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jamesbpcook.bsky.social
James Cook
@jamesbpcook.bsky.social
270 followers 270 following 53 posts
Writer. MEMORY SONGS | IN HER ROOM | Editor @Review31. Bylines @TheTLS @Guardian. Agent @oliagent @AMHeathLtd. jamesbpcook.blogspot.com
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jamesbpcook.bsky.social
James Cook @jamesbpcook.bsky.social · Nov 15
Now playing. Echo and the Bunnymen, In Bluer Skies. #MemorySongs www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtzz...
In Bluer Skies
YouTube video by Echo & the Bunnymen - Topic
www.youtube.com
Reposted by James Cook
johnharris1969.bsky.social
Latest from me on (free!) Substack: on the eve of drastic change, whether the govt likes it or not, the SEND debate is getting nastier... we're back to the national sport of seeing people's needs, and branding them cheats maybeimamazed.substack.com/p/whether-th...
Whether the government likes it or not, the Special Needs debate is full of a familar nastiness
It's already happened to immigrants, people on benefits and disabled adults: amid a cloud of prejudice and "overdiagnosis" talk, SEND children and their families seem to be next
maybeimamazed.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 8:24 AM
Reposted by James Cook
stuhennigan.bsky.social
Who wants to #GetKeshed with me and @judecook.bsky.social at Bard Books in London on 12th March? Cos tix are onsale as of this afternoon 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

www.wearebardbooks.co.uk/event-detail...
MEET THE BÀRD: Stu Hennigan | Bard Books
We are delighted to be hosting the first London event for Stu Hennigan's hotly tipped debut novel 'Keshed', a brutally poetic examination of class, belonging, masculinity, addiction and fatherhood. St...
www.wearebardbooks.co.uk
January 13, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by James Cook
iammilliam.bsky.social
A new instalment of INVENTORY is available now via the @backlisted.bsky.social Patreon. Sign up as a Locklistener today, discover Comus and the musical death trip of scythechedelia, support the podcast.

This week: Comus, First Utterance (1971)

www.patreon.com/backlisted
INVENTORY: AN UNRELIABLE GUIDE TO MY RECORD COLLECTION by Andy Miller
January 14, 2026 at 10:03 AM
Reposted by James Cook
johnharris1969.bsky.social
In the build-up to the government's watershed changes to Special Needs education, there's one place you can find in-depth commentary/coverage: my (free) Substack, Maybe I'm Amazed. New post is a long read, out Thursday. Subscribe here open.substack.com/pub/maybeima...
#autism #send
Maybe I'm Amazed | John Harris | Substack
Writing & information on my new memoir about my autistic son James, Special Needs education, music and more. And yes, it's free. Click to read Maybe I'm Amazed, by John Harris, a Substack publication ...
open.substack.com
January 13, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Reposted by James Cook
backlisted.bsky.social
New episode up now. Jake Thackray: The Unsung Writer, with guests Paul Thompson and Andrew Male in conversation with Andy Miller and Una McCormack. @jakethackrayfan.bsky.social @andrewmale.bsky.social @unamccormack.bsky.social @iammilliam.bsky.social www.backlisted.fm/episodes/255...
255. Jake Thackray - The Unsung Writer by Paul Thompson — Backlisted
Biographer and singer-songwriter Paul Thompson joins us for a new episode of Backlisted devoted to the life and work of Jake Thackray, the so-called 'Yorkshire chansonnier' who died in 2002. Thackray ...
www.backlisted.fm
January 13, 2026 at 7:04 AM
Reposted by James Cook
davehaslam.bsky.social
6th Jan 1979 - Kevin Cummins took photos of Joy Division in a wintry Manchester.

I loved investigating the story davehaslam.substack.com/p/ian-curtis...

