Simon Okotie
@simonokotie.bsky.social
Essayistic novelist (and vice versa). The Absalon novels are published by Salt: ‘Fiction as original as this deserves a long shelf life.’ (London Review of Books). The Future of the Novel is published by Melville House.
Pinned
Simon Okotie
@simonokotie.bsky.social
· Oct 31
Delighted to finally get my hands on a physical copy of this! It will be published 20 Feb ‘25 in the UK and 4 March ‘25 in the US. Pre-order links below. Looking forward to sharing it with you and hearing what you think.
UK: www.hive.co.uk/Product/The-...
US: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-future...
UK: www.hive.co.uk/Product/The-...
US: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-future...
Reposted by Simon Okotie
Why CD Rose won the 2025 Goldsmiths Prize for fiction, by @SimonOkotie.bsky.social
Why CD Rose won the 2025 Goldsmiths Prize for fiction
His fourth book We Live Here Now challenges the novel’s form by focusing on texture, atmosphere and resonance
www.newstatesman.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Why CD Rose won the 2025 Goldsmiths Prize for fiction, by @SimonOkotie.bsky.social
Reposted by Simon Okotie
'We Live Here Now emerged similarly mysteriously, flying steadily & consistently under the radar before assuming its rightful place as the winner of this year’s Goldsmiths Prize.'
Judge @simonokotie.bsky.social on why C.D. Rose won this year's Goldsmiths Prize.
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
Judge @simonokotie.bsky.social on why C.D. Rose won this year's Goldsmiths Prize.
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
Why CD Rose won the 2025 Goldsmiths Prize for fiction
His fourth book We Live Here Now challenges the novel’s form by focusing on texture, atmosphere and resonance
www.newstatesman.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:10 AM
'We Live Here Now emerged similarly mysteriously, flying steadily & consistently under the radar before assuming its rightful place as the winner of this year’s Goldsmiths Prize.'
Judge @simonokotie.bsky.social on why C.D. Rose won this year's Goldsmiths Prize.
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
Judge @simonokotie.bsky.social on why C.D. Rose won this year's Goldsmiths Prize.
www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...
Reposted by Simon Okotie
@cdrose.bsky.social is the 2025 Goldsmiths Prize winner!!! So, so well deserved ❤️🏆 Read WE LIVE HERE NOW! @goldsmithsprize.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 8:42 PM
@cdrose.bsky.social is the 2025 Goldsmiths Prize winner!!! So, so well deserved ❤️🏆 Read WE LIVE HERE NOW! @goldsmithsprize.bsky.social
Reposted by Simon Okotie
The waiting is nearly over! Our judges - Mark Haddon, Megan Nolan, @simonokotie.bsky.social, and @asack.bsky.social - have read, deliberated and decided.
Winner announcement TONIGHT around 7.30pm🔥
Winner announcement TONIGHT around 7.30pm🔥
November 5, 2025 at 9:55 AM
The waiting is nearly over! Our judges - Mark Haddon, Megan Nolan, @simonokotie.bsky.social, and @asack.bsky.social - have read, deliberated and decided.
Winner announcement TONIGHT around 7.30pm🔥
Winner announcement TONIGHT around 7.30pm🔥
I dug out this top for my run today - a third kit from the early 2000s modelled on Inter Milan. I’m hoping it will bring us luck (and an Italian defensive display) against Porto this evening.
October 23, 2025 at 9:21 AM
I dug out this top for my run today - a third kit from the early 2000s modelled on Inter Milan. I’m hoping it will bring us luck (and an Italian defensive display) against Porto this evening.
Reposted by Simon Okotie
Nicholas Royle ends his much appreciated comments on A Personal Anthology by saying that, like a favourite bar or secondhand bookshop, it shouldn't be allowed to close.
I agree! But it can only go on as long as there are contributors, so if you'd like to take part, please get in touch!
I agree! But it can only go on as long as there are contributors, so if you'd like to take part, please get in touch!
October 16, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Nicholas Royle ends his much appreciated comments on A Personal Anthology by saying that, like a favourite bar or secondhand bookshop, it shouldn't be allowed to close.
I agree! But it can only go on as long as there are contributors, so if you'd like to take part, please get in touch!
I agree! But it can only go on as long as there are contributors, so if you'd like to take part, please get in touch!
