Monica Byrne
@monicabyrne13.bsky.social
Writer living in Ireland. AI-free. Buy THE ACTUAL STAR: https://www.monicabyrne.org/the-actual-star. Reps at CAA, DG&B, and Kaplan/Perrone. She/her.
monicabyrne.substack.com
patreon.com/monicabyrne
monicabyrne.substack.com
patreon.com/monicabyrne
Pinned
Monica Byrne
@monicabyrne13.bsky.social
· Oct 23
The Actual Star review: A masterpiece of imaginative world building
Monica Byrne's fantastic second novel follows three storylines in the past, present and future, all of which are linked by historical threads and religious ideas, says Michael Marshall
www.newscientist.com
"When a book is this ambitious, either it is a thumping success or it falls on its face. Happily, The Actual Star is a stone-cold masterpiece. It is one of the most moving novels I have read and surely a contender for major awards."
Welp. 😳
Welp. 😳
If you were born between 1979 and 1983 and want to feel like you were hit by an emotional tractor-trailer, watch this:
Sesame Street: We All Sing the Same Song
YouTube video by Sesame Street
youtu.be
November 30, 2025 at 11:50 PM
If you were born between 1979 and 1983 and want to feel like you were hit by an emotional tractor-trailer, watch this:
I love that my friends consider me the go-to friend for any “nuns having fun” content
November 30, 2025 at 11:24 PM
I love that my friends consider me the go-to friend for any “nuns having fun” content
Tonight’s movie: Drive My Car (2021). A friend spoke so highly of it when it came out, and I finally got to it. It was so good—so immersive. I felt like I was living an entire other life.
November 30, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Tonight’s movie: Drive My Car (2021). A friend spoke so highly of it when it came out, and I finally got to it. It was so good—so immersive. I felt like I was living an entire other life.
Reposted by Monica Byrne
The best description of the Telegraph you'll read this week.
I just don't need to know what the Telegraph has written about Dungeons & Dragons. It's a newspaper for people who are frightened of samosas.
November 30, 2025 at 12:51 PM
The best description of the Telegraph you'll read this week.
November’s Work is UP! This is everything I did in the past month with generous patron/subscriber support, including—yes—getting a free cervical exam, courtesy of the Republic of Ireland. (Thank you, Republic of Ireland.)
Read here ❤️🔥
Read here ❤️🔥
November's work: Crunch time.
I also got my cervix swabbed
open.substack.com
November 30, 2025 at 2:28 PM
November’s Work is UP! This is everything I did in the past month with generous patron/subscriber support, including—yes—getting a free cervical exam, courtesy of the Republic of Ireland. (Thank you, Republic of Ireland.)
Read here ❤️🔥
Read here ❤️🔥
Tonight’s movie: Frankenstein (2025). Starring Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth….and the sluttiest hat in cinematic history.
November 29, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Tonight’s movie: Frankenstein (2025). Starring Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth….and the sluttiest hat in cinematic history.
Ahhhhhh fck. 😣
November 29, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Ahhhhhh fck. 😣
This is terrifying
I've had similar experiences both in MFA and community-based classes. What used to not require teaching--punctuating dialogue and other manuscript formatting--shifted to requiring it in 2022 and now I have to go over it every week, and to no avail.
We're seeing possibly the worst attendance in history. Even in creative writing classes, where students generally want to participate and have their voice heard--they're not showing up, ignoring guidelines and feedback, and either describing expectations as "unclear" or simply refusing to comply.
November 29, 2025 at 4:03 PM
This is terrifying
Well, I tried to clean a shrimp head, and got so lightheaded I nearly passed out. I am not fit for the kitchen 😂
November 29, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Well, I tried to clean a shrimp head, and got so lightheaded I nearly passed out. I am not fit for the kitchen 😂
Reposted by Monica Byrne
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
November 28, 2025 at 10:15 PM
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
Tonight’s movie: War Horse (2011). The bloodless storybook version of WWI! Also featuring Cumberborgus Bandersnatch & a spectacular expression from Tom Hiddleston during the charge of the light brigade. Otherwise, I haven’t encountered this much woodenness since that one-night stand in Mexico City
November 28, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Tonight’s movie: War Horse (2011). The bloodless storybook version of WWI! Also featuring Cumberborgus Bandersnatch & a spectacular expression from Tom Hiddleston during the charge of the light brigade. Otherwise, I haven’t encountered this much woodenness since that one-night stand in Mexico City
Reposted by Monica Byrne
👇👇👇 THIS 👇👇👇 THIS GODDAMMIT THIS 👇👇👇
This is the thing: in a climate-catastrophic world, nowhere will be permanently safe. Nowhere. We will have to move and move and move. So all of the posturing of various nations about keeping immigrants out is just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
November 28, 2025 at 8:02 PM
👇👇👇 THIS 👇👇👇 THIS GODDAMMIT THIS 👇👇👇
Reposted by Monica Byrne
And now:
A dramatic reading of my one-star reviews.
A dramatic reading of my one-star reviews.