From a Wimpy Bar in Bradford, then to a wedding, a club called the ‘Glory Hole’, a sculpture called Alice, and an old mill near a river.
Ian Curtis & David Hockney – the story of a connection
From a well-lit boutique to the River Aire
davehaslam.substack.com
January 6, 2026 at 8:40 AM
Reposted by James Cook
johnharris1969.bsky.social
Whatever line the govt takes, if you want to sample the great cloud of misapprehension and false argument swirling around changes to the SEND system, check out this Times editorial - a prime example of "overdiagnosis" as the bollocksome catch-all explanation for abs. everything archive.is/PZU8b
Sir Keir Starmer has found it difficult to convince Labour MPs that public spending must be brought under control. The issue is likely to resurface when the government publishes its delayed white paper on reforms to support for pupils with special ­educational needs and disabilities (Send). Costs have soared in recent years. An under-explained catalyst of the rising expenditure is a recent sharp increase in diagnoses of milder psychological conditions, causing many children to be needlessly removed from mainstream education. Send spending, in its present form, has become unsustainable. Plans that entitle pupils to one-to-one teaching assistants frequently result in duplication, meaning several assistants ­are deployed in a single classroom.
January 5, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by James Cook
johnharris1969.bsky.social
This on the ongoing SEND mess, by @catrionamoore.bsky.social, is a must-read www.specialneedsjungle.com/leaks-denial...
Now, in the first week of 2026, we’re back to where we were last spring: newspaper reports of the right to statutory support in education being slashed, and parents’ anxiety raised to new heights. And all of this during the festive period, when no one can get any answers about anything.
January 5, 2026 at 8:52 AM
Reposted by James Cook
judecook.bsky.social
Very happy that @tamarindlit.co.uk have run my short story 'Progresso' in their excellent new issue #9. Many thanks to @anitamchandran.bsky.social. Download the digital copy or buy the print edition here: tamarindlit.co.uk
January 5, 2026 at 10:44 AM
Reposted by James Cook
judecook.bsky.social
A final Substack essay for 2025 from me. Read The Golden World: Do Politics and Fiction Mix? for FREE here: judecook.substack.com/p/the-golden... Happy New Year!
The Golden World
Do Politics and Fiction Mix?
judecook.substack.com
December 31, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Reposted by James Cook
iammilliam.bsky.social
A special New Year's Day INVENTORY is available now via the @backlisted.bsky.social Patreon. Sign up as a Locklistener today, hit 2026 running with Pulp, Dog Day Afternoon and The Fallen Women, support the podcast.

This week: Jarvis Cocker, 'The Loss Adjuster'.

www.patreon.com/backlisted
January 1, 2026 at 9:28 AM
Reposted by James Cook
backlisted.bsky.social
New Christmas episode up now! Asterix and the Roman Agent - and LOADS more Asterix books - with Louie Stowell, Robert Shearman, Una McCormack & Andy Miller. 🎄📚🎅
@robertshearman.bsky.social @louiestowell.bsky.social @unamccormack.bsky.social @iammilliam.bsky.social

open.spotify.com/episode/6mIn...
December 25, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Reposted by James Cook
judecook.bsky.social
As is traditional, here's the 2017 Xmas @backlisted.bsky.social in which @iammilliam.bsky.social @johnmitchinson.bsky.social @jamesbpcook.bsky.social and I talk about OHMSS & all things Bond. Happy Christmas one and all. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/56-...
December 25, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Reposted by James Cook
iammilliam.bsky.social
A wintry new INVENTORY is available now via the @backlisted.bsky.social Patreon. Sign up as a Locklistener today, learn all about the greatest Christmas single that never was, support the podcast.

