📚 🍫 Kate Macdonald 🧶 🐸
@kateem.bsky.social
Fantasy writer at peachfieldpress.uk. 18 years of academic writing & reviews at katemacdonald.net. Literary historian VRF @OxfordBrookes. Recorder of🏺finds, press @ Malvern Festival of Ideas, Q clerk, knitter, frog fosterer.
Pinned
The Handheld Diaries | Kate Macdonald | Substack
We published 48 books in seven years to recover forgotten fiction and lost authors. This is how we did it. Click to read The Handheld Diaries, by Kate Macdonald, a Substack publication with hundreds o...
katemacdonald.substack.com
Greetings, all those who wander in the Bluesky! I write SFF fiction at peachfieldpress.uk, I write about how I set up a small but doughty publishing house at katemacdonald.substack.com, I move words around, I measure excavated things and I organise. 💙📚🧶🏺🐸🌱🍫
Reposted by 📚 🍫 Kate Macdonald 🧶 🐸
Nowhere in the hysterical pile-on against the BBC in the British press has anyone mentioned that BBC News now has 77 million viewers & listeners in the US and has established itself as the second most trusted news source there.
November 11, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Nowhere in the hysterical pile-on against the BBC in the British press has anyone mentioned that BBC News now has 77 million viewers & listeners in the US and has established itself as the second most trusted news source there.
Slept in the seventh hotel room of this holiday last night. I had a nightmare from which I had to be woken to stop my muffled screams, and then later I found myself sleepwalking. Wonder what the room will do tonight. I haven't sleptwalked for years.
a penguin wearing a purple hat with the word pengv on the bottom right
ALT: a penguin wearing a purple hat with the word pengv on the bottom right
media.tenor.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Slept in the seventh hotel room of this holiday last night. I had a nightmare from which I had to be woken to stop my muffled screams, and then later I found myself sleepwalking. Wonder what the room will do tonight. I haven't sleptwalked for years.
Reposted by 📚 🍫 Kate Macdonald 🧶 🐸
The BBC feeling this today
![Cartoon by Stephen Collins for The Guardian. Script as follows:
[scene is Winston Churchill in a bbc studio, giving his 'finest hour' speech]
1
CHURCHILL:
The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us.
2
CHURCHILL:
Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war.
3
CHURCHILL:
If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free
and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sun-
BBC PRESENTER:
Thank you prime minister
4
BBC PRESENTER:
Mr hitler, your response?
5
HITLER [in the studio]:
Vell zis is hysterical woke nonsense as usual from mr Churchill
6
HITLER:
What we are proposing -
CHURCHILL:
Hang on
7
HITLER:
Let me finish - what we are proposing eez a simple power-sharing arrangement -
8
CHURCHILL:
What's he doing here
BBC PRESENTER:
It's important we hear both sides of the debate
9
CHURCHILL:
This isn't a debate
You don't debate fascists
10
HITLER:
Oh here we go with ze Godwins law!
11
HITLER:
Why must you people always compare ze things you don't like to 'fascists, Nazis, Hitler'...
CHURCHILL:
Because you are a fascist Nazi Hit-
12
HITLER [standing up, saluting]:
RAUSS!
BBC PRESENTER:
*Please* Mr Churchill let him speak
[ends]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreibw4ldc3fhslbvxgy2oqrof2oys5kpgh7zu6a5f3usmx3lf4547qm@jpeg)
November 10, 2025 at 8:56 AM
The BBC feeling this today
✋️ Never. All AI programs that I can disable on my (2) devices are shut down. 'Writing' using Chat GPT is regurgitating words approved by adolescent-minded white men in California. You can do loads better than that, and train your mind to be better while you're at it.
