Peter Bently
LightNews LightNews
banner
peterbently.bsky.social
Peter Bently
@peterbently.bsky.social
410 followers 390 following 35 posts
Children’s author. Winner of UK Children’s Book Award and Roald Dahl Funny Prize
Posts Replies Media Videos
peterbently.bsky.social
Very happy to see THE PRINCES AND THE PEA by me and Claire Powell in this Books of the Year selection. Nice to be in such brilliant company. @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social
letterboxlibrary.bsky.social Letterbox Library @letterboxlibrary.bsky.social · 6d
The @booksforkeeps.bsky.social Books of the Year 2025 has our regular round up of selected primary aged texts with lgbtq+ stars🤩

Books by @tommydoyle.bsky.social Sarah Tagholm& @manumontoya.bsky.social @peterbently.bsky.social & Claire Powell @catwrote.bsky.social @maisiechanwrites.bsky.social
November 21, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Reposted by Peter Bently
letterboxlibrary.bsky.social
The @booksforkeeps.bsky.social Books of the Year 2025 has our regular round up of selected primary aged texts with lgbtq+ stars🤩

Books by @tommydoyle.bsky.social Sarah Tagholm& @manumontoya.bsky.social @peterbently.bsky.social & Claire Powell @catwrote.bsky.social @maisiechanwrites.bsky.social
November 18, 2025 at 12:44 PM
peterbently.bsky.social
🎃 Happy #Halloween !! 🎃
@macmillankidsuk.bsky.social
@puffinbooksuk.bsky.social
@scholasticuk.bsky.social
October 31, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Reposted by Peter Bently
bphillipsonmp.bsky.social
I am running to be Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

As a proud working-class woman from the North East, I have come from a tough council street all the way to the Cabinet.

I will be a strong voice to unite our Party, take the fight to Reform, and deliver for our country.
September 9, 2025 at 7:05 AM
peterbently.bsky.social
Thank you to leading Irish bookseller @dubraybooks.bsky.social for making DOGDUNNIT by me and #TorFreeman one of your July favourite book choices! @andersenpress.bsky.social 🇮🇪
#kidlituk #ukkidlit #books
July 17, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Reposted by Peter Bently
jennyhawke.bsky.social
Hello #kidlituk_intro I'm Jenny Hawke and am a children’s librarian for GLL Bromley Libraries, passionate about children’s libraries & literature, love being involved with the YLG nationally & regionally.
January 5, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Reposted by Peter Bently
bookclubsinschools.bsky.social
Alex Wheatle MBE (1963-2025) was our charity's patron.

Thanks to Hachette UK & @barringtonstoke.bsky.social we have 10 sets of seven of Alex's brilliant books to give away to UK school libraries.

To enter, follow us and share this post. Closing date: 18 July.

#ReadingForPleasure #UKKidLit 1/2
Photo of spines of Alex Wheatle books: Liccle Bit, Crongton Knights, Straight Outta Crongton, In The Ends, The Humiliations of Welton Blake, The Girl with the Red Boots and Kerb-Stain Boys. Text reads: Win for your school library Book Clubs in Schools logo
July 1, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Reposted by Peter Bently
jennyhawke.bsky.social
So exciting to be at the reopening of West Wickham Library today. Loads of people came along to see the newly renovated library. @peterbently.bsky.social ran a wonderful Storytime & we were joined by some other children’s authors & illustrators! Fantastic day! @marcelafwrites.bsky.social
June 27, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Peter Bently
authorsalouduk.bsky.social
The Princes & the Pea @peterbently.bsky.social is a heartwarming & joyful twist on the classic fairytale — featuring two princes, a royal test, & a story full of love, acceptance, & happily-ever-afters. 🌈📖
Find out more about Peter & his work: authorsalouduk.co.uk/speaker/pete...
#pridemonth
June 10, 2025 at 12:41 PM
peterbently.bsky.social
Great to hear more funding for school libraries in the spending review. #libraries
June 11, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Reposted by Peter Bently
abielongstaff.bsky.social
The @booktrust.org.uk #ReadingRights report is out today, emphasising the importance of reading to children FROM BIRTH. The first years of a child’s life are critical for
cognitive, emotional & physical development. Link here
williamjoseph.blob.core.windows.net/williamjosep...
Reading Rights report
May 21, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Reposted by Peter Bently
da-childrens.bsky.social
Happy Publication Day to THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA, written by @peterbently.bsky.social & beautifully illustrated by Claire Powell 👑

