Claire Mabey
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clairemabey.bsky.social
Claire Mabey
@clairemabey.bsky.social
Writer. Founder of Verb Wellington. Books editor at The Spinoff. Sylvia Townsend Warner fan. Mum. Author of The Raven’s Eye Runaways, an MG adventure (2024) 🍃Substack at clairemabey@substack.com | clairemabey.com
Reposted by Claire Mabey
‘A triumph’: The Others Way 2025, reviewed
‘A triumph’: The Others Way 2025, reviewed
Our highlights from Auckland’s coolest music festival....
thespinoff.co.nz
December 1, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
The everyday magic of Omnibird, the children’s book of the year
The everyday magic of Omnibird, the children’s book of the year 
Backyard birds are made magnificent in a new book about feathers, beaks, caruncles and turdus merula....
thespinoff.co.nz
November 28, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
November 24, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
Eight New Zealand novelists on the music they write to
Eight New Zealand novelists on the music they write to
From one song played masochistically on repeat to a sprawling 12-hour playlist, this is the music behind the books....
thespinoff.co.nz
November 27, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
Issue Twelve is here! Launching tonight at Bedlam & Squalor, and available online all shiny and new right now at www.sweetmammalian.com/issues/issue-twelve
Issue Twelve — Sweet Mammalian
www.sweetmammalian.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
Meet the AI workers who tell their friends and family to stay away from AI
Meet the AI workers who tell their friends and family to stay away from AI
When the people making AI seem trustworthy are the ones who trust it the least, it shows that incentives for speed are overtaking safety, experts say
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
How two AI book covers forced the publishing industry to reckon with its future
How two AI book covers forced the publishing industry to reckon with its future
A design studio’s use of AI has disqualified two books from the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2026....
thespinoff.co.nz
November 19, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
Donald Trump granted 238 pardons and commutations in his first term. In his second, he has issued nearly 2,000. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/24/the-meaning-of-trumps-presidential-pardons
The Meaning of Trump’s Presidential Pardons
The President granted two hundred and thirty-eight pardons and commutations in his first term; less than a year into his second, he has issued nearly two thousand.
www.newyorker.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:00 AM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
Morning.
🖼️ Rook and Jackdaw, Tunnicliffe.
November 18, 2025 at 4:59 AM
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Chuffed to have my work listed alongside Margaret Atwood, Octavia Butler, Nnedi Okorafor and Richard Powers in this article by @clairemabey.bsky.social on recommended climate fiction (cli-fi) from NZ and the world!!

thespinoff.co.nz/books/15-11-...

#ClimateFiction #clifi #books #nzbooks #Aotearoa
What is ‘cli-fi’ and why is it so hot right now?
A literary genre that's really heating up.
thespinoff.co.nz
November 16, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
We have MA scholarships available for theses on 18th-century/Romantic poetry and/or settler colonialism and Indigenous sovereignty in poetry and other literary forms ... details here!

www.wgtn.ac.nz/scholarships...
MA scholarship in English | Scholarships | Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
www.wgtn.ac.nz
November 11, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
‘Send in the gryphons’: a conversational review of The Rose Field by Philip Pullman
‘Send in the gryphons’: a conversational review of The Rose Field by Philip Pullman
'I’m going to be thinking about this for the rest of my effing life'. Two massive Pullman fans come to grips with the last instalment of Lyra Silvertongue's story....
thespinoff.co.nz
November 11, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
Hello, the firefighters managed to raise $240,000!!! That’s enough to fund 3 new research projects for the Breast Cancer Cure.

Well done you thirsty bastards!
THIS IS YOUR VERY LAST CHANCE! My friends and pin ups in the
Wāhine Toa Firefighter Calendar recreated their poses for me. But if you want the real thing AND to support Breast Cancer Cure. Get your orders in RIGHT NOW!!!

www.breastcancercure.org.nz
November 11, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
Didn’t quite make the deadline to apply for the MA in Creative Writing? Good news: we’ve extended it until Friday. It’s not too late to come and write your poetry/fiction/creative nonfiction/script with us next year!
Master of Arts in Creative Writing - Te Kohinga Auaha | Te Pūtahi Tuhi Auaha o Te Ao / International Institute of Modern Letters | Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
Join the Creative Writing programme with a national and international reputation for developing many of New Zealand's best writers.
www.wgtn.ac.nz
November 2, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Fantastic ep and does indeed include right minded discussion of the trailer for the forthcoming film adaptation
Listeners! It's Hallowe'en, we're free, we've come home! We're so bold, let us in at your window or wherever you get your podcasts. 🌬️🎃🧟 @iammilliam.bsky.social @unamccormack.bsky.social @drlauravarnam.bsky.social @andrewmale.bsky.social
Hallowe'en special up now. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, with guests Andrew Male and Laura Varnam in conversation with Una McCormack and Andy Miller. 🌬️🎃🧟 @andrewmale.bsky.social @drlauravarnam.bsky.social @unamccormack.bsky.social @iammilliam.bsky.social
open.spotify.com/episode/0Zde...
October 31, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
Bonus Book Cover of the Day:
October 31, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
‘You’re pulling my leg’: Forty years ago today, Keri Hulme won the Booker Prize
‘You’re pulling my leg’: Forty years ago today, Keri Hulme won the Booker Prize
The night Keri Hulme's masterpiece disrupted British publishing and changed the novel forever....
thespinoff.co.nz
October 31, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Ready to read a book by @iammilliam.bsky.social on the subject of the ungovernable novel.
October 30, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
Sherryl Jordan’s posthumous memoir is a testament to the power of perseverance
Sherryl Jordan’s posthumous memoir is a testament to the power of perseverance
The final book from the beloved writer of novels for children and young adults lays bare her trials, triumphs and faith....
thespinoff.co.nz
October 30, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Really in need of that time of year where all I do is read books for pleasure between catching up on Locklisted and @backlisted.bsky.social episodes and not feel like I am flying by the skin of my teeth. October is a beast!
October 29, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
Read the winner of the 2025 Landfall essay prize
Read the winner of the 2025 Landfall essay prize
'Surgery saved my life.'...
thespinoff.co.nz
October 28, 2025 at 5:15 AM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
Straight up plagiarism can ALSO help you beat writer’s block!
October 27, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
The Friday Poem: ‘omens’ by Margo Montes de Oca
The Friday Poem: ‘omens’ by Margo Montes de Oca
A new poem by Margo Montes de Oca....
thespinoff.co.nz
October 24, 2025 at 3:50 AM
Reposted by Claire Mabey
An ode to the jacket potato
An ode to the jacket potato
If there are no jacket potatoes at the revolution then I’m not coming....
thespinoff.co.nz
October 24, 2025 at 5:13 PM
😭
October 24, 2025 at 2:59 AM