Keith Houston
@shadycharacters.co.uk
Keith Houston's blog about unusual marks of punctuation. Author of SHADY CHARACTERS, THE BOOK, EMPIRE OF THE SUM and now FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY: A NATURAL HISTORY OF EMOJI (https://shadycharacters.co.uk/books/).
Pinned
Keith Houston
@shadycharacters.co.uk
· Aug 22
“Face with Tears of Joy” is having a launch party! I’ll be at Linlithgow’s best bookshop, Far From the Madding Crowd, at 6.30pm on Wednesday October 15th for drinks, snacks, and maybe even a reading from the book.
Get the details at shadycharacters.co.u..., and I look forward to seeing you there!
Get the details at shadycharacters.co.u..., and I look forward to seeing you there!
Reposted by Keith Houston
Impossible how good reading is. You mean I just point my face at the paper for a bit and it does a whole update on my brain?
November 23, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Impossible how good reading is. You mean I just point my face at the paper for a bit and it does a whole update on my brain?
A question for any web developers reading: what's the canonical way to move off WordPress?
November 10, 2025 at 12:50 PM
A question for any web developers reading: what's the canonical way to move off WordPress?
From the Shady Characters archive, journey back to where it all began! Read about the life, death, and afterlife of the pilcrow (¶), or paragraph mark: shadycharacters.co.u....
(Image courtesy of the of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: search.digital-scrip....)
(Image courtesy of the of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: search.digital-scrip....)
October 19, 2025 at 5:24 PM
From the Shady Characters archive, journey back to where it all began! Read about the life, death, and afterlife of the pilcrow (¶), or paragraph mark: shadycharacters.co.u....
(Image courtesy of the of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: search.digital-scrip....)
(Image courtesy of the of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: search.digital-scrip....)
Super niche, but I like it. (Readers of “Shady Characters” will already know what a manicule is, of course!)
spidermanicule
#EarlyModern meme! #BookHistory
October 11, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Super niche, but I like it. (Readers of “Shady Characters” will already know what a manicule is, of course!)
It’s almost here! “Face with Tears of Joy” is having a launch party at Linlithgow’s best bookshop, Far From the Madding Crowd, at 6.30pm on Wednesday October 15th. Join us for drinks, snacks, chat, and a reading from the book.
Get the details at shadycharacters.co.u..., and see you there!
Get the details at shadycharacters.co.u..., and see you there!
October 8, 2025 at 7:36 PM
It’s almost here! “Face with Tears of Joy” is having a launch party at Linlithgow’s best bookshop, Far From the Madding Crowd, at 6.30pm on Wednesday October 15th. Join us for drinks, snacks, chat, and a reading from the book.
Get the details at shadycharacters.co.u..., and see you there!
Get the details at shadycharacters.co.u..., and see you there!
Reposted by Keith Houston
I’ll be unable to work at all for a few weeks, then at reduced capability for several weeks. I would never ask for charity when so many people are desperately in need of aid in the world. But I do write and publish books that make great birthday and holiday gifts—for yourself and others.
October 7, 2025 at 4:07 PM
I’ll be unable to work at all for a few weeks, then at reduced capability for several weeks. I would never ask for charity when so many people are desperately in need of aid in the world. But I do write and publish books that make great birthday and holiday gifts—for yourself and others.
Reposted by Keith Houston
Hi, folks, a little personal news. In mid-November, I'm getting my aortic valve replaced via open-heart surgery. As scary as that sounds, my prognosis is excellent. This is fairly personal health news, and I'm posting publicly for two reasons.
October 7, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Hi, folks, a little personal news. In mid-November, I'm getting my aortic valve replaced via open-heart surgery. As scary as that sounds, my prognosis is excellent. This is fairly personal health news, and I'm posting publicly for two reasons.
If you've ever wanted to know why I got into writing, or to hear a little bit about the process behind writing my books, you might enjoy this episode of Kelly Provenzano's podcast, “Paper Places”: www.relay.fm/paperpl....
Paper Places #18: Finding Your Process, with Keith Houston - Relay
In this episode, Kerry sits down with Keith Houston to talk about the practicalities of writing alongside another job, finding your process and how deadlines are catalysts for getting your project completed.
www.relay.fm
September 26, 2025 at 7:11 PM
If you've ever wanted to know why I got into writing, or to hear a little bit about the process behind writing my books, you might enjoy this episode of Kelly Provenzano's podcast, “Paper Places”: www.relay.fm/paperpl....
Podcasts! I recently recorded two of them, in fact, courtesy of Mignon Fogarty, also known as Grammar Girl (bsky.app/profile/gra...). Head over to Shady Characters for links: shadycharacters.co.u....
September 15, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Podcasts! I recently recorded two of them, in fact, courtesy of Mignon Fogarty, also known as Grammar Girl (bsky.app/profile/gra...). Head over to Shady Characters for links: shadycharacters.co.u....
It's the 8th of September, which means (of course) that it is National Ampersand Day! This year is even more special, because it's ten years since Chaz DeSimone founded this world-renowned and not at all tongue-in-cheek celebration of the '&' (www.nationaldaycalen...).