Hands up if you've never used Chat GPT ✋
(I feel like Dozer and Tank in The Matrix right now - at first I didn't use it because, rather ironically, I'm lazy and stubborn (peak Taurus energy there) - literally no, don't make me use the new thing I don't wanna. Now I'm glad I didn't 😅)
(I feel like Dozer and Tank in The Matrix right now - at first I didn't use it because, rather ironically, I'm lazy and stubborn (peak Taurus energy there) - literally no, don't make me use the new thing I don't wanna. Now I'm glad I didn't 😅)
Probably a good way to tell right now if the job you’re applying for is run by absolute dumbfucks is to ask if they’re using AI.
November 9, 2025 at 6:36 PM
✋️ Never. All AI programs that I can disable on my (2) devices are shut down. 'Writing' using Chat GPT is regurgitating words approved by adolescent-minded white men in California. You can do loads better than that, and train your mind to be better while you're at it.
Reposted by 📚 🍫 Kate Macdonald 🧶 🐸
Just nuts. Caving in to Trump that easily doesn't bode well for Britain in general.
BBC director general Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness resign over Trump documentary edit
Davie says
www.bbc.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Just nuts. Caving in to Trump that easily doesn't bode well for Britain in general.
Reposted by 📚 🍫 Kate Macdonald 🧶 🐸
“If it’s not worth being written by a human, it’s not worth being read by a human.”
November 7, 2025 at 8:36 PM
“If it’s not worth being written by a human, it’s not worth being read by a human.”
Two story-related emails arrived today while I'm on holiday
One was a No, thank you.
And the other was, Yes, we like it. And we'll pay you for it.
So my unexpected Gothic horror weepie will be published in a month or so in The House of Long Shadows. 💙📚
peachfieldpress.uk/2025/11/07/s...
One was a No, thank you.
And the other was, Yes, we like it. And we'll pay you for it.
So my unexpected Gothic horror weepie will be published in a month or so in The House of Long Shadows. 💙📚
peachfieldpress.uk/2025/11/07/s...
Sudden news from abroad
I’m typing this from a hotel room in Brescia, Italy, and feel quite smug that I brought our old bluetooth keyboard so I can type straight to my phone. This post would have taken ages otherwis…
peachfieldpress.uk
November 7, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Two story-related emails arrived today while I'm on holiday
One was a No, thank you.
And the other was, Yes, we like it. And we'll pay you for it.
So my unexpected Gothic horror weepie will be published in a month or so in The House of Long Shadows. 💙📚
peachfieldpress.uk/2025/11/07/s...
One was a No, thank you.
And the other was, Yes, we like it. And we'll pay you for it.
So my unexpected Gothic horror weepie will be published in a month or so in The House of Long Shadows. 💙📚
peachfieldpress.uk/2025/11/07/s...
Zohran, son of Mira. www.theguardian.com/film/2025/no...
Campaign director: Zohran Mamdani’s ideas are indebted to the films of his mother, Mira Nair
The passionately inclusive politics of the newly-elected New York mayor have clear echoes in boundary-breaking movies such as Salaam Bombay! and Monsoon Wedding
www.theguardian.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Zohran, son of Mira. www.theguardian.com/film/2025/no...
Reposted by 📚 🍫 Kate Macdonald 🧶 🐸
Extraordinary story from @sheffieldtribune.bsky.social: A London lawyer bought hundreds of Sheffield freeholds. Then the ‘very aggressive’ letters arrived.
One woman: “It broke my heart, that was my savings towards a new car...He has just wiped me out.”
www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/a-london-law...
One woman: “It broke my heart, that was my savings towards a new car...He has just wiped me out.”
www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/a-london-law...
A London lawyer bought hundreds of Sheffield freeholds. Then the ‘very aggressive’ letters arrived
Exclusive: The Tribune can reveal that Andrew Milne has threatened leaseholders with high court action. It ‘broke my heart’ one woman says
www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Extraordinary story from @sheffieldtribune.bsky.social: A London lawyer bought hundreds of Sheffield freeholds. Then the ‘very aggressive’ letters arrived.
