Darren Simpson
@darrensimpson44.bsky.social
Author of SCAVENGERS, THE MEMORY THIEVES, FURTHERMOOR and THIRST. Vivid, unruly fiction for older children and teens.
www.darrensimpsonwrites.co.uk
www.darrensimpsonwrites.co.uk
Pinned
[1] My new book #THIRST will be published by @pushkinpress.com on 11 Sept. It's a teen folk horror about a malevolent river worshipped for generations by the village of Maimsbury. I can't wait for you all to get swept away with Gorse and Faye. This gorgeous cover's by Natalie Smillie. ->
Always a privilege to help someone out of their reading slump! 🎉 #THIRST
@pushkinchildrens.bsky.social
@pushkinchildrens.bsky.social
Have been in a slight reading slump of late and this just blew me right out of it! Absolutely brilliant YA folk horror by @darrensimpson44.bsky.social. A creepy, dark tale about folklore, nature and what people will do to survive. A must-read!
📚👍 #yalit #kidslit #schoollibraries
📚👍 #yalit #kidslit #schoollibraries
November 25, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Always a privilege to help someone out of their reading slump! 🎉 #THIRST
@pushkinchildrens.bsky.social
@pushkinchildrens.bsky.social
Watched #SaintMaud last night, and this is the most I've been haunted by a horror movie since It Follows. Strange, unsettling and so very sad. A brilliant film.
November 23, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Watched #SaintMaud last night, and this is the most I've been haunted by a horror movie since It Follows. Strange, unsettling and so very sad. A brilliant film.
Reposted by Darren Simpson
Are you looking for a christmas present for a creative person? Hoo boy do we have the auction for you. Hundreds of creatives from 20 countries are raising funds for people fleeing Genocide in El-Fasher, Sudan. Huge names, huge items! Bid here! app.galabid.com/creatives4su...
Art by @raafaye, insta
Art by @raafaye, insta
November 23, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Are you looking for a christmas present for a creative person? Hoo boy do we have the auction for you. Hundreds of creatives from 20 countries are raising funds for people fleeing Genocide in El-Fasher, Sudan. Huge names, huge items! Bid here! app.galabid.com/creatives4su...
Art by @raafaye, insta
Art by @raafaye, insta
If you fancy some middle-grade sci fi full of big twists and mind-bending science, you won't go wrong with @vsnelson.bsky.social's #TheGirlWhoSoldTime. This fun novel brought to mind Studio Ghibli, Villeneuve's Arrival and Michael Ende's Momo. All good things!
November 17, 2025 at 6:09 PM
If you fancy some middle-grade sci fi full of big twists and mind-bending science, you won't go wrong with @vsnelson.bsky.social's #TheGirlWhoSoldTime. This fun novel brought to mind Studio Ghibli, Villeneuve's Arrival and Michael Ende's Momo. All good things!
Halloween may be long gone, but I'd like to point out that - just as dogs aren't just for Christmas - horror isn't just for Halloween.🩸 Horror never sleeps. You can be chilled by #THIRST at any time of year. Treat yourself via www.pushkinpress.com/book/thirst or your fave bookshop.♥️
November 15, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Halloween may be long gone, but I'd like to point out that - just as dogs aren't just for Christmas - horror isn't just for Halloween.🩸 Horror never sleeps. You can be chilled by #THIRST at any time of year. Treat yourself via www.pushkinpress.com/book/thirst or your fave bookshop.♥️
Reposted by Darren Simpson
What better place to spend your Saturday than in a bookshop?
If you're an #IndieBookshop why not tell us something about yourself, any upcoming events, where you're based, what your speciality is if any, show us around!
#SaturdayInABookshop #BookSky 📚💙 #Bookshop #BrowseABookshop
alt text please
If you're an #IndieBookshop why not tell us something about yourself, any upcoming events, where you're based, what your speciality is if any, show us around!
#SaturdayInABookshop #BookSky 📚💙 #Bookshop #BrowseABookshop
alt text please
November 15, 2025 at 7:50 AM
What better place to spend your Saturday than in a bookshop?
If you're an #IndieBookshop why not tell us something about yourself, any upcoming events, where you're based, what your speciality is if any, show us around!
