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Wonderful to welcome authors @moniqueroffey, Kevin Jared Hosein & Safiya Sinclair to Crescent Arts Centre last night. Thrilled to be continuing our collaboration with Bocas Lit Fest celebrating Caribbean writing annually with Belfast International Arts Festival Fighting Words NI British Council Literature #BIAF24 #bocas2024

Join John Self is now on Bluesky, Brian McGilloway and me for some book chat at Belfast Central Library on Saturday.

“Language is the worst enemy of mental clarity.” Me on three novels of social change: David Peace’s Munichs, Lissa Evans’s Small Bomb at Dimperley, and Dino Buzzati’s The Singularity (aka Larger than Life). thecritic.co.uk/tragedy-comedy…

Very sad to hear about the cancellation of the great Open Book 📕

"The appetite is whetted but not quite satisfied." Me on the thrills, longueurs, page-turning scenes and backstory hell of Tim Winton's "curiously lopsided" new novel of 23rd-century climate activism, Juice: thetimes.com/culture/books/…

Immensely sad to hear of the death of Paul Bailey at the age of 87. Reading and rereading his novels and memoirs over the last year has been the greatest pleasure imaginable.

“Do you know, if she put all the cocks she’s had end to end, there’d be enough to fit a handrail round the world. Drink up, dear!” Yes, drink up! I wrote this tribute to the late, great Paul Bailey: thetimes.com/article/2de02f…

John Self is now on Bluesky I read Gabriel’s Lament this year and found his writing and characterisation to be so moving, comical and harrowing. A great tribute to him and like you, I believe he had a real gift for a capturing character in dialogue. This will spur me on to read more! Thanks!

"For one of Britain’s most unusual novelists, it’s business as usual." Me on Gliff by Ali Smith, who I'd describe as a national treasure if I wasn't pretty sure she'd hate the idea: thetimes.com/culture/books/…

'The brevity is not always important, as Levy is not a writer who wastes time clearing her throat. “The purpose of language for Duras is to nail a catastrophe to the page,” begins one brief essay.' Me on The Position of Spoons: theguardian.com/books/2024/nov…

Well done to everyone who helped Musk's vision for Twitter, and by extension America, succeed.