Jo McMillan
@jomcmillan.bsky.social
Fan of alphabets and characters - complex and simplified. Have called Beijing, Melaka and London home. Looking for Utopia. Currently in Berlin.
Pinned
Jo McMillan
@jomcmillan.bsky.social
· May 14
The Accidental Immigrants: A story of what happens when there’s talk of ‘an island of strangers’...
This book was only possible with the support and courage and imagination of the lovely people at Bluemoose. Thank you Kevin, Lin and Hetha!
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
This book was only possible with the support and courage and imagination of the lovely people at Bluemoose. Thank you Kevin, Lin and Hetha!
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
👇 💙
Good morning.
Delighted that we've just published our 3rd novel by Colette Snowden.
Our 4th from Anna Chilvers later this month.
Our 3rd by Sharon Duggal next year.
And our 2nd by Devika Ponnambalam in 2027.
Supporting the writing careers of our authors.
@thebookseller.com
Delighted that we've just published our 3rd novel by Colette Snowden.
Our 4th from Anna Chilvers later this month.
Our 3rd by Sharon Duggal next year.
And our 2nd by Devika Ponnambalam in 2027.
Supporting the writing careers of our authors.
@thebookseller.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:51 AM
👇 💙
Great to see the growing enthusiasm for The Accidental Immigrants up and down the country:
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
August 30, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Great to see the growing enthusiasm for The Accidental Immigrants up and down the country:
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
A vital novel whose complex characters struggle against their own and their family’s expectations, against a society that doesn’t see or value them, and against the random cruelties of the UK immigration system. A thoughtful and touching must-read.
@tawseefkhan.bsky.social
shorturl.at/topdh
@tawseefkhan.bsky.social
shorturl.at/topdh
Determination
‘A compassionate, beautifully told portrait’ Guy Gunaratne ‘Absorbing, witty, eloquent fiction, as well as a trenchant political critique’ Tom Benn’A hymn to empathy, …
shorturl.at
August 26, 2025 at 9:59 AM
A vital novel whose complex characters struggle against their own and their family’s expectations, against a society that doesn’t see or value them, and against the random cruelties of the UK immigration system. A thoughtful and touching must-read.
@tawseefkhan.bsky.social
shorturl.at/topdh
@tawseefkhan.bsky.social
shorturl.at/topdh
Insider knowledge makes this novel special. Years of experience in asylum and immigration law have been turned into a drama that’s propulsive and intricately plotted, has razor-sharp dialogue and is just waiting to be brought to the screen.
shorturl.at/o0fBX
@tomgaisfordwriter.bsky.social
shorturl.at/o0fBX
@tomgaisfordwriter.bsky.social
Sanctuary, the debut novel by Tom Gaisford
Can novice refugee lawyer, Alex, prove himself worthy of the job and the woman he adores? In SANCTUARY, desperation reigns, art mirrors life and twisty thriller meets witty love story.
shorturl.at
August 18, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Insider knowledge makes this novel special. Years of experience in asylum and immigration law have been turned into a drama that’s propulsive and intricately plotted, has razor-sharp dialogue and is just waiting to be brought to the screen.
shorturl.at/o0fBX
@tomgaisfordwriter.bsky.social
shorturl.at/o0fBX
@tomgaisfordwriter.bsky.social
Animal Farm at Eighty
“I took it out of the library, and read it quietly, in bed, under the covers.”
On the 80th anniversary of its publication, read my first encounter with Orwell’s Animal Farm:
orwellfoundation.substack.com/p/it-all-mad...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
“I took it out of the library, and read it quietly, in bed, under the covers.”
On the 80th anniversary of its publication, read my first encounter with Orwell’s Animal Farm:
orwellfoundation.substack.com/p/it-all-mad...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
"It all made such shockingly perfect sense." Animal Farm at Eighty
Friends of the Foundation recall their first encounters with George Orwell's masterpiece
orwellfoundation.substack.com
August 17, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Animal Farm at Eighty
“I took it out of the library, and read it quietly, in bed, under the covers.”