This hilarious rhyming and irresistible retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fable defies traditional fairy tale conventions!
May 8, 2025 at 5:15 PM
peterbently.bsky.social
@unicolsm.bsky.social Hi Colin. I’m not hugely active here yet but good to see you!
May 9, 2025 at 1:27 PM
peterbently.bsky.social
*****OUT TODAY!*****
THE PRINCES AND THE PEA, written by me and hilariously illustrated by the fabulous Claire Powell. It’s a modern take on the classic Hans Andersen tale, with a 🌈 twist!
May 8, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Reposted by Peter Bently
abielongstaff.bsky.social
Am at @harpercollins.bsky.social @farshorebooks.bsky.social Insight into Children's Books.
'Reading for pleasure is collapsing.
Kids think of reading as a chore
Fewer kids are being read to at home
Only 40% of parents enjoy reading to their kid'
April 30, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Reposted by Peter Bently
samblakebooks.bsky.social
A fantastic turnout in London today to support the @societyofauthors.bsky.social letter to Meta to protest the use of copyrighted materials to train their AI - OUR BOOKS.

Sign up for the SoA newsletters or join to find out what happens next - we're stronger together
Brilliant placards from the authors gathering in Granary Square. 5 authors under a bright blue sky including Sam Blake, Julie Cohen, Bee Rowlett and Nell Leyson. Placards read Make it Write and Get the Zuck off our Books. Authors are holding their books A fantastic turn out of around 150 book lovers and authors with a host of clever placards gathered in Granary Square. This is a group photo of with bonus daschund! Sam Blake interviewed by ITN in Granary Square about Meta's theft of copyrighted works to train their Llama AI Author AJ West led the protesters with SoA CEO Anna Ganley carrying a swag bag containing authors words to deliver to Meta
April 3, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Reposted by Peter Bently
abielongstaff.bsky.social
On ITV news, talking about Meta’s theft of our work
#DotheWriteThing
@societyofauthors.bsky.social
Still from tv
April 3, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Reposted by Peter Bently
societyofauthors.bsky.social
👇
www.thebookseller.com/news/society...
Society of Authors to hold protest at Meta's London HQ after 'pirated books used to train AI'
Kate Mosse, Tracy Chevalier, Daljit Nagra and other Society of Authors (SoA) members will demonstrate outside Meta HQ after millions of pirated books were allegedly used to train Meta’s artificial int...
www.thebookseller.com
April 3, 2025 at 9:02 AM
peterbently.bsky.social
Unfortunately I won’t be able to make this protest today but I stand in solidarity with everyone whose work has been ripped off by LibGen to train Meta AI (including ten of mine) in breach of copyright and without recompense.
#MetaBookThieves, #DoTheWriteThing #MakeItFair
societyofauthors.bsky.social The Society of Authors @societyofauthors.bsky.social · Apr 2
📢Join us tomorrow at Granary Square 1pm for a protest Meta following revelations of pirated books being used to train their large language models. More details below 👇
Meta Protest – The Society of Authors
« All Events
societyofauthors.org
April 3, 2025 at 9:26 AM
peterbently.bsky.social
@michaelrosenyes.bsky.social Thank you for raising the AI and ©️ issue on @bbcpm.bsky.social tonight. Existing copyright law is perfectly fit for purpose: if you use our work, we require recompense. Simple!
March 31, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by Peter Bently
sallynicholls.bsky.social
Westminster was my Meeting when I lived in London. Youth Demand were young people meeting peacefully. My heart goes out to Westminster Quakers, the young people arrested, and the two Quaker wardens whose home was invaded. We all have a right to peaceful protest.
www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...
www.quaker.org.uk
March 29, 2025 at 2:46 PM
peterbently.bsky.social
Happy #WorldBookDay! I’m currently heading to my fourth school of the week for fun and stories! @worldbookdayuk.bsky.social
March 6, 2025 at 7:32 AM
Reposted by Peter Bently
authorsabb.bsky.social
AABB stands with our trans members, friends, colleagues, heroes, and the countless trans Americans who will be affected by this needlessly cruel Executive Order from the Trump Administration.