One woman: “It broke my heart, that was my savings towards a new car...He has just wiped me out.”
www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/a-london-law...
One woman: “It broke my heart, that was my savings towards a new car...He has just wiped me out.”
www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/a-london-law...
This is Bergamo Cathedral. Now I see the aesthetic being sought for the current White House.
November 7, 2025 at 9:47 AM
This is Bergamo Cathedral. Now I see the aesthetic being sought for the current White House.
Reposted by 📚 🍫 Kate Macdonald 🧶 🐸
"Did wommen ruine the worke place"?
November 7, 2025 at 4:20 AM
"Did wommen ruine the worke place"?
This is awful.
'Music and modern foreign languages degrees are among courses being suspended at the University of Nottingham, with the institution saying it “cannot rely on additional income” from the coming tuition fee rises.' 1/3
Nottingham suspends music, language and nursing courses
University says financial uncertainties continue as government’s proposed student levy will ‘wipe out any benefits’ from rising tuition fees
www.timeshighereducation.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:19 PM
This is awful.
Best cauliflower of the day, as seen in the kitchen garden of the Palazzo Moroni, Bergamo. They also grow immense gourds for really lavish caponata. 🌱
November 6, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Best cauliflower of the day, as seen in the kitchen garden of the Palazzo Moroni, Bergamo. They also grow immense gourds for really lavish caponata. 🌱
Milan railway station is the most astonishing temple to science and industry. Also astrology.
November 5, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Milan railway station is the most astonishing temple to science and industry. Also astrology.
Reposted by 📚 🍫 Kate Macdonald 🧶 🐸
The flip side of this is the male author who was asked about his writing routine, and who talked about how much he loved the feeling that he could close his door and then “the day is completely yours” to focus on writing. He had, at the time, two young children… and, of course, a wife
November 5, 2025 at 9:17 AM
The flip side of this is the male author who was asked about his writing routine, and who talked about how much he loved the feeling that he could close his door and then “the day is completely yours” to focus on writing. He had, at the time, two young children… and, of course, a wife
This was a surprise. But I don't know their lives.
November 4, 2025 at 8:16 PM
This was a surprise. But I don't know their lives.
Reposted by 📚 🍫 Kate Macdonald 🧶 🐸
Did you know Mary Shelley once had to correct Sir Walter Scott for crediting her novel, Frankenstein, to her husband? 🔍
For one day only, see this story on paper at the National Library:
➡️ Mary Shelley's letter to Sir Walter Scott
➡️ Rare early editions & items from our archives
➡️ and more!
For one day only, see this story on paper at the National Library:
➡️ Mary Shelley's letter to Sir Walter Scott
➡️ Rare early editions & items from our archives
➡️ and more!
November 4, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Did you know Mary Shelley once had to correct Sir Walter Scott for crediting her novel, Frankenstein, to her husband? 🔍
For one day only, see this story on paper at the National Library:
➡️ Mary Shelley's letter to Sir Walter Scott
➡️ Rare early editions & items from our archives
➡️ and more!
For one day only, see this story on paper at the National Library:
➡️ Mary Shelley's letter to Sir Walter Scott
➡️ Rare early editions & items from our archives
➡️ and more!
Reposted by 📚 🍫 Kate Macdonald 🧶 🐸
spread Samir Zitouni’s name far and wide
November 4, 2025 at 11:24 AM
spread Samir Zitouni’s name far and wide
Reposted by 📚 🍫 Kate Macdonald 🧶 🐸
-has guidance for this kind of thing.
For example, here's the guidance for intruders :
www.cps.gov.uk/publication/...
There's more information out there from the CPS and Gov.uk.
Look it up.
Don't listen to folks on the internet (like me 😁).
Do your own homework so you can stay out of jail.
For example, here's the guidance for intruders :
www.cps.gov.uk/publication/...
There's more information out there from the CPS and Gov.uk.
Look it up.
Don't listen to folks on the internet (like me 😁).