#SaturdayInABookshop #BookSky 📚💙 #Bookshop #BrowseABookshop
alt text please
If you're an #IndieBookshop why not tell us something about yourself, any upcoming events, where you're based, what your speciality is if any, show us around!
#SaturdayInABookshop #BookSky 📚💙 #Bookshop #BrowseABookshop
alt text please
Reposted by Darren Simpson
The Screwtape Letters is a premium feature, lads.
Hold up
November 15, 2025 at 8:12 AM
The Screwtape Letters is a premium feature, lads.
Reposted by Darren Simpson
Suggested reading list of books for 11 year olds. Authors include Nicholas Fisk, Christopher Edge, Elizabeth Laird and Malorie Blackman #ukedchat #kidsbook schoolreadinglist.co.uk/reading-list...
Year 7 recommended reading list for children aged 11-12
Books for Year 7 - our reading recommendations including easy reads and challenging titles for pupils in secondary school KS3 aged 11-12.
schoolreadinglist.co.uk
November 15, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Suggested reading list of books for 11 year olds. Authors include Nicholas Fisk, Christopher Edge, Elizabeth Laird and Malorie Blackman #ukedchat #kidsbook schoolreadinglist.co.uk/reading-list...
Just two days left for you to bid on a signed and specially dedicated copy of #THIRST! 🚨 Bid by entering my name into the search box at www.jumblebee.co.uk/childreninread2025. Funds raised go to #ChildrenInRead.♥️
November 13, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Just two days left for you to bid on a signed and specially dedicated copy of #THIRST! 🚨 Bid by entering my name into the search box at www.jumblebee.co.uk/childreninread2025. Funds raised go to #ChildrenInRead.♥️
[1] Though I've now given many a #THIRST presentation, last week I ran my first ever THIRST workshop. 🩸 I couldn't have asked for a better set of guinea pigs than the pupils at #ClaptonGirlsAcademy. After some discussion of folklore's relevance today, they were tasked with inventing folkloric ->
November 12, 2025 at 7:03 PM
[1] Though I've now given many a #THIRST presentation, last week I ran my first ever THIRST workshop. 🩸 I couldn't have asked for a better set of guinea pigs than the pupils at #ClaptonGirlsAcademy. After some discussion of folklore's relevance today, they were tasked with inventing folkloric ->
This was fun. After a couple of admittedly tricky chapters, #TheBookOfElsewhere really got going. Kind of Highlander-meets-black-ops. It's got gore and action but there's philosophy and depth too. Makes me wonder what the film franchise will be like...
November 11, 2025 at 6:59 PM
This was fun. After a couple of admittedly tricky chapters, #TheBookOfElsewhere really got going. Kind of Highlander-meets-black-ops. It's got gore and action but there's philosophy and depth too. Makes me wonder what the film franchise will be like...
Signed copies of #THIRST now available in @pagesofhackney.bsky.social! 📚
Have a scroll through my pics of this gorgeous indie bookshop, which boasts not only a fab selection of fiction and non-fiction for all ages, but also a ton of fascinating zines. 👌
Have a scroll through my pics of this gorgeous indie bookshop, which boasts not only a fab selection of fiction and non-fiction for all ages, but also a ton of fascinating zines. 👌
November 8, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Signed copies of #THIRST now available in @pagesofhackney.bsky.social! 📚
Have a scroll through my pics of this gorgeous indie bookshop, which boasts not only a fab selection of fiction and non-fiction for all ages, but also a ton of fascinating zines. 👌
Have a scroll through my pics of this gorgeous indie bookshop, which boasts not only a fab selection of fiction and non-fiction for all ages, but also a ton of fascinating zines. 👌
Reposted by Darren Simpson
We're THRILLED that The Gnome Book has been shortlisted for @foylesforbooks.bsky.social Book of the Year! The gnomes feel so proud to have been recognised in our world 🍬
November 5, 2025 at 9:55 AM
We're THRILLED that The Gnome Book has been shortlisted for @foylesforbooks.bsky.social Book of the Year! The gnomes feel so proud to have been recognised in our world 🍬
