Monica Byrne
@monicabyrne13.bsky.social
Writer living in Ireland. AI-free. Buy THE ACTUAL STAR: https://www.monicabyrne.org/the-actual-star. Reps at CAA, DG&B, and Kaplan/Perrone. She/her.
monicabyrne.substack.com
patreon.com/monicabyrne
monicabyrne.substack.com
patreon.com/monicabyrne
Pinned
Monica Byrne
@monicabyrne13.bsky.social
· Oct 23
The Actual Star review: A masterpiece of imaginative world building
Monica Byrne's fantastic second novel follows three storylines in the past, present and future, all of which are linked by historical threads and religious ideas, says Michael Marshall
www.newscientist.com
"When a book is this ambitious, either it is a thumping success or it falls on its face. Happily, The Actual Star is a stone-cold masterpiece. It is one of the most moving novels I have read and surely a contender for major awards."
Welp. 😳
Welp. 😳
The databases I find most useful in research, ranked:
(1) Google Scholar
(2) Asking my smart friends on social media
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
(n) JSTOR and EBSCO
(1) Google Scholar
(2) Asking my smart friends on social media
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
(n) JSTOR and EBSCO
January 6, 2026 at 3:31 PM
The databases I find most useful in research, ranked:
(1) Google Scholar
(2) Asking my smart friends on social media
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
(n) JSTOR and EBSCO
(1) Google Scholar
(2) Asking my smart friends on social media
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
(n) JSTOR and EBSCO
"Sci-fi has long claimed to be the multicultural literature of the future. This is the real thing.” --Wall Street Journal
My debut The Girl in the Road is on sale on ebook for $4.99:
My debut The Girl in the Road is on sale on ebook for $4.99:
The Girl in the Road: A Novel
Monica Byrne bursts on to the literary scene with an extraordinary vision of the future. In a world where global power has shifted east and revolution is brewing, two women embark on vastly different...
www.amazon.com
January 6, 2026 at 12:40 PM
"Sci-fi has long claimed to be the multicultural literature of the future. This is the real thing.” --Wall Street Journal
My debut The Girl in the Road is on sale on ebook for $4.99:
My debut The Girl in the Road is on sale on ebook for $4.99:
I researched jaguars a lot for The Actual Star. Strongest jaw of any big cat. They can crush skulls like eggshells 😵💫
January 6, 2026 at 12:23 PM
I researched jaguars a lot for The Actual Star. Strongest jaw of any big cat. They can crush skulls like eggshells 😵💫
Kill Bill.
What's your favourite thing that's been made by an absolute cunt?
January 6, 2026 at 11:17 AM
Kill Bill.
Shoutout to my very first TikTok, four years ago
January 5, 2026 at 11:59 PM
Shoutout to my very first TikTok, four years ago
Three of the members of the Freedom Flotilla have now spoken about IDF sexually assaulting them in custody. This in addition to the many Palestinian hostages’ accounts of the same, being done to them.
May we live to see the end of Israel and a free Palestine. There is nothing else to say.
May we live to see the end of Israel and a free Palestine. There is nothing else to say.
January 5, 2026 at 10:44 PM
Three of the members of the Freedom Flotilla have now spoken about IDF sexually assaulting them in custody. This in addition to the many Palestinian hostages’ accounts of the same, being done to them.
May we live to see the end of Israel and a free Palestine. There is nothing else to say.
May we live to see the end of Israel and a free Palestine. There is nothing else to say.
I love when a log has been so licked by flames that it falls apart at a touch
January 5, 2026 at 9:45 PM
I love when a log has been so licked by flames that it falls apart at a touch
Doing some research for my thesis proposal and…I just find it so hard to engage with academics who haven’t done the most basic work of clarifying their own thoughts enough to be able to communicate them simply and clearly
January 5, 2026 at 7:06 PM
Doing some research for my thesis proposal and…I just find it so hard to engage with academics who haven’t done the most basic work of clarifying their own thoughts enough to be able to communicate them simply and clearly
Reposted by Monica Byrne
The turn of the year is a normal time to feel a little lost, right? Because I feel a little lost. Maybe you do too. We can feel lost together.
