Nilam McGrath
LightNews LightNews
banner
nilammcgrath.bsky.social
Nilam McGrath
@nilammcgrath.bsky.social
43 followers 70 following 45 posts
Author #SchrodingersCat = http://bit.ly/SchCatB2R & #PhDrollercoaster = http://bit.ly/b2read | Current project = #LivingLibrary
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
effinbirds.com
Tom and I (and many others) got totally fucked by the same publisher.

I have 88k followers here, and if every one of you bought a book, those royalties would pretty much add up to what they owe me.

Related great news: my books & cards will be back in UK & EU stores next month.

eatf.art
January 23, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social
At present I have 14,923 followers on Bluesky.

If each of those people read this extract and purchased the book (which of course would never happen) the royalties I received from that would not even come to half the sum my ex-publishers owe me.

I guess that's what you might call perspective.
dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 14d
I've removed the paywall permanently from this piece, which is a chapter from my novel Villager, told entirely in the form of an online village message board. If you like it, you'll probably like the book. If you don't, you won't... www.tom-cox.com/the-village-...
The Village Message Board
Its authenticity was discredited because of his reputation, but also because he was quick with gin at the time and wearing an item of knitwear back to front.
www.tom-cox.com
January 23, 2026 at 10:07 AM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
librarianjones.com
Check out #45! 😭😭😭 My little kid nerdy heart loves this because I grew up looking forward to this magazine included with the Sunday paper every week. I am so honored to see my book on this list in a magazine that means so much to me. Thank you, PARADE Magazine!

parade.com/books/best-n...
45 Best Nonfiction Books of All Time, According to Librarians
You'll want to add these titles to your 'TBR' list in 2026.
parade.com
January 23, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
blueanimallover.bsky.social
January 20, 2026 at 5:13 AM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
english.lemonde.fr
Israeli bulldozers begin demolitions at UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem
Israeli bulldozers begin demolitions at UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem
A senior official from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees condemned what they described as 'a serious violation of international law and the privileges and immunities of the United Nations.'
www.lemonde.fr
January 20, 2026 at 11:27 AM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
xkcd.com
International Station

xkcd.com/3195/
Comic. [Two people floating with objects surrounding them.] PERSON with ponytail: You know, NASA and Roscosmos actually originally named it The *International Station*, but a translation issue led someone to accidentally transcribe the formatting.
January 20, 2026 at 9:03 PM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
goldcaro.bsky.social
The Nobel thing is the saddest thing I’ve ever seen. What sort of husk of a human accepts someone else’s award? What sort of person offers it up in hope of favour. It’s so degrading. The entire thing is humiliating for everyone involved.
January 15, 2026 at 10:07 PM
nilammcgrath.bsky.social
MINT #DuvetKnowItsChristmas
glastronomer.bsky.social Rob @glastronomer.bsky.social · Dec 24
I’ve been using this hashtag to frame my poor nephew’s looming experience as a lovely tradition as we set him up here for the next four nights. #Duvetknowitschristmas
At least he will have plenty of screens to stare at - airbed in the middle of two desks and surrounded by monitors.
December 24, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
brianbilston.bsky.social
Here’s a poem called ‘Christmas without you is’.
Christmas without you is                A cracker in need of pulling. A glass of wine that could do with more mulling. A stocking lacking in presents. A champagne cocktail without effervescence. A Santa Claus who doesn’t convince. A deep-filled mince pie with no deep-filled mince. A Wise Man bereft of myrrh (substitute gold or frankincense, if you prefyrrh). A card you've written but forgotten to send. It's A Wonderful Life without the bit at the end. An out-of-tune carol. A big tin of Roses with no Golden Barrel. A Bowie without a Bing. A merrily-on-high dong that’s lost its ding. Mistletoe without a kiss. That's what Christmas without you is.   Brian Bilston
December 23, 2025 at 10:28 AM
nilammcgrath.bsky.social
Not been dropped here yet...
BBC Maestro is advertising a writing course fronted by David Walliams, who has been dropped by his publisher for allegations of inappropriate behaviour
December 22, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
brianbilston.bsky.social
This is called ‘Twenty Modern-Day Proverbs’.
Twenty Modern-Day Proverbs   Fake news travels fast. Post in haste, regret immediately. Two’s company, three’s a crowdsourcing campaign. AI for an eye, an untruth for a truth. Beware of geeks bearing gifs. Caesar’s Wi-Fi must be above suspicion. A scrolling phone gathers no moss. Share and share and like. Don’t feed the troll that bites you. Empty influencers make the most noise. Every blog has its day. Blessed are the content creators. There’s a time and podcast for everything. Do not judge clickbait by its cover. A WhatsApp a day keeps your mother at bay. All’s well that trends well. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day;
teach a man to phish and you pheed him for a lifetime. Every cloud has a data centre. Spam tomorrow and spam yesterday – and always spam today. The end justifies the memes. Brian Bilston
December 19, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
goldcaro.bsky.social
Anyway, gonna wear my ‘Told you so’ t-shirt for all the people who I begged not to buy his books. Money talks. And it means people can behave like utter dicks and it’s an open secret for a decade and nobody does anything as people get hurt.
December 19, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
samatlounge.bsky.social
News is strategically broken on a Friday afternoon so people forget about it over the w/e, so I think it’s very important that we return to this on Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday etc etc
December 19, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
scriblit.bsky.social
A very happy Probably Not Able To Pretend You Didn't Know Any More Day to all the people who knew for years but kept protecting him ❤️
annaframe.bsky.social Anna Frame @annaframe.bsky.social · Dec 19
Oh my god. It’s actually finally happened. Merry Christmas, everyone!
December 19, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
brianbilston.bsky.social
I got visited by three ghosts last night, who were all experts in English grammar.
Tense Christmas I The Ghost of Christmas Past Perfect Progressive Midnight. Awoken by a ghost. I thought I must be raving. He’d come to me so I could see how badly I’d been behaving. II The Ghost of Christmas Present Perfect Simple Later still, a ghost again: with a much more recent scene. More evidence piling up of how unpleasant I have been. III The Ghost of Christmas Future Unreal Conditional Then, a final ghostly vision – but this one lacked the pain and strife. I saw if I could be a kinder man, I would create a better life. Brian Bilston
December 14, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
brianbilston.bsky.social
In a foolhardy attempt to appease my bank manager, I suppose I should mention that I have some books which may – or may not – make suitable presents for Christmas.