On the 80th anniversary of its publication, read my first encounter with Orwell’s Animal Farm:
orwellfoundation.substack.com/p/it-all-mad...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
“I took it out of the library, and read it quietly, in bed, under the covers.”
On the 80th anniversary of its publication, read my first encounter with Orwell’s Animal Farm:
orwellfoundation.substack.com/p/it-all-mad...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
A lovely perceptive video review of The Accidental Immigrants from Bob The Bookerer. Thank you!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Y5...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Y5...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
Weekly Reading Wrap-Up: Betrayal, Love, and Jumping Through Hoops
YouTube video by Bob The Bookerer
www.youtube.com
August 3, 2025 at 10:06 AM
A lovely perceptive video review of The Accidental Immigrants from Bob The Bookerer. Thank you!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Y5...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=24Y5...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
Many thanks to Sam Reid from Fieldzine for a great conversation about The Accidental Immigrants.
We talk about the myths of immigration, the far right – and rage, resistance and writing.
Listen to the podcast here tinyurl.com/2z4vu57z
@fieldzine.bsky.social
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
We talk about the myths of immigration, the far right – and rage, resistance and writing.
Listen to the podcast here tinyurl.com/2z4vu57z
@fieldzine.bsky.social
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
July 25, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Many thanks to Sam Reid from Fieldzine for a great conversation about The Accidental Immigrants.
We talk about the myths of immigration, the far right – and rage, resistance and writing.
Listen to the podcast here tinyurl.com/2z4vu57z
@fieldzine.bsky.social
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
We talk about the myths of immigration, the far right – and rage, resistance and writing.
Listen to the podcast here tinyurl.com/2z4vu57z
@fieldzine.bsky.social
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
July 23, 2025 at 11:32 AM
"Great writing and extremely timely ... a gripping read with some memorable characters and set-pieces that deserves the wide praise it has received to date."
www.ontheprize.co.uk/blog/the-acc...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
Many thanks to ontheprize.co.uk
www.ontheprize.co.uk/blog/the-acc...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
Many thanks to ontheprize.co.uk
The Accidental Immigrants (2025) by Jo McMillan - Book Review — Eyes on the Prize
Reviewing The Accidental Immigrants, nominated for the 2025 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction and tackling the rise of the Far Right in contemporary Britain and Europe.
www.ontheprize.co.uk
July 15, 2025 at 5:49 AM
"Great writing and extremely timely ... a gripping read with some memorable characters and set-pieces that deserves the wide praise it has received to date."
www.ontheprize.co.uk/blog/the-acc...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
Many thanks to ontheprize.co.uk
www.ontheprize.co.uk/blog/the-acc...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
Many thanks to ontheprize.co.uk
Book post! Looking forward to these by @jomcmillan.bsky.social and @tomgaisfordwriter.bsky.social.
July 7, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Wow! The Accidental Immigrants by @jomcmillan.bsky.social
What a harrowing but thought provoking read. Very relevant (sadly), but utterly brilliant. My book of the year so far, a must read.
What a harrowing but thought provoking read. Very relevant (sadly), but utterly brilliant. My book of the year so far, a must read.
July 5, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Thanks to the Orwell Foundation for a fantastic awards ceremony; to the judges for choosing The Accidental Immigrants as a finalist; to every writer there for deciding to write about things that matter. And many congrats to Donal Ryan. Cheers!
@orwellprize.bsky.social @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
June 30, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Thanks to the Orwell Foundation for a fantastic awards ceremony; to the judges for choosing The Accidental Immigrants as a finalist; to every writer there for deciding to write about things that matter. And many congrats to Donal Ryan. Cheers!
