Dr Selena Wisnom
@lswisnom.bsky.social
Lecturer in the Heritage of the Middle East at the University of Leicester. Researching ancient Mesopotamia. Playwright, poet, and Babylonian liver diviner.
https://www.selenawisnom.com
https://leicester.academia.edu/SelenaWisnom
https://www.selenawisnom.com
https://leicester.academia.edu/SelenaWisnom
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
November 3, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
A review of Library of Ancient Wisdom and Between Two Rivers by Moudhy Al-Rashid in The Times Literary Supplement - thank you @lsmwilson.bsky.social for kind words!
September 12, 2025 at 2:54 PM
A review of Library of Ancient Wisdom and Between Two Rivers by Moudhy Al-Rashid in The Times Literary Supplement - thank you @lsmwilson.bsky.social for kind words!
The label doth protest too much, methinks
August 28, 2025 at 6:08 PM
The label doth protest too much, methinks
At the Idler festival last week, I did a live liver divination - needless to say, I had a great time! Thank you,
@idlerat.bsky.social for inviting me, and thank you to the fantastic audience for your insightful questions.
@idlerat.bsky.social for inviting me, and thank you to the fantastic audience for your insightful questions.
July 22, 2025 at 6:03 PM
At the Idler festival last week, I did a live liver divination - needless to say, I had a great time! Thank you,
@idlerat.bsky.social for inviting me, and thank you to the fantastic audience for your insightful questions.
@idlerat.bsky.social for inviting me, and thank you to the fantastic audience for your insightful questions.
Super impressed with the illustrations for the @chalkefestival.bsky.social talks! Thank you for having me and for the great conversation!
June 27, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Super impressed with the illustrations for the @chalkefestival.bsky.social talks! Thank you for having me and for the great conversation!
Just been to this brilliant exhibition for the third time - Satta Hashem’s ‘A World of Colour and Emotion’ at Leicester Museum and Art gallery. And got a tour from the artist himself! It closes at the end of June - do go if you can!
June 9, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Just been to this brilliant exhibition for the third time - Satta Hashem’s ‘A World of Colour and Emotion’ at Leicester Museum and Art gallery. And got a tour from the artist himself! It closes at the end of June - do go if you can!
Took a break from the book tour to speak about liver divination at Melammu Symposium 25 in Sofia! My talk was on what I have learned from my practical experiments forecasting elections. What a beautiful university!
June 2, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Took a break from the book tour to speak about liver divination at Melammu Symposium 25 in Sofia! My talk was on what I have learned from my practical experiments forecasting elections. What a beautiful university!
Had a great time visiting the Library of Ashurbanipal Chicago branch! An important collection relating to ancient and modern Assyrians. Thanks to Assyrian Cultural Foundation for having me!
May 14, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Had a great time visiting the Library of Ashurbanipal Chicago branch! An important collection relating to ancient and modern Assyrians. Thanks to Assyrian Cultural Foundation for having me!
Thank you to the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures at UChicago and everyone who attended my talk! Copies of my book were sold out, but I managed to sneak some out and present them to Sargon and Sennacherib - reviews TBC!
May 8, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Thank you to the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures at UChicago and everyone who attended my talk! Copies of my book were sold out, but I managed to sneak some out and present them to Sargon and Sennacherib - reviews TBC!
So excited to speak at the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures about my new book, Library of Ancient Wisdom. If you are in Chicago on 7th May, please join me! ISAC members can also join online.
Find out more here: eventbrite.com/e/isac-lectu...
Find out more here: eventbrite.com/e/isac-lectu...
May 5, 2025 at 2:52 PM
So excited to speak at the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures about my new book, Library of Ancient Wisdom. If you are in Chicago on 7th May, please join me! ISAC members can also join online.
Find out more here: eventbrite.com/e/isac-lectu...
Find out more here: eventbrite.com/e/isac-lectu...
#LOAW in @newscientist.com Thank you for interviewing me, Alison George!
Also, I wrote a piece for @historytoday.com on #Ashurbanipal - look at this fantastic front cover!
www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
www.historytoday.com/archive/feat...
Also, I wrote a piece for @historytoday.com on #Ashurbanipal - look at this fantastic front cover!
www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
www.historytoday.com/archive/feat...