September 8, 2025 at 6:21 PM
It's the 8th of September, which means (of course) that it is National Ampersand Day! This year is even more special, because it's ten years since Chaz DeSimone founded this world-renowned and not at all tongue-in-cheek celebration of the '&' (www.nationaldaycalen...).
A reminder! “Face with Tears of Joy” is having a launch party at Linlithgow’s best bookshop, Far From the Madding Crowd, at 6.30pm on Wednesday October 15th for drinks, snacks, chat, and a reading from the book.
Get the details at shadycharacters.co.u..., and I look forward to seeing you there!
Get the details at shadycharacters.co.u..., and I look forward to seeing you there!
September 5, 2025 at 6:40 PM
A reminder! “Face with Tears of Joy” is having a launch party at Linlithgow’s best bookshop, Far From the Madding Crowd, at 6.30pm on Wednesday October 15th for drinks, snacks, chat, and a reading from the book.
Get the details at shadycharacters.co.u..., and I look forward to seeing you there!
Get the details at shadycharacters.co.u..., and I look forward to seeing you there!
Another day, another punctuation-AI mashup! This time round, why do people suddenly hate the em dash? Read more at shadycharacters.co.u....
(For some previous musings, see emoji.shadycharacter... and shadycharacters.co.u....)
(For some previous musings, see emoji.shadycharacter... and shadycharacters.co.u....)
August 31, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Another day, another punctuation-AI mashup! This time round, why do people suddenly hate the em dash? Read more at shadycharacters.co.u....
(For some previous musings, see emoji.shadycharacter... and shadycharacters.co.u....)
(For some previous musings, see emoji.shadycharacter... and shadycharacters.co.u....)
I found Elizabeth Goodspeed's short, sweet history of business card design (themalin.co/journal/...) courtesy of Dan Cederholm's newsletter (https://simplebits.com/).
Here's one of mine, printed back in 2012 (shadycharacters.co.u...) at in Robert Smail's in Innerleithen (www.nts.org.uk/visit...).
Here's one of mine, printed back in 2012 (shadycharacters.co.u...) at in Robert Smail's in Innerleithen (www.nts.org.uk/visit...).
August 29, 2025 at 5:43 PM
I found Elizabeth Goodspeed's short, sweet history of business card design (themalin.co/journal/...) courtesy of Dan Cederholm's newsletter (https://simplebits.com/).
Here's one of mine, printed back in 2012 (shadycharacters.co.u...) at in Robert Smail's in Innerleithen (www.nts.org.uk/visit...).
Here's one of mine, printed back in 2012 (shadycharacters.co.u...) at in Robert Smail's in Innerleithen (www.nts.org.uk/visit...).
“Face with Tears of Joy” is having a launch party! I’ll be at Linlithgow’s best bookshop, Far From the Madding Crowd, at 6.30pm on Wednesday October 15th for drinks, snacks, and maybe even a reading from the book.
Get the details at shadycharacters.co.u..., and I look forward to seeing you there!
Get the details at shadycharacters.co.u..., and I look forward to seeing you there!
August 22, 2025 at 4:15 PM
“Face with Tears of Joy” is having a launch party! I’ll be at Linlithgow’s best bookshop, Far From the Madding Crowd, at 6.30pm on Wednesday October 15th for drinks, snacks, and maybe even a reading from the book.
Get the details at shadycharacters.co.u..., and I look forward to seeing you there!
Get the details at shadycharacters.co.u..., and I look forward to seeing you there!
Reposted by Keith Houston
📽️ #ThatWordChat episode with Keith Houston is premiering on YouTube today at 4:30 p.m. ET! Catch up on our deep dive into symbols and emoji.
Watch here: bit.ly/ThatWordVideo
#Editors #Writers #Emoji #Typography #Publishing
Watch here: bit.ly/ThatWordVideo
#Editors #Writers #Emoji #Typography #Publishing
August 12, 2025 at 5:13 PM
📽️ #ThatWordChat episode with Keith Houston is premiering on YouTube today at 4:30 p.m. ET! Catch up on our deep dive into symbols and emoji.
Watch here: bit.ly/ThatWordVideo
#Editors #Writers #Emoji #Typography #Publishing
Watch here: bit.ly/ThatWordVideo
#Editors #Writers #Emoji #Typography #Publishing
Audiobooks galore today! First, you can win one of four copies of the “Face with Tears of Joy” audiobook at shadycharacters.co.u.... (There’s nothing complicated to do - just leave a comment!)
August 8, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Audiobooks galore today! First, you can win one of four copies of the “Face with Tears of Joy” audiobook at shadycharacters.co.u.... (There’s nothing complicated to do - just leave a comment!)
Quite exciting to appear on WGN Morning News today with Robin Baumgarten and Dan Ponce! 📺 Watch the piece here: www.youtube.com/watc....
