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John Dougherty

@johndougherty

I write books for children, but this account may contain rants and swearies. For child-friendly kidslit stuff, please follow @WriterPoetJohn.bsky.social .www.visitingauthor.com

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27.09.2023
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Latest posts by John Dougherty @johndougherty

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06.03.2026 07:01 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Please tell Kiran from me that Stinkbomb owns a pair of shorts EXACTLY that colour, and that he looks utterly fantastic. Wowsers my trousers!

05.03.2026 20:13 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I was talking to a book designer on our team yesterday and was able to put to words: β€œWe expect the illustrator to be excellent at making art but they are not expected to be excellent at making books. It’s our job to be excellent at making books, inside and out. The book itself, that is our domain.”

27.02.2026 13:14 πŸ‘ 94 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 0
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THIS SUNDAY, The Sunday Times has brought back The Funday Times as part of their reading campaign and The Phoenix is involved! The Funday Times was a weekly comic supplement, all big and newspapery, an absolute joy to read and an instrumental part of a lot of our childhoods 🀩

27.02.2026 13:42 πŸ‘ 98 πŸ” 22 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 9

Hannah Spencer walking into Westminster, sucking her teeth, tutting, and muttering "tell you what, you've had some cowboys in here."

27.02.2026 06:22 πŸ‘ 2734 πŸ” 705 πŸ’¬ 30 πŸ“Œ 24

See also: If you don't like the changes I've made to this party, you know where the door is.

27.02.2026 14:38 πŸ‘ 55 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 0

Reform: Stop the boats! Deport people!
Starmer: OMG we have to beat the Reform Party! STOP MORE BOATS! DEPORT MORE PEOPLE! ISLAND OF STRANGERS!
Hannah Spencer: Everybody deserves a nice life.
Starmer: Hannah Spencer is more interested in dividing people than uniting them.
πŸ™„

27.02.2026 14:34 πŸ‘ 45 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Reform: Stop the boats! Deport people!
Starmer: OMG we have to beat the Reform Party! STOP MORE BOATS! DEPORT MORE PEOPLE! ISLAND OF STRANGERS!
Hannah Spencer: Everybody deserves a nice life.
Starmer: Hannah Spencer is more interested in dividing people than uniting them.

27.02.2026 14:33 πŸ‘ 328 πŸ” 64 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 0

I continue to be fascinated by the phenomenon whereby an expert engages with any of the LLMs on their field of expertise and is instantly horrified by the wrong answers, and then goes on to use it for things they are not experts in as though it won’t be just as bad for those.

27.02.2026 14:15 πŸ‘ 3160 πŸ” 933 πŸ’¬ 54 πŸ“Œ 91
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The press has got hold of it! Yes we’re making a #bbcghosts movie.

27.02.2026 10:20 πŸ‘ 440 πŸ” 69 πŸ’¬ 37 πŸ“Œ 5
β€˜Bridge of Storms’ book by Philip Reeve, cover illustration by Ian McQue

β€˜Bridge of Storms’ book by Philip Reeve, cover illustration by Ian McQue

Comps for @philipreeve.bsky.social’s new Mortal Engines novel β€˜Bridge of Storms’ have arrived. Out on the 12th, get your preorders in now!

03.02.2026 12:14 πŸ‘ 133 πŸ” 21 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 0
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exactly. this is not difficult.

as.ft.com/r/58ed1b23-d...

03.02.2026 13:21 πŸ‘ 20375 πŸ” 5293 πŸ’¬ 238 πŸ“Œ 216
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Everything is nice and normal

03.02.2026 14:01 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2

ME: whenever i make fried eggs the yolks break but when i make scrambled eggs they don’t

ALANIS MORISSETTE: i’m sorry but the lyrics are already done

01.02.2026 18:59 πŸ‘ 936 πŸ” 132 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 4

I will never understand how Trump was legally able to run in 2024 after trying to strong arm governors to defraud voters, and then, when that didn’t work, a violent coup. We let a traitor re-enter the White House.

