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Reposted by Michael Scott Author

Dorian Lynskey

@dorianlynskey.bsky.social

Because of this story I can never give signed books to charity and if I buy one which turns out to have an inscription I feel bad for the signatory

The cautionary precedent is a story about George Bernard Shaw who, browsing in a second-hand shop somewhere, found one of his own works, inscribed for a friend "with esteem, GBS". Naturally, he bought it and returned it to the same friend, "with renewed esteem"

February 12, 2026 at 12:45 PM

Michael Scott Author

@flamelauthor.bsky.social

Brought to book: Alison Healy on some unwise rejections of authors’ manuscripts by publishers #booksky #authorsky www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an-i...

Brought to book: Alison Healy on some unwise rejections of authors’ manuscripts by publishers

An American publisher dismissed them as unfunny, senseless and dull

www.irishtimes.com

February 5, 2026 at 9:45 PM

Michael Scott Author

@flamelauthor.bsky.social

What’s Happening to Reading? For many people, A.I. may be bringing the age of traditional text to an end. www.newyorker.com/culture/open...

What’s Happening to Reading?

For many people, A.I. may be bringing the age of traditional text to an end.

www.newyorker.com

February 3, 2026 at 12:09 PM

Reposted by Michael Scott Author

Bodleian Libraries

@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Duke Humfrey’s Library was voted the 4th most beautiful library in the world! 🌍

We are delighted to have received the trophy, recognising this honour from more than 200,000 book lovers worldwide.

Read more: https://www.1000libraries.com/post/2025-top-10-most-beautiful-libraries-in-the-world

The 1000 Libraries award trophy displayed on a wooden table inside Duke Humfrey’s Library, with historic bookcases and the decorated ceiling softly lit in the background.

Interior view of Duke Humfrey’s Library, showing dark wooden bookcases filled with historic volumes, long reading tables, and an ornate painted ceiling with carved wooden arches.

The 1000 Libraries award trophy positioned centrally in Duke Humfrey’s Library, aligned with the long aisle of bookcases and the richly painted, arched ceiling behind it.

A symmetrical view down the central aisle of Duke Humfrey’s Library, with rows of wooden bookcases, reading desks, and a detailed painted ceiling leading towards a large arched window.

January 16, 2026 at 8:00 PM

Reposted by Michael Scott Author

Rob Bignell, Editor/Author

@inventingreality.bsky.social

#selfpub #writerscommunity #authorsky #writingtips #indieauthor

January 19, 2026 at 7:31 PM

Reposted by Michael Scott Author

Oisín McGann

@oisinmcgann.bsky.social

Goth AF, as they say.

SF Encyclopedia @sfencyclopedia.bsky.social · 21d

Artist Gustave Doré sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/dore_g... died on this day, so here are some of his illustrations for Dante Alighieri's 'La Divina Commedia':

One of Gustave Doré illustrations for Dante Alighieri's 'La Divina Commedia'. A shoal of people in the sky.

One of Gustave Doré illustrations for Dante Alighieri's 'La Divina Commedia'. People becoming trees.

One of Gustave Doré illustrations for Dante Alighieri's 'La Divina Commedia'. A human headed dragon.

One of Gustave Doré illustrations for Dante Alighieri's 'La Divina Commedia'. Up to their noses.

January 23, 2026 at 2:43 PM

Michael Scott Author

@flamelauthor.bsky.social

Inside the Long History of Technologically Assisted Writing lithub.com/inside-the-l...

Inside the Long History of Technologically Assisted Writing

ChatGPT-3—the Generative Pre-Trained Transformer—has recently turned all of us who write into nascent John Henrys, ready to strike the hammer at either the rail or the computer. Stephen Marche in T…

lithub.com

January 21, 2026 at 5:30 PM

Michael Scott Author

@flamelauthor.bsky.social

Nicholas Flamel was right all along! Scientists mimicking the Big Bang accidentally turn lead into gold www.independent.co.uk/news/science...

Scientists mimicking the Big Bang accidentally turn lead into gold

The physicists made an unexpected breakthrough

www.independent.co.uk

January 20, 2026 at 7:23 PM

Michael Scott Author

@flamelauthor.bsky.social

The Work Behind the Writing: On Writers and Their Day Jobs lithub.com/the-work-beh...

The Work Behind the Writing: On Writers and Their Day Jobs

For nineteen years, until his retirement in 1885, Herman Melville would awake, slick back his dark hair and unsnarl the snags from his beard, don a uniform of dark navy pilot cloth and affix to his…

lithub.com

January 20, 2026 at 3:27 PM

Michael Scott Author

@flamelauthor.bsky.social

Sometimes research will lead you down an odd road. Before Ozempic there was "sanitized tape worms, easy to swallow." Ad from 1898.

January 19, 2026 at 4:31 PM

Michael Scott Author

@flamelauthor.bsky.social

A Cat Left Paw Prints on the Pages of This Medieval Manuscript When the Ink Was Drying 500 Years Ago www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a...

A Cat Left Paw Prints on the Pages of This Medieval Manuscript When the Ink Was Drying 500 Years Ago

An exhibition called "Paws on Parchment" tracks how cats were depicted in the Middle Ages through texts and artworks from around the world—including one example of a 15th-century "keyboard cat"

www.smithsonianmag.com

January 19, 2026 at 3:15 PM

Reposted by Michael Scott Author

Kit Whitfield - fantasy writer

@kitwhitfield.bsky.social

Had an intriguing editorial discussion recently: how did people in the past talk about 'minutes' when they didn't have watches or standardised times? How does that affect your thinking?

Come down an Elizabethan/Jacobean rabbit hole with me.

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January 17, 2026 at 10:34 AM

Reposted by Michael Scott Author

Elizabeth Bear

@matociquala.bsky.social

A frankly astounding Humble Bundle of about 70 books by women SFF writers, including the Iskryne series by @pennyvixen.bsky.social and me and my first two Karen Memory novels, for $25 for the whole bundle, benefitting youth mental health.

www.humblebundle.com/books/fierce...

Humble Book Bundle: Fierce Women of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror by Open Road Media

Our latest ebook bundle has over 60 of the best sci-fi, fantasy, and horror books written by women! Every purchase supports Active Minds charity!

www.humblebundle.com

January 11, 2026 at 12:03 AM

Michael Scott Author

@flamelauthor.bsky.social

The Complete Story of the Epic of Gilgamesh (Overview & Analysis) www.thecollector.com/epic-gilgame...

The Complete Story of the Epic of Gilgamesh (Overview & Analysis) | TheCollector

The Epic of Gilgamesh, recounting the adventures of the semi-divine Sumerian king, may be the world’s oldest literary work. What does the narrative say?

www.thecollector.com

January 6, 2026 at 12:13 PM

Michael Scott Author

@flamelauthor.bsky.social

What were books like in ancient Greece and Rome? If you were to visit a bookshop in the ancient world, what would it be like? theconversation.com/what-were-bo...