Reposted by Simon Okotie
#GoldsmithsPrize2025 judge, @simonokotie.bsky.social, on C.D. Rose's We Live Here Now:
October 14, 2025 at 12:22 PM
#GoldsmithsPrize2025 judge, @simonokotie.bsky.social, on C.D. Rose's We Live Here Now:
Reposted by Simon Okotie
It's publication day for this beauty, with stories by David Bevan @iancritchley.bsky.social @pippagoldschmidt.bsky.social, Alison Moore, Okechukwu Nzelu, @simonokotie.bsky.social, C.D. Rose, Iain Sinclair, Naomi Wood, lucky old me! et al. Thank you @nicholasroyle.bsky.social & @saltpublishing.com 🔥
October 13, 2025 at 6:33 PM
It's publication day for this beauty, with stories by David Bevan @iancritchley.bsky.social @pippagoldschmidt.bsky.social, Alison Moore, Okechukwu Nzelu, @simonokotie.bsky.social, C.D. Rose, Iain Sinclair, Naomi Wood, lucky old me! et al. Thank you @nicholasroyle.bsky.social & @saltpublishing.com 🔥
Reposted by Simon Okotie
#GoldsmithsPrize2015 judge, @simonokotie.bsky.social, on Yrsa Daley-Ward's 'extraordinary shape-shifting, genre-defying work of fiction'
October 8, 2025 at 12:54 PM
#GoldsmithsPrize2015 judge, @simonokotie.bsky.social, on Yrsa Daley-Ward's 'extraordinary shape-shifting, genre-defying work of fiction'
Reposted by Simon Okotie
Our '25 judges, @simonokotie.bsky.social Amy Sackville (Chair) & Mark Haddon together @goldsmithsuol.bsky.social to decide this year's shortlist! Megan Nolan joining virtually.
Announcement next Thursday, 2nd October around 9pm! 🔥
Announcement next Thursday, 2nd October around 9pm! 🔥
September 25, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Our '25 judges, @simonokotie.bsky.social Amy Sackville (Chair) & Mark Haddon together @goldsmithsuol.bsky.social to decide this year's shortlist! Megan Nolan joining virtually.
Announcement next Thursday, 2nd October around 9pm! 🔥
Announcement next Thursday, 2nd October around 9pm! 🔥
Reposted by Simon Okotie
Literary Bluesky! According to Maeve Binchy in the Irish Times (14th May 1980) Samuel Beckett "had admired Myles na Gopaleen and laughed so much at everything he had written but had been a bit disappointed when he met him because he had expected too much." Details of the encounter? When and where?
September 22, 2025 at 6:33 AM
Literary Bluesky! According to Maeve Binchy in the Irish Times (14th May 1980) Samuel Beckett "had admired Myles na Gopaleen and laughed so much at everything he had written but had been a bit disappointed when he met him because he had expected too much." Details of the encounter? When and where?
In my dream last night I played tennis against the Queen.
August 19, 2025 at 2:33 PM
In my dream last night I played tennis against the Queen.
Reposted by Simon Okotie
We’re delighted that @deadinkbookshop.bsky.social is now stocking Nightjars. Little interview about it here deadinkbookshop.com/blogs/requir...
Nightjar Press: An Interview with Nicholas Royle
We’ve just started stocking short story chapbooks from Nightjar Press. If you, like us, are fans of the gothic, the weird, the surreal, and the supernatural, we recommend you check them out here in th...
deadinkbookshop.com
August 15, 2025 at 6:01 PM
We’re delighted that @deadinkbookshop.bsky.social is now stocking Nightjars. Little interview about it here deadinkbookshop.com/blogs/requir...
I’m delighted to be speaking about my book The Future of the Novel at this year’s Cheltenham Literature Festival.
As someone who spans 'the two cultures' of science and the humanities, I am pleased with organiser's title for the event. So much to say!
www.cheltenhamfestivals.org/events/autho...
As someone who spans 'the two cultures' of science and the humanities, I am pleased with organiser's title for the event. So much to say!
www.cheltenhamfestivals.org/events/autho...
August 13, 2025 at 1:29 PM
I’m delighted to be speaking about my book The Future of the Novel at this year’s Cheltenham Literature Festival.
As someone who spans 'the two cultures' of science and the humanities, I am pleased with organiser's title for the event. So much to say!
www.cheltenhamfestivals.org/events/autho...
As someone who spans 'the two cultures' of science and the humanities, I am pleased with organiser's title for the event. So much to say!
www.cheltenhamfestivals.org/events/autho...
Have just submitted my intention to submit [my PhD] form, which I have been intending to submit for some time.
August 6, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Have just submitted my intention to submit [my PhD] form, which I have been intending to submit for some time.
I'm grateful for the review of my book The Future of the Novel in this week's TLS but I do want to clarify one thing: I don't believe that the prospect of a novel generated by AI is still some way off - it is already with us.
www.the-tls.com/literature/l...
www.the-tls.com/literature/l...
August 6, 2025 at 8:33 AM
I'm grateful for the review of my book The Future of the Novel in this week's TLS but I do want to clarify one thing: I don't believe that the prospect of a novel generated by AI is still some way off - it is already with us.
www.the-tls.com/literature/l...
www.the-tls.com/literature/l...
One of the best pieces I’ve read on this hot topic. Thank you John. This, for instance, is an exquisite distillation of the issues: ‘The LLMs, by definition, can only synthesise from existing texts; they cannot originate. Bestsellers and prize-winners tend to come from nowhere, not from everywhere.’
“It’s almost taboo among writers to say, ‘I am interested in finding out what a person could do with this technology.’”
