Jo Walton
@bluejo.bsky.social
Writer of SF and fantasy. Superintelligent shade of the colour blue. "Even better than cold carrots." Vocateur reader. Philhellenist. Loves tea, trains, travel.
Reposted by Jo Walton
A manicule with a human head: bsky.app/profile/trin...
Imagine your documents were marked up for editing with this guy. Terrifying! MS.B.2.25 mss-cat.trin.cam.ac.uk/Manuscript/B...
#marginaliamonday
#medievalsky
#marginaliamonday
#medievalsky
February 16, 2026 at 1:08 PM
A manicule with a human head: bsky.app/profile/trin...
Reposted by Jo Walton
But they were all of them deceived, for Sauron, in his cunning, fashioned a crap-ton of rings in various sizes.
July 24, 2024 at 4:24 PM
But they were all of them deceived, for Sauron, in his cunning, fashioned a crap-ton of rings in various sizes.
Reposted by Jo Walton
Somewhat nicer - the view from the Chapel Bridge in Lozärn
February 16, 2026 at 11:48 AM
Somewhat nicer - the view from the Chapel Bridge in Lozärn
Reposted by Jo Walton
“Inventing the Renaissance” is having another $3.99 ebook sale. I think this one is Uk/Canada/AU/NZ too! If bit, that sale is coming in a couple days.
“Inventing the Renaissance” is a history of histories of this (not so) golden age. Much of making history is simply adding new POVs to the braid as historians ask new & more diverse questions w/ each generation. I hope you’ll enjoy my effort to show the process at work! 25/25 https://buff.ly/4j6qkoS
February 15, 2026 at 9:07 PM
“Inventing the Renaissance” is having another $3.99 ebook sale. I think this one is Uk/Canada/AU/NZ too! If bit, that sale is coming in a couple days.
Reposted by Jo Walton
2/2 Cecilia Gonzaga in 1447, also looking very fine and also by Pisanello, because he was also a medallist.
February 15, 2026 at 10:35 PM
2/2 Cecilia Gonzaga in 1447, also looking very fine and also by Pisanello, because he was also a medallist.
Reposted by Jo Walton
learn why people randomly shout "BATTLE POPE!"
“Inventing the Renaissance” is having another $3.99 ebook sale. I think this one is Uk/Canada/AU/NZ too! If bit, that sale is coming in a couple days.
“Inventing the Renaissance” is a history of histories of this (not so) golden age. Much of making history is simply adding new POVs to the braid as historians ask new & more diverse questions w/ each generation. I hope you’ll enjoy my effort to show the process at work! 25/25 https://buff.ly/4j6qkoS
February 15, 2026 at 9:32 PM
learn why people randomly shout "BATTLE POPE!"
#SomethingBeautiful Florence and the Arno in the early morning
February 16, 2026 at 6:15 AM
#SomethingBeautiful Florence and the Arno in the early morning
Reposted by Jo Walton
A better way of interpreting this portrait is as a species of Florentine propaganda intended to appropriate and domesticate the Englishman as a dutiful Florentine captain post mortem--despite the fact he worked most of career for others, spent last ones preparing to return to England
Monument to Sir John Hawkwood in the Duomo, Florence, 1436. Another tour de force of perspective by Paolo Uccello, whose day has been today.
February 15, 2026 at 12:09 PM
A better way of interpreting this portrait is as a species of Florentine propaganda intended to appropriate and domesticate the Englishman as a dutiful Florentine captain post mortem--despite the fact he worked most of career for others, spent last ones preparing to return to England
Reposted by Jo Walton
For those not familiar with the daffodils of York we will have carpets of them in the coming weeks.
They can be found on the motte of Clifford’s Tower and on the banks of the city walls.
We even have some at the Hall!
They can be found on the motte of Clifford’s Tower and on the banks of the city walls.
We even have some at the Hall!
February 15, 2026 at 2:59 PM
For those not familiar with the daffodils of York we will have carpets of them in the coming weeks.
They can be found on the motte of Clifford’s Tower and on the banks of the city walls.
We even have some at the Hall!
They can be found on the motte of Clifford’s Tower and on the banks of the city walls.
We even have some at the Hall!
Can verify, Gretchen is like this at parties too.
I'd be less stressed about the promotional side, but also I'm on social media because I like nerding out about linguistics with people and helping people learn more about language, and I don't really see that stopping? I mean, I'm like this at parties too
Hey artist/creator/writer/etc people: if tomorrow you were guaranteed a very comfortable living the rest of your life, how would that affect your relationship to social media?
February 15, 2026 at 8:38 AM
Can verify, Gretchen is like this at parties too.
Reposted by Jo Walton
I've been recommending "The Year Without Sunshine" by @naomikritzer.bsky.social A LOT this year. Yesterday one of them told me how much she liked it so I gave her additional recs to try, including "So Much Cooking".
Thank you, Naomi!
www.uncannymagazine.com/article/the-...
Thank you, Naomi!
www.uncannymagazine.com/article/the-...
The Year Without Sunshine - Uncanny Magazine
During one of the much smaller disasters that preceded the really big disaster, I met a lot of my neighbors online. I can’t remember if we set up the WhatsApp group because of the pandemic or the civi...
www.uncannymagazine.com
February 15, 2026 at 12:19 AM
I've been recommending "The Year Without Sunshine" by @naomikritzer.bsky.social A LOT this year. Yesterday one of them told me how much she liked it so I gave her additional recs to try, including "So Much Cooking".
Thank you, Naomi!
www.uncannymagazine.com/article/the-...