We are proud to do so alongside so many of our comrades in the fight against book bans.
Statement on the Trump administration's january 20,2025 EO Targeting Transgender, Intersex, Nonbinary and Gender Non Conforming Americans On January 20, the White House issued an executive order stating that the United States government will only recognize two sexes, male and female, as defined “at conception.” The ripple effect of this order will undoubtedly affect public schools, public libraries, and the literature that is shelved in both. Among the many harms it causes, the order targeting transgender, intersex, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming Americans threatens unconstitutional censorship that could have a grave impact on literature for years to come. In dismissing trans, intersex, and nonbinary identities, the order blacklists LGBTQIA+ literature and invites the government to dictate the perspectives, beliefs, and identities that can exist in public forums receiving federal funding, amounting to financial coercion through the arbitrary withholding of funds. This censorship may begin with LGBTQIA+ perspectives, but it will not end there: allowing the government to censor one group erodes the First Amendment rights of all Americans, creating a precedent for silencing dissenting voices. If allowed to stand, the order will create new funding requirements imposed not only on federal entities, but private citizens and institutions who contract with them. Those requirements can and will be manipulated to dictate speech. The broader chilling effect on literature could be even harder to undo. Writers rely on funding from sources like the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as the state-level institutions they fund. Trans, nonbinary, and intersex experience is vastly underrepresented in literature but disproportionately targeted by bans. During the 2022-2023 school year, 30% of books banned included LGBTQIA+ characters or themes. Such censorship robs us of perspectives that enrich the American story. Though the executive order in question tries to paint LGBTQIA+ people and allies as bullies enforcing their perspective on others through “legal and other socially coercive means,” that’s exactly what the order itself does, just as book-banning pressure groups have done since 2020 in school boards and libraries around the country. The fate of trans, intersex, and nonbinary people is not a political ideology, it’s a matter of human rights, civil rights, and freedom of expression. Government erosion of those rights should concern all Americans, regardless of their investment in LGBTQIA+ literature specifically. This executive order is censorship, pure and simple, and it has no place in a free society. It must be rescinded or stayed as soon as possible, and at the latest, before the earliest implementation deadline, February 19, 2025. Financially blacklisting trans, intersex, and non-binary perspectives will rob us of a vital literature yet to be written while insulting the dignity of LGBTQIA+ people everywhere. This return to McCarthyism by other means is a leap backwards to a grim chapter of American history. Sincerely, the undersigned, • American Booksellers Association • American Booksellers for Free Expression • Andrews McMeel • Annie's Foundation • Audio Publishers Association • Authors Against Book Bans • Berry Powell Press • Cardinal Rule Press • Charlesbridge Publishing • Chestnut Publishing House • Comic Book Legal Defense Fund • Deborah Sloan and Company and Kidsbuzz • Developmental Texts • Empowering Latino Futures • EveryLibrary • Firewater Media Group • Florida Freedom to Read Project • Foreword Reviews • Freedom to Read Project • Gryphon Publishing Consulting, LLC • Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) • IngramSpark • Judging by the Cover: A Bookstore • Lafayette Citizens Against Censorship • Lambda Literary • Latino 247 Media Group • Lee Wind, author • Levine Querido • Library Futures • Livingston Parish Library Alliance • Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship • Macmillan Children's Publishing Group • The National Book Critics Circle • National Coalition Against Censorship • NorthSouth Books • Nosy Crow • Patagonia • Publishers and Writers of San Diego and Orange County • PEN America • PFLAG Fresno • PubWest • Rattling Good Yarns Press • Read Freely Alabama • Red Comet Press LLC • Rutherford County Library Alliance • Sara Paretsky, Writer • SCBWI • SEAT • SparkPoint Studio • St Tammany Library Alliance • Stone Bridge Press • Texas Freedom to Read Project • Walker Books Group for Candlewick Press, Holiday House Books, and Peachtree Publishing • We Need Diverse Books
February 7, 2025 at 12:30 AM
peterbently.bsky.social
www.instagram.com/p/DEstQ_wqDa...
Login • Instagram
Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.
www.instagram.com
January 11, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Reposted by Peter Bently
louiestowell.bsky.social
Did...Did Tolkien write this article?
Screenshot of an article: "The Lack of World-Building is One of the Biggest Problems with The Narnia Books" headline and subtitle: This will be one of Greta Gerwig's biggest hurdles in her adaptation. Below is a picture from a previous Narnia adaptation with the pevensies in king and queen clothes on horseback.
December 30, 2024 at 10:38 AM