They should be available through your local bookshop - and the online ones. Here are what a few of them look like …
A Poem for Every Question And So This is Christmas You Took the Last Bus Home Days Like These
December 13, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
brianbilston.bsky.social
Annual reminder to water your Christmas tree poems …
This poem is written in the shape of a Christmas tree (well, most of it is) … Needles I wrote a poem in the shape of a Christmas tree but then forgot to water it and only a few days later [but the words beyond this point are scattered around the bottom of the page, like needles which have fallen from a Xmas tree) there were words all over the carpet
December 7, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
darrylayo.bsky.social
Reasons to go to the public library:

1. It’s cheaper than buying a book

2. You may be vaguely curious about a book but not desperately needing it

3. You may see another book by the same author

4. You arrogantly challenged your rival to a music duel but you don’t have a violin

5. Check email
December 6, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
mjclayman.bsky.social
From The Betrayal of Anne Frank, by Rosemary Sullivan. #booksky
December 5, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
societyofauthors.bsky.social
BONUS EPISODE

To coincide with the launch of our guide to Making Tax Digital, here's a bonus episode of our podcast.

Theo visited the offices of specialist accountant @hwfisheruk to discuss MTD, the biggest change to the freelance tax regime since the introduction of self-assessment.
December 3, 2025 at 5:47 PM
nilammcgrath.bsky.social
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼Won’t somebody please think of Britain’s poor £2m homeowners? Oh, wait – everyone already is | Jonathan Liew www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Won’t somebody please think of Britain’s poor £2m homeowners? Oh, wait – everyone already is | Jonathan Liew
Contrast the furious reaction to Rachel Reeves’s ‘mansion tax’ to the response offered to those living with real housing injustice: indifference, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Liew
www.theguardian.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
scriblit.bsky.social
Let's GOOOOO!

Factual sketch comedy, for families! Made by the team behind YDTM plus great comedy sketch writers & performers!
Out this Christmas on R4 (3eps) & Sounds (15eps)
It's Ya Gal's 1st production credit!
You're in for a good time, comedy fans!
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
Press release for Dead Funny History. Reads: You’re Dead to Me: Dead Funny History New series launches Monday 15 December. Three special episodes will be broadcast on Radio 4 on 19 December, 26 December and 2 January. Artwork for Dead Funny History featuring BBC branding. Line art symbols and cartoons surround text: “You’re Dead to me Presents Dead Funny History.” Attention kids of all ages! Dead Funny History is the brand-new comedy history show for everyone aged 8 to 108, from the team behind the hit Radio 4 podcast You’re Dead to Me. What links a 70-foot colossus to the prettiest cow in Ancient Egypt? Which world-famous siblings began as terrible teachers? And what was the surprisingly dangerous Christmas game in medieval Britain? From Ramesses the Great to the Brontë sisters to the history of football, Greg Jenner serves up a smorgasbord of the funniest, messiest, and most astonishing stories from history. Expect pirates, spies, superstars, chariot races, bouncing cats, ancient toilets, radioactive notebooks, and a pig named Albert, all crammed into 14-minute episodes packed with jokes and sketches. Dead Funny History is a brilliantly bonkers historical romp for the whole family to enjoy. Starring: Richard David Caine (Horrible Histories), Mali Ann Rees (Mammoth), and John-Luke Roberts (Sound Heap), with scripts by top comedy writers Gabby Hutchinson Crouch, Jack Bernhardt, Athena Kugblenu, and You’re Dead to Me’s own Dr Emma Nagouse. Presenter: Greg Jenner Written by: Gabby Hutchinson Crouch, Jack Bernhardt, Athena Kugblenu, Dr Emma Nagouse Produced by: Dr Emma Nagouse and Gabby Hutchinson Crouch Audio Producer: Emma Weatherill BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
November 25, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
happytoast.co.uk
While I'm not quite at the point of losing my house, the harm ai has done to my animation work income is huge, like 80% gone and it makes me wonder how many freelance artists and animators ARE losing everything while billionaire con men continue to rake it in.
November 22, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Reposted by Nilam McGrath
jeffvandermeer.bsky.social
OMG! It won! What a brilliant book!
publisherswkly.bsky.social Publishers Weekly @publisherswkly.bsky.social · Nov 20
The winner of the 2025 National Book Award for Nonfiction is ‘One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This’ by Omar El Akkad. #NBAwards
November 20, 2025 at 6:19 AM
nilammcgrath.bsky.social
Holy moly, if only our UK politicians were this thoughtful and intelligent. What Mamdani says about the downsides of using the corporate sector to save money is 💯
open.spotify.com/episode/5QFA...
Zohran Mamdani Says He's Ready for Donald Trump
open.spotify.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:25 PM