Okay, this link's being temperamental on BlueSky, so to access this @readingzone.bsky.social #THIRST review and excerpt, you may have to google "reading zone thirst" and access it that way. That'll sort you out. 👍
"A splendidly gruesome and gripping folk horror set in a village bound by dark secrets and centuries old traditions" 💀
Thanks so much to Clare for her fab review of #THIRST for @readingzone.bsky.social. Read Clare's full review (and a free excerpt!) at readingzone.com/books/thirst 🩸
Thanks so much to Clare for her fab review of #THIRST for @readingzone.bsky.social. Read Clare's full review (and a free excerpt!) at readingzone.com/books/thirst 🩸
November 4, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Okay, this link's being temperamental on BlueSky, so to access this @readingzone.bsky.social #THIRST review and excerpt, you may have to google "reading zone thirst" and access it that way. That'll sort you out. 👍
"A splendidly gruesome and gripping folk horror set in a village bound by dark secrets and centuries old traditions" 💀
Thanks so much to Clare for her fab review of #THIRST for @readingzone.bsky.social. Read Clare's full review (and a free excerpt!) at readingzone.com/books/thirst 🩸
Thanks so much to Clare for her fab review of #THIRST for @readingzone.bsky.social. Read Clare's full review (and a free excerpt!) at readingzone.com/books/thirst 🩸
November 4, 2025 at 7:08 PM
"A splendidly gruesome and gripping folk horror set in a village bound by dark secrets and centuries old traditions" 💀
Thanks so much to Clare for her fab review of #THIRST for @readingzone.bsky.social. Read Clare's full review (and a free excerpt!) at readingzone.com/books/thirst 🩸
Thanks so much to Clare for her fab review of #THIRST for @readingzone.bsky.social. Read Clare's full review (and a free excerpt!) at readingzone.com/books/thirst 🩸
How would you like an exclusively SIGNED AND DEDICATED Guardian Book of Month/Irish Times Best YA Book for Halloween, in the form of a signed copy of #THIRST from yours truly? 🙌 If you're game, bid at www.jumblebee.co.uk/auction/deta... and raise money for @ChildrenInRead. Good luck! 🎉
November 2, 2025 at 4:54 PM
How would you like an exclusively SIGNED AND DEDICATED Guardian Book of Month/Irish Times Best YA Book for Halloween, in the form of a signed copy of #THIRST from yours truly? 🙌 If you're game, bid at www.jumblebee.co.uk/auction/deta... and raise money for @ChildrenInRead. Good luck! 🎉
So #TheBookOfAccidents by @chuckwendig.bsky.social is a blast. What seemingly begins as a haunted house story soon becomes an epic cosmic horror straddling multiple parallel universes. This is a novel crammed with ideas, horror and humanity. Perfect for the season.
November 2, 2025 at 11:05 AM
So #TheBookOfAccidents by @chuckwendig.bsky.social is a blast. What seemingly begins as a haunted house story soon becomes an epic cosmic horror straddling multiple parallel universes. This is a novel crammed with ideas, horror and humanity. Perfect for the season.
Reposted by Darren Simpson
Episode 181 - OUT NOW!
THE TRAITORS: WHIMSY OR WITCH HUNT?
Listen free at www.thefolklorepodcast.com/episode-181....
Watch on YouTube at youtu.be/vSl9d7db1Zo
I gather together a gaggle of witchcraft historians to discuss the cult TV gameshow 'The Traitors' and its parallels with the witch hunts
THE TRAITORS: WHIMSY OR WITCH HUNT?
Listen free at www.thefolklorepodcast.com/episode-181....
Watch on YouTube at youtu.be/vSl9d7db1Zo
I gather together a gaggle of witchcraft historians to discuss the cult TV gameshow 'The Traitors' and its parallels with the witch hunts
October 31, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Episode 181 - OUT NOW!
THE TRAITORS: WHIMSY OR WITCH HUNT?
Listen free at www.thefolklorepodcast.com/episode-181....
Watch on YouTube at youtu.be/vSl9d7db1Zo
I gather together a gaggle of witchcraft historians to discuss the cult TV gameshow 'The Traitors' and its parallels with the witch hunts
THE TRAITORS: WHIMSY OR WITCH HUNT?
Listen free at www.thefolklorepodcast.com/episode-181....