30.01.2026 05:45 πŸ‘ 3719 πŸ” 650 πŸ’¬ 333 πŸ“Œ 60

Yet another example of the idiocy of the Supreme Court’s immunity opinion: If Trump invades Greenland, even for the most insane reason (like not winning the Nobel Peace Prize) and against our obvious national interest, it’s an β€œofficial act” that can never be held legally accountable

19.01.2026 20:24 πŸ‘ 2789 πŸ” 725 πŸ’¬ 185 πŸ“Œ 50
A tweet by Daniel Hannan.

A tweet by Daniel Hannan.

The world’s wrongest man, Daniel Hannan, contending that Trump’s utter unfitness for office only emerged *yesterday*…

Because it’s the only way the irredeemable idiot can cling on to the delusion that he’s not an irredeemable idiot.

19.01.2026 20:35 πŸ‘ 2284 πŸ” 434 πŸ’¬ 171 πŸ“Œ 25

The Nobel Peace Prize becoming so prestigious that wars are fought over a head of state coveting it is some real monkey paw stuff for Alfred Nobel.

19.01.2026 08:47 πŸ‘ 10099 πŸ” 1779 πŸ’¬ 144 πŸ“Œ 52

Don’t know why I found myself thinking of you this afternoon, GP!

19.12.2025 17:44 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Nearly showtime! Very much looking forward to this.

04.12.2025 18:43 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Anger as Waterstones snaps up prime site on doorstep of independent bookshop UK's biggest bookselling chain under fire over plans for new store beside Edinburgh tram line.

We need your help.

@waterstones.bsky.social, without any direct communication with us, will be opening their 6th Edinburgh branch less than 100 metres from our front door at the Foot of the Walk in Leith.

Please read on for more information

www.heraldscotland.com/news/2562908...

(1/2)

18.11.2025 11:28 πŸ‘ 350 πŸ” 288 πŸ’¬ 13 πŸ“Œ 44

Thanks, Tom!

18.11.2025 13:26 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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πŸ“š Continuing this year’s BCAW focus on books, we’re sharing a message from author John Dougherty.

πŸ’› His book, A Hare-Shaped Hole, beautifully explores emotional expression and continuing bonds for bereaved children.

πŸ‘‰ More reads: childhoodbereavement.ie/bookshelf
#ChildrenGrieveToo #BCAW2025

18.11.2025 10:02 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

I’m hearing from a charity that’s reluctant to support an anti-racism event because it’s too β€œpolitical”. I’m explaining to them that opposing racism wasn’t at all β€œpolitical” until very recently.
Also (1) everything is political but (2) it doesn’t need to be party political.
Charity IS Politics.

16.11.2025 13:10 πŸ‘ 304 πŸ” 52 πŸ’¬ 14 πŸ“Œ 8

I struggle to see why turning ourselves into a society so unwelcoming that even those afraid for the lives are deterred from coming is something we would actually *want*.

16.11.2025 18:54 πŸ‘ 455 πŸ” 106 πŸ’¬ 14 πŸ“Œ 2

Confiscating jewellery from survivors of a war zone makes you look like a fucking Nazi. And the obscene thing is, that is the intention. It's there to look appropriately harsh. Indecent. Filthy. A moral stain. And no-one of good character would have ever proposed such a thing in the first place.

17.11.2025 10:48 πŸ‘ 1357 πŸ” 349 πŸ’¬ 52 πŸ“Œ 27
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NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen.

Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.

16.11.2025 23:43 πŸ‘ 59628 πŸ” 36462 πŸ’¬ 1307 πŸ“Œ 2908

People see Jesus Christ in slices of toast, tea stains, patterns in carpet and damp stains on walls. We are not psychologically prepared to show the required caution in the face of computer software that can mimic human language. People are already surrendering reason to the Jesus in the toast.

15.11.2025 22:22 πŸ‘ 171 πŸ” 58 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 4

If we accept someone is a genuine refugee and they build a life here, perhaps have children born here, what is the advantage to us of expelling them once we’ve persuaded ourselves that their country of origin is safe?

15.11.2025 09:46 πŸ‘ 705 πŸ” 172 πŸ’¬ 42 πŸ“Œ 10

In 1997 Labour won a huge victory. And while campaigning they promised to honour Tory spending pledges for 2 years.

Bizarrely they seemed to think the former was in any way based on the latter or that any of us expected them to stick to that, having voted for change.

Plus Γ§a change.

14.11.2025 10:20 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0