Dr Deborah Siddoway
@debsiddoway.bsky.social
Author with an interest in literature and the law. Dickens enthusiast, obsessed with divorce law history, and book lover. I have a little dog called Brontë.
Pinned
I am finally out of the library and sitting under the Blue Sky. Looking for anything and anyone book, nineteenth century, or Dickens related.
Nothing like a bit of book post. @galleybeggars.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Nothing like a bit of book post. @galleybeggars.bsky.social
@dickenssociety.bsky.social the Christmas window display at Fenwicks in Newcastle is A Christmas Carol! I’ll make a visit and report back soon.
November 2, 2025 at 10:23 PM
@dickenssociety.bsky.social the Christmas window display at Fenwicks in Newcastle is A Christmas Carol! I’ll make a visit and report back soon.
Reposted by Dr Deborah Siddoway
Just under two weeks left to enter the annual GBP Short Story Prize - one of the highlights of our year, and where, for 2025/26, we'll be joined by two brilliant writers and one brilliant literary agent as judges (Sam Mills, Selby Wynn Schwartz, and Sebastian Godwin:
www.galleybeggar.co.uk/prize
www.galleybeggar.co.uk/prize
October 27, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Just under two weeks left to enter the annual GBP Short Story Prize - one of the highlights of our year, and where, for 2025/26, we'll be joined by two brilliant writers and one brilliant literary agent as judges (Sam Mills, Selby Wynn Schwartz, and Sebastian Godwin:
www.galleybeggar.co.uk/prize
www.galleybeggar.co.uk/prize
Finished all my prep for the upcoming Dickens Day on 11 October, where the theme is Dickens and Art. I'll be talking about the use of art in Hard Times. So what does this 1842 watercolour have to do with Hard Times? A good question. You can still register to attend: www.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
September 25, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Finished all my prep for the upcoming Dickens Day on 11 October, where the theme is Dickens and Art. I'll be talking about the use of art in Hard Times. So what does this 1842 watercolour have to do with Hard Times? A good question. You can still register to attend: www.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
Reposted by Dr Deborah Siddoway
'A panel of five judges, chaired by O’Farrell, will assess 15,000 words of a novel in progress, and both winner and runner-up will receive not only money, but mentoring from Mantel’s literary agency, AM Heath; the publishing house John Murray; and the creative writing charity Arvon.'
Hilary Mantel championed emerging writers - a new prize in her memory will help them get published
Judged by Maggie O’Farrell, Ben Miles and Chigozie Obioma, the Hilary Mantel prize will recognise emerging talent, and pay tribute to the Wolf Hall author’s legacy
www.theguardian.com
September 21, 2025 at 11:58 AM
'A panel of five judges, chaired by O’Farrell, will assess 15,000 words of a novel in progress, and both winner and runner-up will receive not only money, but mentoring from Mantel’s literary agency, AM Heath; the publishing house John Murray; and the creative writing charity Arvon.'
I’ll be talking about the use of art in Hard Times at the upcoming coming Dickens Day. This novel has been a focus of mine for the last few years even as I completed my PhD. Looking forward to seeing my fellow
Dickensian soon.
Dickensian soon.
September 15, 2025 at 9:10 AM
I’ll be talking about the use of art in Hard Times at the upcoming coming Dickens Day. This novel has been a focus of mine for the last few years even as I completed my PhD. Looking forward to seeing my fellow
Dickensian soon.
Dickensian soon.
Writing my paper for #Dickens Day, and having far too much fun. I have been obsessed with Hard Times for the last few years, and I have noticed so much about the little things Dickens wove into the book, art included. You can hear me speak on 11 October in London. ies.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
September 4, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Writing my paper for #Dickens Day, and having far too much fun. I have been obsessed with Hard Times for the last few years, and I have noticed so much about the little things Dickens wove into the book, art included. You can hear me speak on 11 October in London. ies.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
Reposted by Dr Deborah Siddoway
We think the best way for #WomenWriters to overcome patriarchy is to support and promote each other. We aim to raise awareness, boost confidence and keep Bluesky friendly.
Would you like to join us? Follow #WomenWritersNet for details about our monthly chats.
Would you like to join us? Follow #WomenWritersNet for details about our monthly chats.
August 29, 2025 at 11:03 PM
We think the best way for #WomenWriters to overcome patriarchy is to support and promote each other. We aim to raise awareness, boost confidence and keep Bluesky friendly.
Would you like to join us? Follow #WomenWritersNet for details about our monthly chats.
Would you like to join us? Follow #WomenWritersNet for details about our monthly chats.
Sunday reading and this time it’s close to home for me. My Grandad was a mining man. I remember him with love and fondness. But I always remember what he could have been had he not been sent into the pits before he had a chance to figure out the man he wanted to be. #miningmen
August 24, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Sunday reading and this time it’s close to home for me. My Grandad was a mining man. I remember him with love and fondness. But I always remember what he could have been had he not been sent into the pits before he had a chance to figure out the man he wanted to be. #miningmen
Friday night reading with my own best dog. I’m so grateful for people like @niallharbison.bsky.social who work hard to make the lives of dogs better.
August 22, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Friday night reading with my own best dog. I’m so grateful for people like @niallharbison.bsky.social who work hard to make the lives of dogs better.