March 24, 2025 at 5:39 PM
#LOAW in @newscientist.com Thank you for interviewing me, Alison George!
Also, I wrote a piece for @historytoday.com on #Ashurbanipal - look at this fantastic front cover!
www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
www.historytoday.com/archive/feat...
Also, I wrote a piece for @historytoday.com on #Ashurbanipal - look at this fantastic front cover!
www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
www.historytoday.com/archive/feat...
Thank you to everyone who came to my talk at Waterstones Gower Street! It makes me so happy to talk about #LOAW and chat about my favourite aspects of Mesopotamian culture!
March 21, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Thank you to everyone who came to my talk at Waterstones Gower Street! It makes me so happy to talk about #LOAW and chat about my favourite aspects of Mesopotamian culture!
Cuneiform script is magic! It is a product of a culture that celebrated writing and encouraged and took pride in linguistic complexities. Yet, as fun as cuneiform is, it is a tricky writing system to master!
March 21, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Cuneiform script is magic! It is a product of a culture that celebrated writing and encouraged and took pride in linguistic complexities. Yet, as fun as cuneiform is, it is a tricky writing system to master!
I had a great time chatting about #LOAW with @josephinequinn.bsky.social at Heffers! Thank you so much to Jo, the organisers and everyone who came - it was a blast!
March 12, 2025 at 3:37 PM
I had a great time chatting about #LOAW with @josephinequinn.bsky.social at Heffers! Thank you so much to Jo, the organisers and everyone who came - it was a blast!
Even when out hunting Ashurbanipal does not forget his identity as a master of scholarly knowledge one relief shows him seizing a lion by the throat with a stylus tucked into his belt. The king of Assyria never went anywhere without a pen.
#LibraryofAncientWisdom
#LibraryofAncientWisdom
March 7, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Even when out hunting Ashurbanipal does not forget his identity as a master of scholarly knowledge one relief shows him seizing a lion by the throat with a stylus tucked into his belt. The king of Assyria never went anywhere without a pen.
#LibraryofAncientWisdom
#LibraryofAncientWisdom
I had great fun yesterday - Literary Leicester and
@kibworthbooks.bsky.social thank you for having me!
Don't forget to book FREE tickets for #LitLeics25 - 19-22 March! le.ac.uk/literary-lei...
For those who couldn't make it yesterday:
soundcloud.com/artshumlaw/s...
@kibworthbooks.bsky.social thank you for having me!
Don't forget to book FREE tickets for #LitLeics25 - 19-22 March! le.ac.uk/literary-lei...
For those who couldn't make it yesterday:
soundcloud.com/artshumlaw/s...
March 5, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I had great fun yesterday - Literary Leicester and
@kibworthbooks.bsky.social thank you for having me!
Don't forget to book FREE tickets for #LitLeics25 - 19-22 March! le.ac.uk/literary-lei...
For those who couldn't make it yesterday:
soundcloud.com/artshumlaw/s...
@kibworthbooks.bsky.social thank you for having me!
Don't forget to book FREE tickets for #LitLeics25 - 19-22 March! le.ac.uk/literary-lei...
For those who couldn't make it yesterday:
soundcloud.com/artshumlaw/s...
Thank you so much @blackwells.bsky.social and Allen Lane Books for having me and to Emma Smith for a wonderful conversation!
March 1, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Thank you so much @blackwells.bsky.social and Allen Lane Books for having me and to Emma Smith for a wonderful conversation!
Look what my brilliant publicist has come up with - thanks Gavin Reade!
March 1, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Look what my brilliant publicist has come up with - thanks Gavin Reade!
LOAW is out today!
This book is my interpretation of a remarkable collection of texts found in the ruins of Nineveh, Ashurbanipal’s library.
This book is my interpretation of a remarkable collection of texts found in the ruins of Nineveh, Ashurbanipal’s library.
February 27, 2025 at 5:24 PM
LOAW is out today!
This book is my interpretation of a remarkable collection of texts found in the ruins of Nineveh, Ashurbanipal’s library.
This book is my interpretation of a remarkable collection of texts found in the ruins of Nineveh, Ashurbanipal’s library.