Watch on YouTube at youtu.be/vSl9d7db1Zo
I gather together a gaggle of witchcraft historians to discuss the cult TV gameshow 'The Traitors' and its parallels with the witch hunts
[1] Imagine arriving for a school event and being greeted by this! That's what happened to me just before the hols. 😮 Thanks to pupils of #AldridgeSchool for making this #SCAVENGERS masterpiece (which cleverly incorporates lots of recycled rubbish) in art class. 👏 This was -->
November 1, 2025 at 11:25 AM
[1] Imagine arriving for a school event and being greeted by this! That's what happened to me just before the hols. 😮 Thanks to pupils of #AldridgeSchool for making this #SCAVENGERS masterpiece (which cleverly incorporates lots of recycled rubbish) in art class. 👏 This was -->
Obligatory #Halloween #THIRST post! 💀 It's brought me a lot of satisfaction to see readers genuinely shocked and creeped out by THIRST. If you know of any teens or adults who crave real tension and scares, they may like to open THIRST's pages and visit Maimsbury.🩸
@pushkinchildrens.bsky.social
@pushkinchildrens.bsky.social
October 31, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Obligatory #Halloween #THIRST post! 💀 It's brought me a lot of satisfaction to see readers genuinely shocked and creeped out by THIRST. If you know of any teens or adults who crave real tension and scares, they may like to open THIRST's pages and visit Maimsbury.🩸
@pushkinchildrens.bsky.social
@pushkinchildrens.bsky.social
A quick but wholehearted thanks to #SabatPublishing for publishing #SCAVENGERS in Azerbaijan, and also to the good folk who've been championing my debut since...2019! ♥️ Special mention goes to Laura at the Susijn ⁸Agency for getting my stories out into the world. 🙏
October 29, 2025 at 7:26 PM
A quick but wholehearted thanks to #SabatPublishing for publishing #SCAVENGERS in Azerbaijan, and also to the good folk who've been championing my debut since...2019! ♥️ Special mention goes to Laura at the Susijn ⁸Agency for getting my stories out into the world. 🙏
I’d planned to ration #Wyrdwood over Halloween but kept getting into a “one-more-chapter” situation. Now I’ve finished it early. @curtisjobling.bsky.social evokes a wonderful sense of place. I love the way the scares build up to a perfect storm of action and thrills. Immersive, thorny folk horror.
October 29, 2025 at 3:34 PM
I’d planned to ration #Wyrdwood over Halloween but kept getting into a “one-more-chapter” situation. Now I’ve finished it early. @curtisjobling.bsky.social evokes a wonderful sense of place. I love the way the scares build up to a perfect storm of action and thrills. Immersive, thorny folk horror.
A lovely bit of news from the weekend: #THIRST was highlighted in the Irish Times as a Best YA Read for Halloween! 🩸🎉
I'm over the moon. Heartfelt thanks to @chennessybooks.bsky.social for including #THIRST among her excellent picks and for writing such a thoughtful review. 🙏
I'm over the moon. Heartfelt thanks to @chennessybooks.bsky.social for including #THIRST among her excellent picks and for writing such a thoughtful review. 🙏
October 28, 2025 at 7:17 PM
A lovely bit of news from the weekend: #THIRST was highlighted in the Irish Times as a Best YA Read for Halloween! 🩸🎉
I'm over the moon. Heartfelt thanks to @chennessybooks.bsky.social for including #THIRST among her excellent picks and for writing such a thoughtful review. 🙏
I'm over the moon. Heartfelt thanks to @chennessybooks.bsky.social for including #THIRST among her excellent picks and for writing such a thoughtful review. 🙏
On the joys of #THIRST, superpowers and...goats! 🐐 Thanks to @virtualauthorsuk.bsky.social for having me for this snappy Q&A: virtualauthors.co.uk/2025/10/20/1.... And schools: do check out @VirtualAuthorUK's comprehensive listings of virtual author events for all key stages! 📚♥️
October 26, 2025 at 5:37 PM
On the joys of #THIRST, superpowers and...goats! 🐐 Thanks to @virtualauthorsuk.bsky.social for having me for this snappy Q&A: virtualauthors.co.uk/2025/10/20/1.... And schools: do check out @VirtualAuthorUK's comprehensive listings of virtual author events for all key stages! 📚♥️