@orwellprize.bsky.social @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
What one book powered the writing of The Accidental Immigrants? You might be surprised...
shorturl.at/xr3Gr
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
shorturl.at/xr3Gr
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
12 Orwell Prize finalists on the political books which shaped them
Winners will be revealed this Wednesday, 25th June
shorturl.at
June 24, 2025 at 7:53 AM
What one book powered the writing of The Accidental Immigrants? You might be surprised...
shorturl.at/xr3Gr
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
shorturl.at/xr3Gr
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
👗🧦👚
In a weeks time I'll be at
Conway hall in London for the @orwellprize.bsky.social
Awards ceremony.
I've bought 2 new T shirts.
@thebookseller.com
@newwritingnorth.bsky.social
@beelitmag.bsky.social
@northernfiction.bsky.social
Conway hall in London for the @orwellprize.bsky.social
Awards ceremony.
I've bought 2 new T shirts.
@thebookseller.com
@newwritingnorth.bsky.social
@beelitmag.bsky.social
@northernfiction.bsky.social
June 18, 2025 at 7:55 AM
👗🧦👚
"I never tire of solace."
Read @jomcmillan.bsky.social's wide-ranging reading list, sparked by her Orwell Prize-shortlisted novel The Accidental Immigrants. One of these books is not like the others.
From @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social: uk.bookshop.org/lists/the-ac...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
Read @jomcmillan.bsky.social's wide-ranging reading list, sparked by her Orwell Prize-shortlisted novel The Accidental Immigrants. One of these books is not like the others.
From @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social: uk.bookshop.org/lists/the-ac...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
June 17, 2025 at 3:04 PM
George Orwell claimed that prose writers have four ‘great motivations’: sheer egoism; aesthetic enthusiasm; historical impulse; and political purpose.
Why did I write The Accidental Immigrants? Read the answer here:
lithub.com/making-sense...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
Why did I write The Accidental Immigrants? Read the answer here:
lithub.com/making-sense...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
Making sense of the chaos: 12 Orwell Prize finalists on why they write.
The Orwell Prize for Political Writing and the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction reward books that meet “George Orwell’s own ambition ‘to make political writing into an art.'R…
lithub.com
June 16, 2025 at 1:52 PM
George Orwell claimed that prose writers have four ‘great motivations’: sheer egoism; aesthetic enthusiasm; historical impulse; and political purpose.
Why did I write The Accidental Immigrants? Read the answer here:
lithub.com/making-sense...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
Why did I write The Accidental Immigrants? Read the answer here:
lithub.com/making-sense...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
Hitting the nail (and jelly) on the head. Thank you Jennifer!
@jenniferbeworr.bsky.social
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
@jenniferbeworr.bsky.social
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
#booksky
Trying to define fascism is trying to nail jelly to a wall. It takes a novel to make us feel its insidious effects.
This main character takes us along a path exploring how people become or resist becoming collaborators with the far right.
@jomcmillan.bsky.social
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
Trying to define fascism is trying to nail jelly to a wall. It takes a novel to make us feel its insidious effects.
This main character takes us along a path exploring how people become or resist becoming collaborators with the far right.
@jomcmillan.bsky.social
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
June 16, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Hitting the nail (and jelly) on the head. Thank you Jennifer!
@jenniferbeworr.bsky.social
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
@jenniferbeworr.bsky.social
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
Independent Bookshop Week 14-21 June 2025
#IndieBookshopWeek
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social @orwellprize.bsky.social @booksaremybag.bsky.social
booksaremybag.com/IndependentB...
#IndieBookshopWeek
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social @orwellprize.bsky.social @booksaremybag.bsky.social
booksaremybag.com/IndependentB...
June 13, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Independent Bookshop Week 14-21 June 2025
#IndieBookshopWeek
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social @orwellprize.bsky.social @booksaremybag.bsky.social
booksaremybag.com/IndependentB...
#IndieBookshopWeek
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social @orwellprize.bsky.social @booksaremybag.bsky.social
booksaremybag.com/IndependentB...
