Nominations are open for the Le Guin prize! #Kidlit of a science fictional and/or fantastical nature should absolutely stand up and be counted.
www.ursulakleguin.com/prize26
It's ok to not feel ok.
It's ok if your antlers haven't grown in yet.
It's ok if you can't shape-shift into a raven.
It's ok if you haven't haunted the night for a while.
I know you're doing your best, and that's all any of us can do right now.
Just in case you missed it, The Unfinished Business is now here and haunting your shelves! It's a charming MG story about a girl who inherits a business called The Unfinished Business and is tasked with finishing the unfinished business of its late, ghostly owner!
Utah adds four books to growing list of 27 titles now banned from all public schools | Salt Lake Tribune buff.ly/2f3qjOz
"...much of our society is based around the exploitation of people whose pay is so poor that they canβt live life with any kind of dignity. I thought it would be interesting to build a world where thatβs more explicit, where power is made by literally drawing the life force out of other people."
Flore des serres et des jardins de l'Europe A Gand: chez Louis van Houtte, eΓΒditeur, 1845-1880. https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27765129
Flore des serres et des jardins de l'Europe A Gand: chez Louis van Houtte, eΓΒditeur, 1845-1880. (source: https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27765129) #nature #illustration #art
All those wonderful Judy Blume books π
Max from Maurice Sendakβs Where the Wild Things Are.
Maxing.
Pearl's & Ruby's Revivew: Kid X by Tracey Baptiste
pearlsandrubys.slj.com/2026/02/18/r...
π Power of School Libraries β Quote of the Week
School libraries donβt just hold books β they hold opportunities, perspectives, and futures.
If your school library made a difference in your life, this oneβs for you. π
#PowerOfSchoolLibraries #SchoolLibraries @cilip.bsky.social
Gonna need people to support middle grade and YA titles bc where do we think adult readers come from!! If kids donβt have good books to read from like 8 - 12 they are going to stop reading ππππ
this is also my brain when trying to find a Lego piece on the rug
Atlas des champignons comestibles et veΜneΜneux Paris, P. Klincksieck, 1891. http://biodiversitylibrary.org/item/22673
Atlas des champignons comestibles et veΜneΜneux Paris, P. Klincksieck, 1891. (source: http://biodiversitylibrary.org/item/22673) #nature #illustration #art
Photo of an orange lichen growing flat on rock. Thereβs a hole in the rock which creates a hole in the centre of the lichen. The hole is in the shape of a heart which gives the impression that the lichen has a black heart at its centre.
For the day.
Rusavskia elegans showing its heart to the world (a bit of a dark heart π).
NWT, Canada.
#lichen #fungi #fungifriends
β¦ and [she] is now part of the drift called βthe infinite.β
I cannot tell how Eternity seems.
It sweeps around me like a seaβ¦
β Emily Dickinson (letter, 1882)
Woodland scene
Hareshaw Linn in February
#nature #naturephotography #winter #woodland #northumberland
Gift ideas for your special someone:
- basket of banned books
- tiara of ancient bones
- bespoke pillow fort
- mysterious bowl of moss
- tiny twig golem companion, animated with dark magic
Less than a dozen nowβ¦
"Imagination is like a muscle. I found out that the more I wrote, the bigger it got." βPhilip JosΓ© Farmer
The Year of Reading 2026 is well under way so Iβve added my voice to the chat with a monthly blog - Hereβs February! Recommendations, teacher ideas and resources. Probably nothing groundbreaking but hopefully thereβs something usefulβ¦ tomsbookcorner.wordpress.com/2026/02/14/t...
Revealing the longlist for the #Carnegies2026 Medal for Writing! π
βοΈ
Highlighting diversity and community, these 19 works span from humorous narratives and creative reimaginings to artfully using history to explore identity and relationships . π«π
https://carnegies.co.uk/2026-longlists-announced/
#childrensmentalhealthweek: With @place2becharity.bsky.social's theme βThis is My Placeβ in mind weβve chosen #picturebooks about finding & creating homes & spaces where you can feel a sense of belonging.
storysnug.com/2026/02/this...
#Booksky #StorySnug #amreading #booksthathelp #UKKidLit #KidLitUK
As thereβs been some chat this morning about using alternatives to Amazon and Waterstones to buy books - hereβs a reminder that Iβve done a list of and the UK and Ireland indie bookshops that Iβve found so far on BlueSky. I can make it into a starter pack if easier?
bsky.app/profile/did:...
We treat authors the way we'd want to be treated. That means we don't charge authors to submit. We don't make authors wait six months to MAYBE get a response. In fact, we respond to every submission within two weeks and we offer revision advice when applicable. For free.
brownhoundpress.com/submit
The booke of love ys long & boringe
No folk kan lyft the damned thinge
Crammid ful of charters & lore & rubrics
And ynstructiouns for daunsing -
But Ich? Ich love it whan thou readest to me;
And thee, thou kanst reade me eny thinge.
("The Book of Love" by The Magnetic Fields)
ππ½ππ½
I find when I've reread and revised many, many, times, it starts to feel like my words are set in stone and hard to imagine them differently.
So, for my latest revision of my #WIP, I'm doing it backwards. Starting with the last page. I've found this helps me look at each page with fresh eyes again.
A photo of the white dwarf iris with light blue stripes and yellow splotches growing in my gravel garden.
I love all winter flowers, but this dwarf iris is really something special. I mean, just look at her.
"Katherine Hodgkin" Iris reticulata, Dwarf Iris.
After it rains, newts!
#nature
#forest
