Helen McClory
@helenmcclory.bsky.social
Reposted by Helen McClory
See the full hearing at www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/... with @sundersays.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 7:37 PM
See the full hearing at www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/... with @sundersays.bsky.social
The dream!
It's here. Our 2026 Bundle.
Nine incredible titles - including new novels from faves Claudia Piñeiro and Ana Paula Maia, sci-fi from Puerto Rico, short stories and Oscar-winning inspirations. Direct to your door, throughout the year, ahead of publication.
charcopress.com/bookstore/20...
Nine incredible titles - including new novels from faves Claudia Piñeiro and Ana Paula Maia, sci-fi from Puerto Rico, short stories and Oscar-winning inspirations. Direct to your door, throughout the year, ahead of publication.
charcopress.com/bookstore/20...
November 12, 2025 at 4:57 PM
The dream!
Reposted by Helen McClory
Fine, I will write the next James Bond.
INT: SEX CASINO, NIGHT
BOND: Hello I am Bond James Bond my car goes NYOOM
CUT TO: ten minutes of a chase in a sports car
BOND: Also my watch is a special watch that makes ladies blouses see through
EXPLOSION
BOND: This film is for grown ups
INT: SEX CASINO, NIGHT
BOND: Hello I am Bond James Bond my car goes NYOOM
CUT TO: ten minutes of a chase in a sports car
BOND: Also my watch is a special watch that makes ladies blouses see through
EXPLOSION
BOND: This film is for grown ups
November 11, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Fine, I will write the next James Bond.
INT: SEX CASINO, NIGHT
BOND: Hello I am Bond James Bond my car goes NYOOM
CUT TO: ten minutes of a chase in a sports car
BOND: Also my watch is a special watch that makes ladies blouses see through
EXPLOSION
BOND: This film is for grown ups
INT: SEX CASINO, NIGHT
BOND: Hello I am Bond James Bond my car goes NYOOM
CUT TO: ten minutes of a chase in a sports car
BOND: Also my watch is a special watch that makes ladies blouses see through
EXPLOSION
BOND: This film is for grown ups
Just as I am thinking of writers who play and change things, here:
November 11, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Just as I am thinking of writers who play and change things, here:
Attempting to rally myself and my agent into resending out an (edited, expanded) story collection. I would like my work to persist, even as the heat death of the planet nears. Like making a memento mori and throwing it in the smelter
November 11, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Attempting to rally myself and my agent into resending out an (edited, expanded) story collection. I would like my work to persist, even as the heat death of the planet nears. Like making a memento mori and throwing it in the smelter
One of my favourite underappreciated views in Edinburgh. Looking down on St Ninian's row. Dusk, grey stone, a few golden lights in the windows
November 8, 2025 at 4:26 PM
One of my favourite underappreciated views in Edinburgh. Looking down on St Ninian's row. Dusk, grey stone, a few golden lights in the windows
Currently reading Turbine 34 by Katherine Clements. Carrying a current of its own across the dusty moors. Part of @wildhuntbooks.bsky.social Northern Weird Project, perfectly sized novels for reading, as I am, in lowering light
November 8, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Currently reading Turbine 34 by Katherine Clements. Carrying a current of its own across the dusty moors. Part of @wildhuntbooks.bsky.social Northern Weird Project, perfectly sized novels for reading, as I am, in lowering light
I've been reading an otherwise good non fiction book that referred to ivy as "strangling" some trees. A slander! Ivy is a great habitat for birds in its native range!
November 8, 2025 at 1:48 PM
I've been reading an otherwise good non fiction book that referred to ivy as "strangling" some trees. A slander! Ivy is a great habitat for birds in its native range!
Thank you so much Matt! I still remember that night- heard some of the best poetry, in a packed venue. So great!!
I re-read this fantastic book of flash fiction in October and realized it’s been 10 years since it was published. I also recalled hosting Helen for a reading from it ages ago at Tattooed Mom in Philly. Which is all to say —Happy 10-year Book Birthday to @helenmcclory.bsky.social 🎉
November 2, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Thank you so much Matt! I still remember that night- heard some of the best poetry, in a packed venue. So great!!
Reposted by Helen McClory
I recall around 1990 an elderly supply teacher explaining to my class what war is actually like, macho mythology aside. The sound bullets make. Men crying for their mummys as they die on the battlefield. It's haunted me ever since, and certainly played a role in politicising me.
As a teen or young adult in the 1990s you had constant encounters with people in their 50s-80s who were combatants, victims or perpetrators during catastrophes of the mid-20th century
That direct link to realities of Nazism and other forms of oppression such as Stalinism or colonialism is now gone
That direct link to realities of Nazism and other forms of oppression such as Stalinism or colonialism is now gone
November 1, 2025 at 12:24 PM
I recall around 1990 an elderly supply teacher explaining to my class what war is actually like, macho mythology aside. The sound bullets make. Men crying for their mummys as they die on the battlefield. It's haunted me ever since, and certainly played a role in politicising me.