November 25, 2025 at 7:19 PM
And now:
A dramatic reading of my one-star reviews.
A dramatic reading of my one-star reviews.
Sligo’s Christmas decorations are uterus-n-fallopian tubes and I’m so here for it
November 27, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Sligo’s Christmas decorations are uterus-n-fallopian tubes and I’m so here for it
We’ve reached the “students sleeping under their desks in the studio” stage of the semester
November 27, 2025 at 2:10 PM
We’ve reached the “students sleeping under their desks in the studio” stage of the semester
Reposted by Monica Byrne
Wishing a conflict-free and low-stress Thanksgiving to the adult children of divorce, the eldest daughters, the overworked moms, the estranged siblings, the secretly queer grandchildren, the orphans, and the survivors spending today alone.
November 27, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Wishing a conflict-free and low-stress Thanksgiving to the adult children of divorce, the eldest daughters, the overworked moms, the estranged siblings, the secretly queer grandchildren, the orphans, and the survivors spending today alone.
“Who exactly is going to welcome in an exodus of desperate Irish climate refugees? These are issues we as a society need to reflect on carefully, especially as our own politicians are now shaping up to ‘get tough’ on migrants.”
John Gibbons: A big freeze could turn the Irish into climate refugees
We should reflect on 'get-tough' proposals on immigration: If the Amoc currents that moderate Ireland’s climate fail, temperatures will plunge, making grass-based agriculture impossible
www.irishexaminer.com
November 27, 2025 at 9:27 AM
“Who exactly is going to welcome in an exodus of desperate Irish climate refugees? These are issues we as a society need to reflect on carefully, especially as our own politicians are now shaping up to ‘get tough’ on migrants.”
Yes, I shall dream of flying to Grozny on a rickety plane with a full service restaurant where all the wait staff are dressed as 12th century knights, thank you
November 27, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Yes, I shall dream of flying to Grozny on a rickety plane with a full service restaurant where all the wait staff are dressed as 12th century knights, thank you
I really like falling asleep to the sound of the rain on the windows. Good night, Ireland.
November 26, 2025 at 10:53 PM
I really like falling asleep to the sound of the rain on the windows. Good night, Ireland.
I made this list when I was 16. Welcome to 1997.
(Bonus points if you can place every single one of these men)
(Bonus points if you can place every single one of these men)
November 26, 2025 at 8:08 PM
I made this list when I was 16. Welcome to 1997.
(Bonus points if you can place every single one of these men)
(Bonus points if you can place every single one of these men)
I once asked my nephew if I could hug him & he said, you can hug me anyway because you're my aunt, and I said NO I can't! I have to ask like everyone else! In fact it's even more important for me not to assume! THAT'S what love looks like imo--treating children as people, respecting their autonomy.
I have a kid who hates being touched without permission, like really hates it, so why would I disrespect that.
November 26, 2025 at 3:20 PM
I once asked my nephew if I could hug him & he said, you can hug me anyway because you're my aunt, and I said NO I can't! I have to ask like everyone else! In fact it's even more important for me not to assume! THAT'S what love looks like imo--treating children as people, respecting their autonomy.
Reposted by Monica Byrne
Interviewer: “What do you say to trans kids who are starting their transition?”
Zohran Mamdani: "We're gonna make this a city that doesn't just protect trans kids, but also celebrates and cherishes them."
Zohran Mamdani: "We're gonna make this a city that doesn't just protect trans kids, but also celebrates and cherishes them."
November 26, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Interviewer: “What do you say to trans kids who are starting their transition?”
Zohran Mamdani: "We're gonna make this a city that doesn't just protect trans kids, but also celebrates and cherishes them."
Zohran Mamdani: "We're gonna make this a city that doesn't just protect trans kids, but also celebrates and cherishes them."
Essential reading, again, from @prisonculture.bsky.social.
"For as much as some humans talk and think about taking courageous stances, the reality of being a person in the world is that most of us don’t want to stand apart. To stand apart risks being alone."
"For as much as some humans talk and think about taking courageous stances, the reality of being a person in the world is that most of us don’t want to stand apart. To stand apart risks being alone."
We Don’t Know Where We Will End Up…
A Year Since the 2024 Election
prisonculture.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Essential reading, again, from @prisonculture.bsky.social.
"For as much as some humans talk and think about taking courageous stances, the reality of being a person in the world is that most of us don’t want to stand apart. To stand apart risks being alone."
"For as much as some humans talk and think about taking courageous stances, the reality of being a person in the world is that most of us don’t want to stand apart. To stand apart risks being alone."
I see @profhansenno.bsky.social also lists himself as "AI-free." Wouldn't be a bad thing to include in your bio, if you felt so moved.... ;)
November 26, 2025 at 12:21 PM
I see @profhansenno.bsky.social also lists himself as "AI-free." Wouldn't be a bad thing to include in your bio, if you felt so moved.... ;)
Sending love to all those who had no one to show them what was right, and did it anyway
November 26, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Sending love to all those who had no one to show them what was right, and did it anyway