes, for reviewing my book!

It's paperback publication day! The paperback version of the Library of Ancient Wisdom is now available here and in all good bookstores:
selenawisnom.com/library-of-a...

Well this bodes well for the rise of AI writing doesn‘t it

Wow you were a brave teenager! Akkadian is easier than Ugaritic - they write the vowels so there are actually differences between the verb forms 😂

Do you want to learn cuneiform but don't know where to start?
Check out my website for a list of resources and some study materials that will help you get started!
In just a few weeks, you too can read the Hammurabi Code in the original!
www.selenawisnom.com/learning-cun...

Also many scholars would agree with your interpretation :)

I can! the word is kallatu which does indeed mean bride or daughter in law. You can look up the meanings of individual words by clicking on them here: www.ebl.lmu.de/corpus/L/1/4...
(See line 59)

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, The Code of Hammurabi The impact of the wide-ranging laws of Hammurabi, King of Babylon from 4,000 years ago.

But what were the laws for, and were they ever actually used? What do we know about Hammurabi as a person? And what happened to people accused of witchcraft in ancient Babylon? Tune in to find out!
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Tmr at 9 am, at BBCInOurTime episode on Hammurabi will be broadcast on Radio 4. Hammurabi was the king who turned Babylon from a backwater into a superpower. He's famous for his laws, inscribed on a beautiful stele now in the Louvre.

Join us | Campaign for the Arts Tens of millions of us engage with the arts in the UK every year. Imagine what we can achieve, if we all link up for the arts.

After hearing an incredibly inspiring talk from Sam West I have signed up to @campaignforthearts.org. Arts funding in this country is in crisis, but these good people are working hard to stand up for it, and amazingly are making real progress - please join! www.campaignforthearts.org/join/

We will look at firsts in world history, some of the most important people in Mesopotamia’s past, and the influence the region has had on the rest of the world.

Mesopotamia and the Making of History Ancient Mesopotamia—the “cradle of civilization”—introduced many of history’s firsts and key figures who shaped its development. In this three-session course, historian and author Selena Wisnom examin...

My online course on Mesopotamia and the Making of History with @92NY has been moved to May. So there’s still plenty of time to sign up!
roundtable.org/live-courses...

Thrilled to announce that the paperback version of The Library of Ancient Wisdom will be available from Feb 26th!
www.penguin.co.uk/books/443027...

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time - Next on Upcoming episodes of In Our Time

Had a fantastic time talking about Hammurabi BBC 4 In Our Time with Dr Frances Reynolds and Dr Martin Worthington! The episode comes out on 12th Feb at 9 am - do join us if you can!
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...

Mesopotamia and the Making of History Ancient Mesopotamia—the “cradle of civilization”—introduced many of history’s firsts and key figures who shaped its development. In this three-session course, historian and author Selena Wisnom examin...

This February, I am teaching a three-session online course, 'Mesopotamia and the Making of History' with Roundtable92NY! Tickets are available here: roundtable.org/live-courses...

One of History Today’s best books of 20205 and shortlisted for the Digram prize for the oddest book title of the year!

Congrats Emma! Please could I borrow it? Would love to take a look

Thank you Noah thats so nice of you to say! Look forward to connecting too

Wishing you all a ziggurat shaped Christmas!

'Firing Holes' in Literary Tablets from Ashurbanipal's Library: Punctuation and Performance This paper aims to shed light on the so-called 'firing holes' in cuneiform tablets by combining analysis of their position with poetics. The holes are found in almost every genre of Mesopotami...

The history of punctuation starts in Mesopotamia - see my new article on the meaning of the mysterious holes in cuneiform tablets:
www.academia.edu/145059875/Fi...

Congratulations !

The greatest books of 2025 Our critics review hundreds of books a year. Here are their favourites from 2025, from fiction and crime to memoir and history

Delighted to be chosen as one of the Telegraph's best books of 2025!
See the complete list here: www.telegraph.co.uk/books/author...

Emo forever !!

Coming up in the December 2025 issue of BBC History Magazine

Wrote about rituals involved in arranging a wedding in ancient Mesopotamia. Find out more in BBC History Magazine December issue!
www.historyextra.com/magazine/nex...

Archaeologists Found an Ancient Tablet Inscribed With an Ominous Royal Threat Death and taxes have always been inevitable, even in the ancient world.

Ancient HMRC/IRS sends a letter saying pay your taxes immediately or there will be consequences
www.popularmechanics.com/science/arch...

You can read more of these human connections with the ancient past in my book ‘The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History’

amzn.eu/d/dlp6sxf

I’ve just discovered that @cwjones.bsky.social first posted this in 2019 - thanks and all credit to him!