I'm sorry WHAT NOW

Wojtek (bear) - Wikipedia

Amazing but sad—needs to be balanced with the happier ending of Corporal Wojtek, whose statue I go and see whenever I am in Edinburgh.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wojtek_...

It’s been an aggressively weird season: eps 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12 have almost taken a genre of the week approach, haven’t seen 15 yet but what I’ve read suggests that’s another gimmicky treatment.

Yes, can’t believe it ever flew off the shelves.

Hungarian-originated political magazines in a display at a UK newsagent.

Wonder what bearing last night’s news from Hungary will have on funding for political publishing: knowing a little about production and distribution costs, I always wondered what possible commercial rationale existed for journals like this on sale at, e.g. my local WHSmith in Wiltshire.

Breaking cover: the future of the business book [FREE TO READ] Authors are experimenting with new technology and formats to better communicate ideas

How and why did business books break out of their hard covers? Here’s my analysis of the weird, AI-fuelled future of the book, as we launch this year’s FT Business Book of the Year Award with new partner Standard Chartered as.ft.com/r/57cd8af8-c... #BBYA26

@alisonjones.com Did you see this? Interesting and now thinking more about how to lean into “the weird, AI-fuelled future of the book” 🤓

...I'm not suggesting the latter was a factor in this specific case, but it highlights that this is a highly nuanced set of issues with the capacity to cause real harm.

...concerns reported by e.g. NY Mag about neurodivergent writers being flagged more often, for which there seems to be only anecdotal evidence either way (the CEO of the AI detector concerned acknowledged to me directly in a public LinkedIn comment that there's no research on this). To be clear...

100%. I've got less comfortable the more has come out. The role played by a software company—who are frankly talking their own book—in incubating the story. My own experience of highly inconsistent results from AI detectors which I've written about here and elsewhere. Most seriously...

Oh, blast. That’s a shame, would have been very nice to catch up. Hopefully I can persuade Sara to go for a repeat booking at some point. 😀

The FT publishing a correction that author Brené Brown described herself as "solidly in my fuck it era" rather than "solidly in my fucking era".

This, via @kellifb.bsky.social, might be the best newspaper correction I've seen this decade.

a man in a suit and tie is smiling and the word strategyry is below him Alt: Animated gif of President George W. Bush raising his eyebrows with the caption 'strategery', echoing a malapropism associated with Bush thanks to comedian Will Ferrell.

I mean...

Quote from Bookseller story on Paramount Global launching a new book publisher: "Stories that originate on the page have a unique power to build immersive worlds, create compelling characters and forge deeper connections with fans. With the launch of Paramount Global Publishing, we're expanding the reach of our most beloved franchises while also introducing original stories to audiences around the world."

Let me get this right.

2020—Viacom CBS: books "not core asset... [no] significant connection for our broader business", tries to sell S&S to PRH
2023—What is now Paramount Global sells S&S to KKR
2026—Paramount Global launches new book publisher and says...

18th-century Royal Navy: hold my grog

It was a great pleasure to judge several of the categories for the 2026 @independentpublishersguild.com Independent Publishing Awards—fantastic entries, showcasing the best of publishing fortitude and innovation.

A MacBook laptop with various branding stickers on it.

Decommissioning day for my old MacBook Air: a snapshot before I remove old stickers, which evoke many happy memories of travel, projects and clients.

STS-1 for me. 😀

the cover to the new issue of Wyrd Science, featuring an illustration of psychedelic mushrooms growing out of a pink skull by tom j newell

what if we put issue 8 of Wyrd Science on sale? What if this got more likes & shares than our stupid jokes?

featuring Dolmenwood, Blades In The Dark, Doomsong, Kamping Kitbash, Lee Gold, The Old King's Crown, weird fiction, aggro comics, dungeon synth & lots more

shop.wyrd.science/products/wyr...

Also, loved this quote from Professor Sir Michael Howard describing another don: “Nobody suffers fools less gladly and nobody has a more catholic definition of fools.”

Lawrence Freedman’s new book On Strategists & Strategy.

Weekend reading: finished @ldfreedman.bsky.social’s On Strategists & Strategy, a delightfully eclectic collection of essays ranging from first person reminiscences to reflections on the implementation of strategy, Iraq, Ukraine and, with deadpan effect, the Barbie Movie.

I posted this last season and never had any cause to update it

bsky.app/profile/geor...

I have seen wildly inconsistent results from AI detection software—and the involvement of one of those companies in originating the Mia Ballard story raises some questions for me about motivation and ethics.

I’ve moved my writing into Google Docs so there is a version history with times, changes, notes to myself as comments are timestamped, and the whole thing can be shared if needed. Also have emails to and from agent and publisher. If someone was really interested, they could see my pencil notes.

Anthropic’s strategy of not chasing after video looks smarter than ever.

Getting to see this award was the unexpected highlight of Redux for me. So very richly deserved.

I was really sad to walk down Drury Lane recently and see that Lowlander is gone, replaced by a dreary chain pub with a "Great British Menu." Probably had Brewdog on tap.

Oh, that's brilliant news! Congratulations to you and @johnj.bsky.social. I remember reading Thrones and Powers when it was on submission to @darrenanash.com at Orbit, two decades ago. Can't wait to see how it's evolved.

Strong take.

Thank you: it's very kind of you to say so. I hope you enjoyed the rest of the conference?