Read in my January postcard ❄️
Read in my January postcard ❄️
January postcard: My little infant fire.
'Tis the season for feeling lost.
open.substack.com
January 4, 2026 at 8:55 PM
The turn of the year is a normal time to feel a little lost, right? Because I feel a little lost. Maybe you do too. We can feel lost together.
Read in my January postcard ❄️
Read in my January postcard ❄️
Reposted by Monica Byrne
We have published the following update to our article following an email response from the New York Times.
Trans News Network has a policy against platforming bigotry. As such, we have declined to publish the Times' statement which included blatant transphobia.
Trans News Network has a policy against platforming bigotry. As such, we have declined to publish the Times' statement which included blatant transphobia.
January 5, 2026 at 2:05 AM
We have published the following update to our article following an email response from the New York Times.
Trans News Network has a policy against platforming bigotry. As such, we have declined to publish the Times' statement which included blatant transphobia.
Trans News Network has a policy against platforming bigotry. As such, we have declined to publish the Times' statement which included blatant transphobia.
Snow in Sligo, at last! It’s not much, but it’s so pretty!
January 5, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Snow in Sligo, at last! It’s not much, but it’s so pretty!
Reposted by Monica Byrne
and when they did cover it it was only because i sent Glyer a very pointed note and did a bunch of the groundwork for him!
Achievement unlocked: I got File770 to cover the Gaiman thing, finally.
(I sent a note asking about it and pointing him to some info here about the third accuser & the new podcast)
(I sent a note asking about it and pointing him to some info here about the third accuser & the new podcast)
Third Woman Accuses Neil Gaiman of Sexual Assault
A third woman has accused Neil Gaiman of behaving inappropriately towards and sexually assaulting her in an interview recorded for the Am I Broken: Survivor Stories podcast episode “Claire ‘I Ignor…
file770.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:01 AM
and when they did cover it it was only because i sent Glyer a very pointed note and did a bunch of the groundwork for him!
The turn of the year is a normal time to feel a little lost, right? Because I feel a little lost. Maybe you do too. We can feel lost together.
Read in my January postcard ❄️
Read in my January postcard ❄️
January postcard: My little infant fire.
'Tis the season for feeling lost.
open.substack.com
January 4, 2026 at 8:55 PM
The turn of the year is a normal time to feel a little lost, right? Because I feel a little lost. Maybe you do too. We can feel lost together.
Read in my January postcard ❄️
Read in my January postcard ❄️
I ran out of Ireland postcards for my niblings, so now they’re going to get handmade Weird Aunt™ postcards from my theatre design leftovers
January 4, 2026 at 1:51 PM
I ran out of Ireland postcards for my niblings, so now they’re going to get handmade Weird Aunt™ postcards from my theatre design leftovers
Yup.
Urrrgghhh
The more I hear about this kind of thing, and creative ‘access’ schemes in general, the more I think it is purely performative
The people running them get to say ‘look we’re *helping* people,’ but actually it’s just gatekeeping and they like having the power to decide what gets made
The more I hear about this kind of thing, and creative ‘access’ schemes in general, the more I think it is purely performative
The people running them get to say ‘look we’re *helping* people,’ but actually it’s just gatekeeping and they like having the power to decide what gets made
January 4, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Yup.
Reposted by Monica Byrne
This with bloody bells on. The lack of w/c and POC representation is still a huge issue. A drum I’ve been banging on about is that talent isn’t solely bestowed on the wealthy. However, opportunities all too often are.
January 4, 2026 at 12:30 PM
This with bloody bells on. The lack of w/c and POC representation is still a huge issue. A drum I’ve been banging on about is that talent isn’t solely bestowed on the wealthy. However, opportunities all too often are.
It was really fun last year when a woman-owned, woman-run production company that bills itself as supporting women filmmakers pulled half my funding at the last minute and told me I had to go take directing classes first.
The result? I just didn’t get to make my short film. It’s still unmade.
The result? I just didn’t get to make my short film. It’s still unmade.