Do your own homework so you can stay out of jail.
Householders and the use of force against intruders | The Crown Prosecution Service
www.cps.gov.uk
November 4, 2025 at 10:30 AM
-has guidance for this kind of thing.
For example, here's the guidance for intruders :
www.cps.gov.uk/publication/...
There's more information out there from the CPS and Gov.uk.
Look it up.
Don't listen to folks on the internet (like me 😁).
Do your own homework so you can stay out of jail.
For example, here's the guidance for intruders :
www.cps.gov.uk/publication/...
There's more information out there from the CPS and Gov.uk.
Look it up.
Don't listen to folks on the internet (like me 😁).
Do your own homework so you can stay out of jail.
Breakfast in Paris.
November 4, 2025 at 7:02 AM
Breakfast in Paris.
Reposted by 📚 🍫 Kate Macdonald 🧶 🐸
Plan of burials at the post-Roman cemetery of Worth Matravers, Dorset 🏴 showing biological kinship.
Genetic ties were found to the continent and one individual even had West African ancestry, highlighting the diverse heritage of early medieval Britain.
🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
Genetic ties were found to the continent and one individual even had West African ancestry, highlighting the diverse heritage of early medieval Britain.
🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
November 3, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Plan of burials at the post-Roman cemetery of Worth Matravers, Dorset 🏴 showing biological kinship.
Genetic ties were found to the continent and one individual even had West African ancestry, highlighting the diverse heritage of early medieval Britain.
🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
Genetic ties were found to the continent and one individual even had West African ancestry, highlighting the diverse heritage of early medieval Britain.
🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
On the Eurostar for the first time in 4 years.
On-board staff uniforms still very chic.
Seats in Standard are narrower and slope back weirdly which is inconvenient for knitting. Also for eating.
All train designs should have the nifty Eurostar double coat and case shelves.
Love the franglais.
On-board staff uniforms still very chic.
Seats in Standard are narrower and slope back weirdly which is inconvenient for knitting. Also for eating.
All train designs should have the nifty Eurostar double coat and case shelves.
Love the franglais.
November 3, 2025 at 1:33 PM
On the Eurostar for the first time in 4 years.
On-board staff uniforms still very chic.
Seats in Standard are narrower and slope back weirdly which is inconvenient for knitting. Also for eating.
All train designs should have the nifty Eurostar double coat and case shelves.
Love the franglais.
On-board staff uniforms still very chic.
Seats in Standard are narrower and slope back weirdly which is inconvenient for knitting. Also for eating.
All train designs should have the nifty Eurostar double coat and case shelves.
Love the franglais.
Reposted by 📚 🍫 Kate Macdonald 🧶 🐸
Looks like extraordinary cowardice. "...following pressure from the Chinese state and a separate defamation law suit against the university, Sheffield Hallam decided not to publish a final piece of research by Prof Murphy and her team into forced labour." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
November 3, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Looks like extraordinary cowardice. "...following pressure from the Chinese state and a separate defamation law suit against the university, Sheffield Hallam decided not to publish a final piece of research by Prof Murphy and her team into forced labour." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Have you SEEN what's on the White House website? She pointed it out, I checked.
www.facebook.com/reel/6791799...
As of 17.58 UK time on 1st Nov there's a boob shot on the About the White House page. And some very off-topic images.
www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-wh...
www.facebook.com/reel/6791799...
As of 17.58 UK time on 1st Nov there's a boob shot on the About the White House page. And some very off-topic images.
www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-wh...
November 1, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Have you SEEN what's on the White House website? She pointed it out, I checked.
www.facebook.com/reel/6791799...
As of 17.58 UK time on 1st Nov there's a boob shot on the About the White House page. And some very off-topic images.
www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-wh...
www.facebook.com/reel/6791799...
As of 17.58 UK time on 1st Nov there's a boob shot on the About the White House page. And some very off-topic images.
www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-wh...