Looking forward to this talk tonight with @shelbyjudge.bsky.social
August 14, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Looking forward to this talk tonight with @shelbyjudge.bsky.social
Just started this book while enjoying my lunch. I want to keep reading. Believe the hype. So far it has been utterly captivating.
August 14, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Just started this book while enjoying my lunch. I want to keep reading. Believe the hype. So far it has been utterly captivating.
Reposted by Dr Deborah Siddoway
Hi, Bluesky! 👋 We’re excited to be here. Our official move from Twitter/X happens on 1 September, but we’re already settling in. Follow us for writerly news and good conversation - including monthly Bluesky chats! 💙 #WritingCommunity
August 14, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Hi, Bluesky! 👋 We’re excited to be here. Our official move from Twitter/X happens on 1 September, but we’re already settling in. Follow us for writerly news and good conversation - including monthly Bluesky chats! 💙 #WritingCommunity
An interesting article in The Telegraph which picks up on the way Dickens treated the women in his life. Was he a bad person? Or is it fairer to say he was a flawed man of his time who made some poor choices (as they impacted on Catherine and Ellen)? And does this change how we read his work?
August 14, 2025 at 11:32 AM
An interesting article in The Telegraph which picks up on the way Dickens treated the women in his life. Was he a bad person? Or is it fairer to say he was a flawed man of his time who made some poor choices (as they impacted on Catherine and Ellen)? And does this change how we read his work?
Me after coming back to my desk after two weeks of not looking at my emails:
a man in a blue sweater says that he needs to lay down
ALT: a man in a blue sweater says that he needs to lay down
media.tenor.com
August 12, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Me after coming back to my desk after two weeks of not looking at my emails:
Reposted by Dr Deborah Siddoway
We are now recruiting a new Commissioning Editor for fiction. Like all Faber editors, they will publish with dynamism and creativity, sensitivity and bravery – apply by 7 September.
faber.co.uk/careers/fiction-commissioning-editor/
faber.co.uk/careers/fiction-commissioning-editor/
August 11, 2025 at 2:00 PM
We are now recruiting a new Commissioning Editor for fiction. Like all Faber editors, they will publish with dynamism and creativity, sensitivity and bravery – apply by 7 September.
faber.co.uk/careers/fiction-commissioning-editor/
faber.co.uk/careers/fiction-commissioning-editor/
Doing a deep dive into a new area of Dickens research for me, and I realise there is still so much I do not know about his life. As a person, was he flawed? Yes, of course he was. But how he lived his life, and the way he manifested his experiences in his writing will never not be fascinating.
a man standing in front of a mirror with the name charles dickens on the bottom right
ALT: a man standing in front of a mirror with the name charles dickens on the bottom right
media.tenor.com
July 28, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Doing a deep dive into a new area of Dickens research for me, and I realise there is still so much I do not know about his life. As a person, was he flawed? Yes, of course he was. But how he lived his life, and the way he manifested his experiences in his writing will never not be fascinating.
Reposted by Dr Deborah Siddoway
From 1 September, this will be our main home online. We’re migrating from Twitter/X and moving here to Bluesky. It’s exciting, and we look forward to many engaging conversations - including Bluesky chats! Thanks for finding us! #WritingCommunity
July 28, 2025 at 7:01 AM
From 1 September, this will be our main home online. We’re migrating from Twitter/X and moving here to Bluesky. It’s exciting, and we look forward to many engaging conversations - including Bluesky chats! Thanks for finding us! #WritingCommunity
One of the best things about seeing the Lionesses win tonight was how proud they are to be part of the England team. 🏴
July 27, 2025 at 7:13 PM
One of the best things about seeing the Lionesses win tonight was how proud they are to be part of the England team. 🏴
Let’s go Lionesses!
July 27, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Let’s go Lionesses!
When it’s a reading kind of a morning, you pick a book of your TBR pile and open it up and just smile. I think I’ve picked the right book for me today.
July 26, 2025 at 9:18 AM
When it’s a reading kind of a morning, you pick a book of your TBR pile and open it up and just smile. I think I’ve picked the right book for me today.
Millbank Penitentiary, where Mary Furley was imprisoned after her death sentence was commuted to transportation for seven years.
July 24, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Millbank Penitentiary, where Mary Furley was imprisoned after her death sentence was commuted to transportation for seven years.
For those who were at the @dickenssociety.bsky.social symposium, after days of searching, I have finally managed to piece together what happened to Mary Furley after the guilty verdict in her trial for murdering her son. Her trial was part of the inspiration driving Dickens as he wrote The Chimes.
July 23, 2025 at 8:42 AM
For those who were at the @dickenssociety.bsky.social symposium, after days of searching, I have finally managed to piece together what happened to Mary Furley after the guilty verdict in her trial for murdering her son. Her trial was part of the inspiration driving Dickens as he wrote The Chimes.
How on earth did England win that? Gobsmacked.
July 22, 2025 at 9:41 PM
How on earth did England win that? Gobsmacked.
I just read my last school newsletter, and I have to say there is a certain kind of freedom that comes with that knowledge. Twenty years of doing all the school admin for my boys. I am finally free!
July 20, 2025 at 10:54 AM
I just read my last school newsletter, and I have to say there is a certain kind of freedom that comes with that knowledge. Twenty years of doing all the school admin for my boys. I am finally free!