This terrible news for female directors, the wider industry and for female stories and representation on screen AND behind the scenes.
Women and girls make up 51% of the world population and yet aren’t given the same equivalence within the film/TV industry. Frankly, that’s archaic.
Women and girls make up 51% of the world population and yet aren’t given the same equivalence within the film/TV industry. Frankly, that’s archaic.
I knew this would happen
And it’s going to keep dropping
Given everything going on this may seem trivial but it’s all connected
How can we create a better world when we only tell ourselves stories from one perspective?
We’re choosing this
And I am fucking furious
mailchi.mp/usc/2025-was...
And it’s going to keep dropping
Given everything going on this may seem trivial but it’s all connected
How can we create a better world when we only tell ourselves stories from one perspective?
We’re choosing this
And I am fucking furious
mailchi.mp/usc/2025-was...
January 4, 2026 at 12:15 PM
It was really fun last year when a woman-owned, woman-run production company that bills itself as supporting women filmmakers pulled half my funding at the last minute and told me I had to go take directing classes first.
The result? I just didn’t get to make my short film. It’s still unmade.
The result? I just didn’t get to make my short film. It’s still unmade.
I don’t understand what coriander does to a dish but I always add it anyway
January 4, 2026 at 12:12 PM
I don’t understand what coriander does to a dish but I always add it anyway
I love how I Met Éireann’s forecast for today is “basically every damn thing”
January 4, 2026 at 9:33 AM
I love how I Met Éireann’s forecast for today is “basically every damn thing”
Reposted by Monica Byrne
There is overlap in officials who support the Venezuela invasion and the Gaza genocide. Overlap in funders, overlap in goals. Iraq War redux with a weaker US. The US sold off much of its own sovereignty to foreign criminals while also invading sovereign countries. Follow the money all the way…
January 4, 2026 at 12:13 AM
There is overlap in officials who support the Venezuela invasion and the Gaza genocide. Overlap in funders, overlap in goals. Iraq War redux with a weaker US. The US sold off much of its own sovereignty to foreign criminals while also invading sovereign countries. Follow the money all the way…
I mean, yes, but international law has been over for a while now (see: Palestine). The cornerstones are collapsing. This is just another one.
Bone chilling.
Oona Hathaway, Yale Law School professor and director of its Center for Global Legal Challenges.
Oona Hathaway, Yale Law School professor and director of its Center for Global Legal Challenges.
January 4, 2026 at 12:05 AM
I mean, yes, but international law has been over for a while now (see: Palestine). The cornerstones are collapsing. This is just another one.
It’s surreal that, on the message board of my otherwise idyllic hometown, there are constant heads-up about the constant booming noises echoing over the whole valley…..ballistics trainings at Fort Indiantown Gap, just north
January 4, 2026 at 12:01 AM
It’s surreal that, on the message board of my otherwise idyllic hometown, there are constant heads-up about the constant booming noises echoing over the whole valley…..ballistics trainings at Fort Indiantown Gap, just north
Reposted by Monica Byrne
Honestly, its wild how few reporters can actually honestly admit that older forms of news reporting is always going to prioritize lying if that is were the money and captalistic need takes them.
January 3, 2026 at 10:47 PM
Honestly, its wild how few reporters can actually honestly admit that older forms of news reporting is always going to prioritize lying if that is were the money and captalistic need takes them.
Reposted by Monica Byrne
actually dems can't do anything. they're very busy building the out-of-power lego set trump handed them a year ago, and norms dictate they must complete it before getting a certificate and the ability to speak or act in public
January 3, 2026 at 5:50 PM
actually dems can't do anything. they're very busy building the out-of-power lego set trump handed them a year ago, and norms dictate they must complete it before getting a certificate and the ability to speak or act in public
Reposted by Monica Byrne
"this is only happening because of Trump" shut up. Please just shut the fuck up. This is literally the entire history of this wretched fucking empire.
January 3, 2026 at 9:38 AM
"this is only happening because of Trump" shut up. Please just shut the fuck up. This is literally the entire history of this wretched fucking empire.