Thank you, Naomi!
www.uncannymagazine.com/article/the-...
The whole thread is delightful but this one really made me smile
Violets are grue
Roses, demonic
Si enil txen siht
Boustrophedonic.
Roses, demonic
Si enil txen siht
Boustrophedonic.
February 15, 2026 at 8:15 AM
The whole thread is delightful but this one really made me smile
Reposted by Jo Walton
Roses are red
Violets are prime
This is the sort
Of linguist that I'm
Violets are prime
This is the sort
Of linguist that I'm
February 14, 2026 at 6:13 PM
Roses are red
Violets are prime
This is the sort
Of linguist that I'm
Violets are prime
This is the sort
Of linguist that I'm
Reposted by Jo Walton
Morning.
🖼️ Jan Morris
🖼️ Jan Morris
February 15, 2026 at 5:18 AM
Morning.
🖼️ Jan Morris
🖼️ Jan Morris
Reposted by Jo Walton
Outstanding close-ups of starched lacework collar, from Frans Pourbus the Younger’s portrait of Margherita Gonzaga, Princess of Mantua (early 17C, Metropolitan Museum of Art) www.sophieploeg.com/blog/the-10-...
February 15, 2026 at 7:03 AM
Outstanding close-ups of starched lacework collar, from Frans Pourbus the Younger’s portrait of Margherita Gonzaga, Princess of Mantua (early 17C, Metropolitan Museum of Art) www.sophieploeg.com/blog/the-10-...
#SomethingBeautiful another still life from my aunt Mary Lace, this one called Jug and Cover. (The cloth behind is a bedspread) This was one of the ones she did for the retrospective exhibition when she was seventy.
February 15, 2026 at 7:44 AM
#SomethingBeautiful another still life from my aunt Mary Lace, this one called Jug and Cover. (The cloth behind is a bedspread) This was one of the ones she did for the retrospective exhibition when she was seventy.
My January Reading List reactormag.com/jo-waltons-r...
Jo Walton’s Reading List: January 2026 - Reactor
Compelling memoirs, Vikings, Heyer, and early experiments in authoritarianism
reactormag.com
February 14, 2026 at 11:51 AM
My January Reading List reactormag.com/jo-waltons-r...
#SomethingBeautiful a still life from my aunt Mary Lace blue vase with lemons
February 14, 2026 at 9:29 AM
#SomethingBeautiful a still life from my aunt Mary Lace blue vase with lemons
I have a through draft of the book I am writing.
I still need to do a consistency read through before I show it to anyone, but this feels like a good stage of being done.
I have written two whole novels in two years, and they're really different from each other. I can still do this!
I still need to do a consistency read through before I show it to anyone, but this feels like a good stage of being done.
I have written two whole novels in two years, and they're really different from each other. I can still do this!
February 13, 2026 at 12:07 PM
I have a through draft of the book I am writing.
I still need to do a consistency read through before I show it to anyone, but this feels like a good stage of being done.
I have written two whole novels in two years, and they're really different from each other. I can still do this!
I still need to do a consistency read through before I show it to anyone, but this feels like a good stage of being done.
I have written two whole novels in two years, and they're really different from each other. I can still do this!
#SomethingBeautiful a still life from my aunt, Mary Lace, called "Letterboxes"
February 13, 2026 at 10:30 AM
#SomethingBeautiful a still life from my aunt, Mary Lace, called "Letterboxes"
Reposted by Jo Walton
#OTD in 1466 Elizabeth of York was born at Westminster Palace in Middlesex. She was born to Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV. Her brothers were the Princes in the Tower. 1/4
February 12, 2026 at 2:31 AM
#OTD in 1466 Elizabeth of York was born at Westminster Palace in Middlesex. She was born to Elizabeth Woodville and Edward IV. Her brothers were the Princes in the Tower. 1/4
Reposted by Jo Walton
#SomethingBeautiful Still Life with Vermeer, another painting from my aunt Mary Lace.
February 12, 2026 at 10:57 AM
#SomethingBeautiful Still Life with Vermeer, another painting from my aunt Mary Lace.
Reposted by Jo Walton
Cached US #KindleBookGiveaway: 10 copies of Farthing: A Story of a World that Could Have Been (Small Change Book 1), by @bluejo.bsky.social, which was promo'd by the author so I of course HAVE to reward that. Well, I don't *have* to, but I *like* to. Pour encourager les autres, comme on dit.
February 11, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Cached US #KindleBookGiveaway: 10 copies of Farthing: A Story of a World that Could Have Been (Small Change Book 1), by @bluejo.bsky.social, which was promo'd by the author so I of course HAVE to reward that. Well, I don't *have* to, but I *like* to. Pour encourager les autres, comme on dit.
Reposted by Jo Walton
Do you need at least ten more books added to your TBR? Do you need to be inspired to reread the entire Vorkosigan saga? This book is for you, and is also an excellent read in and of itself!
In time to read it before Trace Elements comes out next month, the ebook of What Makes This Book So Great is on sale as an ebook for $2.99. (Probably US only.)
www.amazon.com/What-Makes-T...
www.amazon.com/What-Makes-T...
What Makes This Book So Great: Re-Reading the Classics of Science Fiction and Fantasy
Amazon.com: What Makes This Book So Great: Re-Reading the Classics of Science Fiction and Fantasy eBook : Walton, Jo: Kindle Store
www.amazon.com
February 11, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Do you need at least ten more books added to your TBR? Do you need to be inspired to reread the entire Vorkosigan saga? This book is for you, and is also an excellent read in and of itself!