Martha Bayne
@marthabayne.bsky.social
Writer, editor, dancer, souper. Coeditor of NOTHING COMPARES TO YOU: WHAT SINEAD O'CONNOR MEANS TO US. Various responsibilities @ University of Illinois Press, South Side Weekly, Theater Oobleck, Soup & Bread. Essays @ marthabayne.substack.com. .
Oh, and food! Or drink (2026 is shaping up to be our year of beverage books ...). Here's what it says on our website. Does this sound like something you're working on? Even if it's an idea in progress, I'd love to have one of these fun meetings with you. Reach out at mbayne1 at uillinois dot edu
November 6, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Oh, and food! Or drink (2026 is shaping up to be our year of beverage books ...). Here's what it says on our website. Does this sound like something you're working on? Even if it's an idea in progress, I'd love to have one of these fun meetings with you. Reach out at mbayne1 at uillinois dot edu
A bit more on our event at the Irish Books, Art, and Music festival later this month at Chicago's Irish American Heritage Center. Sat. 11/22 @ 3:30!
November 4, 2025 at 7:37 PM
A bit more on our event at the Irish Books, Art, and Music festival later this month at Chicago's Irish American Heritage Center. Sat. 11/22 @ 3:30!
This made me lol tho
November 4, 2025 at 7:32 PM
This made me lol tho
Two days after @millerscave.bsky.social & I throw down at the Book Cellar, I'll be at the Irish Books & Music festival at Chicago's Irish American Heritage Center, bringing the Sinead O'Connor
November 3, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Two days after @millerscave.bsky.social & I throw down at the Book Cellar, I'll be at the Irish Books & Music festival at Chicago's Irish American Heritage Center, bringing the Sinead O'Connor
For Chicagoans: Here's more on the return of Soup & Bread this winter. Join us Dec. 3 at the Hideout; all proceeds go to Pilsen Food Pantry. soupandbread.net/2025/10/31/s...
October 31, 2025 at 2:11 PM
For Chicagoans: Here's more on the return of Soup & Bread this winter. Join us Dec. 3 at the Hideout; all proceeds go to Pilsen Food Pantry. soupandbread.net/2025/10/31/s...
Here’s a nice photo of the No More Deportations crew outside city hall
October 28, 2025 at 3:20 AM
Here’s a nice photo of the No More Deportations crew outside city hall
Now for the photo op
October 28, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Now for the photo op
Group of speakers address the council in Spanish “because that’s who this message is for.” “We are tired, we are fearful. We want it to stop.… Let the moms not be scared to take their kids to school. “
October 28, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Group of speakers address the council in Spanish “because that’s who this message is for.” “We are tired, we are fearful. We want it to stop.… Let the moms not be scared to take their kids to school. “
Everything is awful but the legendary bookstore where I worked as a young person called our Sinead O'Connor book "a major, must-read body of work," and it is an ego balm and I'll take it.
October 27, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Everything is awful but the legendary bookstore where I worked as a young person called our Sinead O'Connor book "a major, must-read body of work," and it is an ego balm and I'll take it.
Happy Halloween from Waukegan, Illinois
October 26, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Happy Halloween from Waukegan, Illinois
Meanwhile, the other day I learned that a staffer at Seattle's Elliott Bay Book Company, where I worked as a very young person, called my book "a major, must-read body of work." I'll take it <3
October 24, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Meanwhile, the other day I learned that a staffer at Seattle's Elliott Bay Book Company, where I worked as a very young person, called my book "a major, must-read body of work." I'll take it <3
Book designer Sheila Sachs and I went over to his studio and found something in his vast portfolio of work that fit the bill. I still have a stash of signed prints of this cover. Maybe I can sell them off & donate the money to the ACLU in his name …
October 11, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Book designer Sheila Sachs and I went over to his studio and found something in his vast portfolio of work that fit the bill. I still have a stash of signed prints of this cover. Maybe I can sell them off & donate the money to the ACLU in his name …
really the only thing I can feel good about sharing on social media is this news
September 26, 2025 at 11:03 PM
really the only thing I can feel good about sharing on social media is this news
The end of the Printers Row Lit Fest dovetailed perfectly with the protest
September 7, 2025 at 12:44 AM
The end of the Printers Row Lit Fest dovetailed perfectly with the protest
Congratulations to the Printers Row Lit Fest for being the thing that made me finally figure out Canva!
September 3, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Congratulations to the Printers Row Lit Fest for being the thing that made me finally figure out Canva!
This sighting, at Seattle's Elliott Bay Book Co., means the world to me: I worked at the cafe at the old Elliott Bay for a few years in the 80s and it was my 1st introduction to book culture & bookselling. So formative! That our Sinead O'Connor book is there, with shelf talker, is just the coolest.
September 2, 2025 at 5:29 PM
This sighting, at Seattle's Elliott Bay Book Co., means the world to me: I worked at the cafe at the old Elliott Bay for a few years in the 80s and it was my 1st introduction to book culture & bookselling. So formative! That our Sinead O'Connor book is there, with shelf talker, is just the coolest.
Also not the point but … what?
August 27, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Also not the point but … what?
On our way home from the Boundary Waters ten days ago, we repeatedly saw flatbeds loaded with military vehicles heading south through Wisconsin. I don’t think they were going all the way to DC.
August 25, 2025 at 1:09 PM
On our way home from the Boundary Waters ten days ago, we repeatedly saw flatbeds loaded with military vehicles heading south through Wisconsin. I don’t think they were going all the way to DC.
AI: making everything dumber since 2025
August 6, 2025 at 6:54 PM
AI: making everything dumber since 2025
Well this was a nice thing to happen today: A great review of NOTHING COMPARES TO YOU in @ala-booklist.bsky.social. Reviewer Amanda Dee (love that their reviews are bylined unlike ... some other trade pubs ahem) says we are "A choir worthy of backing an extraordinary voice." @sonyahuber.bsky.social
July 31, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Well this was a nice thing to happen today: A great review of NOTHING COMPARES TO YOU in @ala-booklist.bsky.social. Reviewer Amanda Dee (love that their reviews are bylined unlike ... some other trade pubs ahem) says we are "A choir worthy of backing an extraordinary voice." @sonyahuber.bsky.social
@laurenmurphyjourno.bsky.social’s gorgeous piece on our Sinéad O’Connor book in the print edition of the Sunday Times! I miss print!
July 20, 2025 at 11:22 AM
@laurenmurphyjourno.bsky.social’s gorgeous piece on our Sinéad O’Connor book in the print edition of the Sunday Times! I miss print!
A gorgeous feature on our Sinéad O'Connor book - albeit with a very odd headline - is out now in Ireland's Sunday Times cc: @sonyahuber.bsky.social archive.ph/sTHwh
July 19, 2025 at 3:50 PM
A gorgeous feature on our Sinéad O'Connor book - albeit with a very odd headline - is out now in Ireland's Sunday Times cc: @sonyahuber.bsky.social archive.ph/sTHwh
Hello from Ireland!
July 18, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Hello from Ireland!
What a beautiful evening this was!
July 18, 2025 at 8:27 AM
What a beautiful evening this was!