I spoke to @naomialderman.bsky.social, @richbeard.bsky.social and Sarah Hall about what AI means for novelists, in this week’s @ftweekend.com Books Essay:
I spoke to @naomialderman.bsky.social, @richbeard.bsky.social and Sarah Hall about what AI means for novelists, in this week’s @ftweekend.com Books Essay:
Will AI put fiction writers out of work?
Authors Naomi Alderman, Curtis Sittenfeld and more on why artificial intelligence is stirring fears for the future of book publishing
on.ft.com
August 2, 2025 at 10:26 AM
One of the best pieces I’ve read on this hot topic. Thank you John. This, for instance, is an exquisite distillation of the issues: ‘The LLMs, by definition, can only synthesise from existing texts; they cannot originate. Bestsellers and prize-winners tend to come from nowhere, not from everywhere.’
Reposted by Simon Okotie
The Republic Of Consciousness Prize is undergoing a slight change as it celebrates it's tenth year. #Booksky, get this on your radar if it's not already.
therepublicofconsciousness.substack.com/p/new-name-a...
therepublicofconsciousness.substack.com/p/new-name-a...
New name and partner for groundbreaking prize for small press publishers
Announcing The Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize
therepublicofconsciousness.substack.com
July 30, 2025 at 5:28 PM
The Republic Of Consciousness Prize is undergoing a slight change as it celebrates it's tenth year. #Booksky, get this on your radar if it's not already.
therepublicofconsciousness.substack.com/p/new-name-a...
therepublicofconsciousness.substack.com/p/new-name-a...
Glad to be one of the crew on this ship (with my story ‘When viewed from the head rather than the foot’). Pre-order details below.
Pre-order our flagship anthology, ‘BEST BRITISH SHORT STORIES 2025’, with a massive 25% discount from Waterstones today – head to bit.ly/4l4lZT4
You will need to enter “SUMMER25” at the checkout to redeem the offer to receive 25% off RRP
Offer ends 31 July.
#WPreorder #BookSky
You will need to enter “SUMMER25” at the checkout to redeem the offer to receive 25% off RRP
Offer ends 31 July.
#WPreorder #BookSky
July 29, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Glad to be one of the crew on this ship (with my story ‘When viewed from the head rather than the foot’). Pre-order details below.
I am friends with the window cleaner at my local café and he was pretty much the first person I saw on the morning after I returned to London earlier this month following my mum's death.
July 23, 2025 at 9:16 AM
I am friends with the window cleaner at my local café and he was pretty much the first person I saw on the morning after I returned to London earlier this month following my mum's death.
My mum with my maternal grandparents at Mile End Hospital in east London just over sixty years ago, and me in the same spot last week. She died two weeks ago today.
July 19, 2025 at 7:12 PM
My mum with my maternal grandparents at Mile End Hospital in east London just over sixty years ago, and me in the same spot last week. She died two weeks ago today.
Reposted by Simon Okotie
Camilla Grudova writes brilliantly about how precarious it is to live as a successful & dedicated writer who doesn’t come from money. Recommended reading especially for publishers, institutions & funding bodies
stingingfly.org/2025/06/25/t... @stingingfly.bsky.social
stingingfly.org/2025/06/25/t... @stingingfly.bsky.social
The Golden Pie of Literature – The Stinging Fly
stingingfly.org
June 25, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Camilla Grudova writes brilliantly about how precarious it is to live as a successful & dedicated writer who doesn’t come from money. Recommended reading especially for publishers, institutions & funding bodies
stingingfly.org/2025/06/25/t... @stingingfly.bsky.social
stingingfly.org/2025/06/25/t... @stingingfly.bsky.social
Reposted by Simon Okotie
GoldsmithsPrize2025 judge, @simonokotie.bsky.social, talks to @philiphensher.bsky.social about 'experimental fiction' on the Spectator podcast (from 33mins, 12secs)
Trigger warning: they agree more than than they disagree!
www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/nige...
Trigger warning: they agree more than than they disagree!
www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/nige...
Nigel wants YOU, secularism vs spirituality & how novel is experimental fiction?
How Reform plans to win Just a year ago, Nigel Farage ended his self-imposed exile from politics and returned to lead Reform. Since then, Reform have won more MPs than the Green Party, two new mayoral...
www.spectator.co.uk
June 6, 2025 at 9:01 AM
GoldsmithsPrize2025 judge, @simonokotie.bsky.social, talks to @philiphensher.bsky.social about 'experimental fiction' on the Spectator podcast (from 33mins, 12secs)
Trigger warning: they agree more than than they disagree!
www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/nige...
Trigger warning: they agree more than than they disagree!
www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/nige...
Tonight! Hope to see you there.
The Future of the Novel: roundtable @goldsmithsenglish.bsky.social 4th June, 6:30-7:30, RHB 137
With Simon Okotie @simonokotie.bsky.social , Lara Pawson @larapawson.bsky.social, Tim Parnell @neddylud.bsky.social and Amy Sackville.
With Simon Okotie @simonokotie.bsky.social , Lara Pawson @larapawson.bsky.social, Tim Parnell @neddylud.bsky.social and Amy Sackville.
June 4, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Tonight! Hope to see you there.