"When the island’s politics turn sharply against the British minority they are thrown into a desperate battle for survival and refuge...it illuminates the process of border-crossing and makes one think freshly about your own place in the world...”
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
shorturl.at/cfe79
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
shorturl.at/cfe79
Politics round-up: from the powerful to the powerless
Insights into Trump’s return to power, Blair’s public service transformation, immigrants and Britain’s white working class
shorturl.at
June 11, 2025 at 7:07 AM
"When the island’s politics turn sharply against the British minority they are thrown into a desperate battle for survival and refuge...it illuminates the process of border-crossing and makes one think freshly about your own place in the world...”
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
shorturl.at/cfe79
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
shorturl.at/cfe79
"...Jo McMillan uses the very real bureaucracy of the UK home office to construct a story of two fictional lovers: Tess, a dual passport holder, whose lover, Arlo, has come from Britain to the fictional island of St Mira and now has no passport at all.”
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
shorturl.at/cfe79
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
shorturl.at/cfe79
Politics round-up: from the powerful to the powerless
Insights into Trump’s return to power, Blair’s public service transformation, immigrants and Britain’s white working class
www.ft.com
June 11, 2025 at 7:07 AM
"...Jo McMillan uses the very real bureaucracy of the UK home office to construct a story of two fictional lovers: Tess, a dual passport holder, whose lover, Arlo, has come from Britain to the fictional island of St Mira and now has no passport at all.”
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
shorturl.at/cfe79
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
shorturl.at/cfe79
Now showing on Instagram
www.instagram.com/reel/DKuGxbm...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
www.instagram.com/reel/DKuGxbm...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
June 10, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Now showing on Instagram
www.instagram.com/reel/DKuGxbm...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
www.instagram.com/reel/DKuGxbm...
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
@orwellprize.bsky.social
👇🙏
This is why we publish.
The Accidental Immigrants @jomcmillan.bsky.social
First they came for...
@orwellprize.bsky.social
@theguardian.com
@thetimes.com
@newstatesman.com
@prospectmagazine.co.uk
The Accidental Immigrants @jomcmillan.bsky.social
First they came for...
@orwellprize.bsky.social
@theguardian.com
@thetimes.com
@newstatesman.com
@prospectmagazine.co.uk
June 4, 2025 at 8:49 AM
👇🙏
👇 🙏 💙
We’re off to Malvern today for a meeting. The Accidental Immigrants by Jo McMillan is my in-car reading today. This book is brilliant - it’s not often I say this but everyone needs to read this. It’s beautifully written. @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social @jomcmillan.bsky.social
May 28, 2025 at 11:02 AM
👇 🙏 💙
The Accidental Immigrants reviewed in The Irish Times (€)
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
shorturl.at/RK5Pg
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
shorturl.at/RK5Pg
![The Accidental Immigrants
By Jo McMillan
Bluemoose Books, £10.99
Writing political fiction is always something of a gamble; writing a political novel about the rise of the far right, which takes as its backdrop the years since Brexit, is even riskier. These are urgent themes, but their immediacy can threaten the imaginative work of a novel. The Accidental Immigrants, however, is no generalising parable. The novel, set on the fictional island of St Mira, is attuned to the insidiousness of xenophobia, the suspicion of “foreign accents”, the “rage that year after year had been thumbed on a whim into phones”. Its plot reveals how quickly this can wreak havoc on the most ordinary patterns of everyday life, how ‘History’ itself ‘depend[s] on who you ask’. Philippa Conlon](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2eibdf4oppyausdve6rf2ngi/bafkreigfmfq5c63kt6ianmeeaa2vatjnxux33pm5gdi5pyodtmmtmt3dze@jpeg)
May 27, 2025 at 2:24 PM
The Accidental Immigrants reviewed in The Irish Times (€)
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
shorturl.at/RK5Pg
@ofmooseandmen.bsky.social
shorturl.at/RK5Pg