Frankenstein was campy and the most Catholic it was possible to be, including making St Giles cathedral in Edinburgh into a Catholic church, to my glee. And yet, it was only okay.
October 30, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Frankenstein was campy and the most Catholic it was possible to be, including making St Giles cathedral in Edinburgh into a Catholic church, to my glee. And yet, it was only okay.
Where to send a v short story that's just one long shriek of despair about everything?
October 30, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Where to send a v short story that's just one long shriek of despair about everything?
Reposted by Helen McClory
I’ve gotten like 20 or so of these scam emails about book promotion but I really like “And if you ignore this, just know a small, dramatic bookworm inside me will cry 🥺and probably quote Baldwin while doing it.”
October 26, 2025 at 12:43 PM
I’ve gotten like 20 or so of these scam emails about book promotion but I really like “And if you ignore this, just know a small, dramatic bookworm inside me will cry 🥺and probably quote Baldwin while doing it.”
A Personal Anthology is probably the substance I've most consistently read, and if you're not subscribed you should. You will find much to be inspired by (or argue against)
“Sustainable, infinite, inspiring,” Nicholas Royle called A Personal Anthology.
Tomorrow’s edition, with a dozen handpicked short story recommendations, comes courtesy of guest editor Tim MacGabhann.
Sign up below, or RT if you already subscribe!
apersonalanthology.substack.com/about
Tomorrow’s edition, with a dozen handpicked short story recommendations, comes courtesy of guest editor Tim MacGabhann.
Sign up below, or RT if you already subscribe!
apersonalanthology.substack.com/about
About - A Personal Anthology
A weekly guest-editor picks and introduces a personal anthology of twelve favourite short stories. Click to read A Personal Anthology, by Jonathan Gibbs, a Substack publication with thousands of subsc...
apersonalanthology.substack.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:04 PM
A Personal Anthology is probably the substance I've most consistently read, and if you're not subscribed you should. You will find much to be inspired by (or argue against)
Reposted by Helen McClory
An unhinged literary opinion needs to be like Muriel Spark believing T.S. Eliot was sending her coded messages through his plays, not 'hear me out, I don't like Dickens'. That is simply a literary opinion. The hinges are very much intact.
October 14, 2025 at 8:59 AM
An unhinged literary opinion needs to be like Muriel Spark believing T.S. Eliot was sending her coded messages through his plays, not 'hear me out, I don't like Dickens'. That is simply a literary opinion. The hinges are very much intact.
Reposted by Helen McClory
Be Brave! Order Helen McClory's collection! Part of our discussion this week @electricsheepsf.bsky.social @helenmcclory.bsky.social
A story in Helen McClory's collection, "Lore," creeped me out so much I still remembered it years after I read it. It's in her wonderful collection, MAYHEM & DEATH. It's available at 404 Ink if you're in the UK.
@helenmcclory.bsky.social @404ink.bsky.social
@helenmcclory.bsky.social @404ink.bsky.social
Mayhem & Death - Helen McClory — 404 Ink
‘A writer completely unafraid’ - Ali Smith | ‘Shiny dark licorice mind candy’ - Margaret Atwood
www.404ink.com
October 11, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Be Brave! Order Helen McClory's collection! Part of our discussion this week @electricsheepsf.bsky.social @helenmcclory.bsky.social
Reposted by Helen McClory
The future of UK Independent presses hang by a thread. Supporting the sector is vital: this is where ALL the bravery lies. The big houses are risk averse, but copycat small press successes to revitalise their lists. Small presses are the motor!
www.thebookseller.com/comment/open...
www.thebookseller.com/comment/open...
Open letter on the future of small press publishing in the UK
The industry must work together to ensure the longevity of the UK’s independent presses.
www.thebookseller.com
October 10, 2025 at 8:42 AM
The future of UK Independent presses hang by a thread. Supporting the sector is vital: this is where ALL the bravery lies. The big houses are risk averse, but copycat small press successes to revitalise their lists. Small presses are the motor!
www.thebookseller.com/comment/open...
www.thebookseller.com/comment/open...
Reposted by Helen McClory
Nigel Farage accuses teachers of "poisoning our kids" on race issues.
Here's a reminder of what teachers and fellow pupils at Farage's own school remember of his own views on that subject.
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/nigel-fara...
Here's a reminder of what teachers and fellow pupils at Farage's own school remember of his own views on that subject.
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/nigel-fara...
October 9, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Nigel Farage accuses teachers of "poisoning our kids" on race issues.
Here's a reminder of what teachers and fellow pupils at Farage's own school remember of his own views on that subject.
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/nigel-fara...
Here's a reminder of what teachers and fellow pupils at Farage's own school remember of his own views on that subject.
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/nigel-fara...
Reposted by Helen McClory
This week's guest is Helen McClory!
First up is "The Companion" in Wigleaf!
"At this time of day, the risk of attack was minimal, and all she had was that noise, that taste, the treachery beneath, and the cold air around."
@helenmcclory.bsky.social @wigleaf.bsky.social
First up is "The Companion" in Wigleaf!