'Face with Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji'
Today there are north of 3,500 accepted emoji characters. They appear in politics, movies, texts, our sex lives, and more. But emoji’s impact has never been explored in full. Keith Houston follows emoji from its birth in 1990s Japan, traces its Western explosion in the 2000s, and considers emoji’s e
www.youtube.com
August 1, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Quite exciting to appear on WGN Morning News today with Robin Baumgarten and Dan Ponce! 📺 Watch the piece here: www.youtube.com/watc....
It's competition time again! Go to shadycharacters.co.u... to win one of four copies of the audio version of “Face with Tears of Joy” - just leave a comment on that post and you're in with a chance to win.
August 1, 2025 at 1:15 PM
It's competition time again! Go to shadycharacters.co.u... to win one of four copies of the audio version of “Face with Tears of Joy” - just leave a comment on that post and you're in with a chance to win.
“Empire of the Sum” in paperback is my third book this year! 🤯 Read more about it here: shadycharacters.co.uk/books/empire...
Check out Norton's new releases for the end of July! Some of the best books of 2024 are now available in paperback. Don't forget the exciting new titles to add to your reading list: wwnorton.com/reader
July 31, 2025 at 5:34 PM
“Empire of the Sum” in paperback is my third book this year! 🤯 Read more about it here: shadycharacters.co.uk/books/empire...
Reposted by Keith Houston
Just finished reading the latest from @keithhouston.bsky.social and give it my absolute recommendation as the definitive book on emoji history.
Don’t let the huge set of references and citations fool you, it’s an easy and interesting read. Goes deep where it needs to, without going off the deep end
Don’t let the huge set of references and citations fool you, it’s an easy and interesting read. Goes deep where it needs to, without going off the deep end
July 30, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Just finished reading the latest from @keithhouston.bsky.social and give it my absolute recommendation as the definitive book on emoji history.
Don’t let the huge set of references and citations fool you, it’s an easy and interesting read. Goes deep where it needs to, without going off the deep end
Don’t let the huge set of references and citations fool you, it’s an easy and interesting read. Goes deep where it needs to, without going off the deep end
With “Face with Tears of Joy” (shadycharacters.co.u...) now available to buy around the world, I took some time to revisit an older topic at shadycharacters.co.uk – through an emoji lens 🔍, of course! The question at hand: do emoji obey Zipf’s law? Read more here: shadycharacters.co.u....
July 21, 2025 at 4:58 PM
With “Face with Tears of Joy” (shadycharacters.co.u...) now available to buy around the world, I took some time to revisit an older topic at shadycharacters.co.uk – through an emoji lens 🔍, of course! The question at hand: do emoji obey Zipf’s law? Read more here: shadycharacters.co.u....
To mark World-Emoji-Day-slash-book-publication-day, I sat down with Emojipedia's Keith Broni for what turned out to be an 💥epic💥 discussion about the past, present and future of emoji. Read it at Emojipedia (blog.emojipedia.org/...)!
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1/2
Major Moments In Emoji History: 1995* to 2025
Yesterday, as part of our World Emoji Day 2025 celebrations, we published a detailed history of the Twemoji emoji design set. Now, we’re discussing broader emoji history with Keith Houston, author of the newly released "Face with Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji".
blog.emojipedia.org
July 18, 2025 at 5:40 PM
To mark World-Emoji-Day-slash-book-publication-day, I sat down with Emojipedia's Keith Broni for what turned out to be an 💥epic💥 discussion about the past, present and future of emoji. Read it at Emojipedia (blog.emojipedia.org/...)!
1/2
1/2
To mark World Emoji Day 🎉 (and, uh, the publication of my book 📖), I put together a little emoji quiz for my publisher, W. W. Norton. Have a crack at it here! wwnorton326.outgrow....
(And buy my book here! shadycharacters.co.u...)
(And buy my book here! shadycharacters.co.u...)
July 17, 2025 at 7:05 PM
To mark World Emoji Day 🎉 (and, uh, the publication of my book 📖), I put together a little emoji quiz for my publisher, W. W. Norton. Have a crack at it here! wwnorton326.outgrow....
(And buy my book here! shadycharacters.co.u...)
(And buy my book here! shadycharacters.co.u...)
It’s publication day (again!) for “Face with Tears of Joy”!
The book has been out in North America for a couple of weeks, and now that World Emoji Day (worldemojiday.com/) has rolled around, it's time to launch it everywhere else.
Get it wherever you buy your books! shadycharacters.co.u...
The book has been out in North America for a couple of weeks, and now that World Emoji Day (worldemojiday.com/) has rolled around, it's time to launch it everywhere else.
Get it wherever you buy your books! shadycharacters.co.u...
July 17, 2025 at 12:56 PM
It’s publication day (again!) for “Face with Tears of Joy”!
The book has been out in North America for a couple of weeks, and now that World Emoji Day (worldemojiday.com/) has rolled around, it's time to launch it everywhere else.
Get it wherever you buy your books! shadycharacters.co.u...
The book has been out in North America for a couple of weeks, and now that World Emoji Day (worldemojiday.com/) has rolled around, it's time to launch it everywhere else.
Get it wherever you buy your books! shadycharacters.co.u...