This week: Twice As Much & Vashti, 'The Coldest Night of the Year'. ❄️

www.patreon.com/backlisted
December 24, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Reposted by James Cook
judecook.bsky.social
I chose Yann Chateigné Tytelman's terrific book, Blackout (tr. @clementoctober.bsky.social), for Review31's Books of the Year 2025. @review31.bsky.social @lesfugitivespress.bsky.social
December 16, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Reposted by James Cook
bydanobrien.bsky.social
Some of my recent books, bendable for placement inside stockings — available in the usual ways, but links are @ www.danobrien.org @acrebooks.bsky.social @dalkeyarchive.bsky.social @cbeditions.bsky.social @poetrylondon.bsky.social @calquepress.bsky.social
December 10, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Reposted by James Cook
johnharris1969.bsky.social
Columnists! People who make videos of their own heads! Do you know nothing about autism & its complexity? Never read a word about it, but seen something about SEND reform and what Badenoch/Tice said the other day? Top tip: Just sound off about "overdiagnosis" and get another week's beer money
December 10, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Reposted by James Cook
johnharris1969.bsky.social
New Substack post from me... it's free, so subscribe if you fancy it
maybeimamazed.substack.com/p/thank-you-...
Thank you for this year... and why 2026 will see huge battles about neurodiversity
The Maybe I'm Amazed Substack will be returning regularly, and with good reason
maybeimamazed.substack.com
December 9, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Reposted by James Cook
iammilliam.bsky.social
A new instalment of INVENTORY is available now via the
@backlisted.bsky.social Patreon. Sign up as a Locklistener today, receive moral instruction from the gingerilliant Countess of MAT, support the podcast.

This week: CMAT, Euro-Country.

www.patreon.com/backlisted
INVENTORY: AN UNRELIABLE GUIDE TO MY RECORD COLLECTION by Andy Miller
December 3, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Reposted by James Cook
judecook.bsky.social
A late-November Substack essay from me: I wrote about creative inspiration in music and writing. Read Catch a Fire: That Michelangelo Moment for FREE here 👇: judecook.substack.com/p/catch-a-fire
November 30, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Reposted by James Cook
andrewmale.bsky.social
Lindsay Anderson and Shelagh Delaney's 1967 short, The White Bus, is currently available for free on Prime. It's credited as being from 1979 but don't let that fool you. Devised as both allegory and satire, it's curious how much of it still feels relevant to the noise of the 21st Century.
November 28, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Reposted by James Cook
iammilliam.bsky.social
A new instalment of INVENTORY is available now via the @backlisted.bsky.social Patreon. Sign up as a Locklistener today, read about the Clientele and the ‘suburban uncanny’, support the podcast. @theclientele.bsky.social

This week: God Save the Clientele.

www.patreon.com/backlisted
November 26, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Reposted by James Cook
judecook.bsky.social
Delighted to announce that MALC’S BOY by Shaun Wilson will be @conduitbooks.bsky.social’s first title! Coming April 2026.
thebookseller.com The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · Nov 25
Freshly launched publisher Conduit Books has announced that its inaugural title will be Malc’s Boy, “a bold and emotionally charged” debut novel by Cumbrian writer Shaun Wilson, following 1,500 submissions over the past few months 👇 #BookSky
Conduit Books reveals Shaun Wilson's Malc’s Boy as its first publication
ebx.sh
November 26, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Reposted by James Cook
backlisted.bsky.social
New episode up now. Last and First Men (1930) by Olaf Stapledon, with guest Matthew De Abaitua in conversation with Andy Miller and Una McCormack. @mdeabaitua.bsky.social @unamccormack.bsky.social @iammilliam.bsky.social www.backlisted.fm/episodes/253...
253. Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon — Backlisted
Writer and critic Matthew De Abaitua joins Andy, Una and Nicky to discuss  Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future  (1930), the astounding first novel by Olaf Stapledon. The...
www.backlisted.fm
November 25, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Reposted by James Cook
matosman.bsky.social
In my corner of the bass-playing universe there was life pre- and post-Mani. He brought a liquid, melodic funkiness that EVERYONE copied. And when I finally met him he was exactly how you imagined him: joyful, generous, unstarry (& more of a star because of it) and wickedly funny. A life well lived
November 21, 2025 at 8:20 AM