"At this time of day, the risk of attack was minimal, and all she had was that noise, that taste, the treachery beneath, and the cold air around."
@helenmcclory.bsky.social @wigleaf.bsky.social
McClory: 'The Companion'
Fiction by Helen McClory
wigleaf.com
October 6, 2025 at 2:14 PM
This week's guest is Helen McClory!
First up is "The Companion" in Wigleaf!
"At this time of day, the risk of attack was minimal, and all she had was that noise, that taste, the treachery beneath, and the cold air around."
@helenmcclory.bsky.social @wigleaf.bsky.social
First up is "The Companion" in Wigleaf!
"At this time of day, the risk of attack was minimal, and all she had was that noise, that taste, the treachery beneath, and the cold air around."
@helenmcclory.bsky.social @wigleaf.bsky.social
Reposted by Helen McClory
"The sound was high and wrenching. There was a strong, wild smell now. She and I stood watching the second wave of the storm as it broke, droplets spattering, dense as white oil."
Love the relationship amid the storm!
@helenmcclory.bsky.social @wigleaf.bsky.social
Love the relationship amid the storm!
@helenmcclory.bsky.social @wigleaf.bsky.social
McClory: 'White Rain'
Fiction by Helen McClory
wigleaf.com
October 7, 2025 at 8:24 PM
"The sound was high and wrenching. There was a strong, wild smell now. She and I stood watching the second wave of the storm as it broke, droplets spattering, dense as white oil."
Love the relationship amid the storm!
@helenmcclory.bsky.social @wigleaf.bsky.social
Love the relationship amid the storm!
@helenmcclory.bsky.social @wigleaf.bsky.social
Reposted by Helen McClory
"None of the snakes were awake, but the music made you think something violent was going to happen. I suppose the violence was in the man, not the snakes."
I love this story! All of Helen's stories are full of quirky happenings & gorgeous language.
@helenmcclory.bsky.social
I love this story! All of Helen's stories are full of quirky happenings & gorgeous language.
@helenmcclory.bsky.social
"I want to tell you about this other film I saw, one night when you were out sticking twigs in your hair and shoving your hand into the mouths of foxes, you dank, fleshy monster."
Every bit of this story is unexpected! And sharp as a snakebite.
@helenmcclory.bsky.social in Winter Tangerine!
Every bit of this story is unexpected! And sharp as a snakebite.
@helenmcclory.bsky.social in Winter Tangerine!
The Language of Heaven — Winter Tangerine
www.wintertangerine.com
October 8, 2025 at 7:39 PM
"None of the snakes were awake, but the music made you think something violent was going to happen. I suppose the violence was in the man, not the snakes."
I love this story! All of Helen's stories are full of quirky happenings & gorgeous language.
@helenmcclory.bsky.social
I love this story! All of Helen's stories are full of quirky happenings & gorgeous language.
@helenmcclory.bsky.social
Reposted by Helen McClory
My dad has turned up this photo from a visit "many years ago" to the Forth Bridge. I think it's taken from what he calls the howff, just below track level, used by the maintenance workers.
I guess when you're engaged in a proverbially endless task, you need a wee cup of tea once in a while.
I guess when you're engaged in a proverbially endless task, you need a wee cup of tea once in a while.
October 4, 2025 at 6:51 PM
My dad has turned up this photo from a visit "many years ago" to the Forth Bridge. I think it's taken from what he calls the howff, just below track level, used by the maintenance workers.
I guess when you're engaged in a proverbially endless task, you need a wee cup of tea once in a while.
I guess when you're engaged in a proverbially endless task, you need a wee cup of tea once in a while.
Reposted by Helen McClory
Book Cover of the Day:
October 2, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Book Cover of the Day:
Reposted by Helen McClory
“Necessity is not the mother of invention; play is”
—Ian D. Suttie
It gets late early out here
in the lacklustre places,
wind in the trees and the foodstalls’
ricepaper lamplight, fading and blurred with rain…
—John Burnside, “Travelling South, Scotland, August 2012”
#nationalpoetryday #play #poem
—Ian D. Suttie
It gets late early out here
in the lacklustre places,
wind in the trees and the foodstalls’
ricepaper lamplight, fading and blurred with rain…
—John Burnside, “Travelling South, Scotland, August 2012”
#nationalpoetryday #play #poem
October 2, 2025 at 10:38 AM
“Necessity is not the mother of invention; play is”
—Ian D. Suttie
It gets late early out here
in the lacklustre places,
wind in the trees and the foodstalls’
ricepaper lamplight, fading and blurred with rain…
—John Burnside, “Travelling South, Scotland, August 2012”
#nationalpoetryday #play #poem
—Ian D. Suttie
It gets late early out here
in the lacklustre places,
wind in the trees and the foodstalls’
ricepaper lamplight, fading and blurred with rain…
—John Burnside, “Travelling South, Scotland, August 2012”
#nationalpoetryday #play #poem
Reposted by Helen McClory
On National Poetry Day, the greatest poem I have ever read
October 2, 2025 at 8:41 AM
On National Poetry Day, the greatest poem I have ever read