Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Joanne Harris

Julie Anderson @juliewriter.bsky.social · 10h

This 👇👇👇is happening tomorrow at @omnibustheatre.bsky.social in Clapham. @claphambookfest.bsky.social has a great line-up this year. Oyinkan Braithwaite discusses her new book, Joanne Harris talks about the prequel to 'Chocolat' and Time Tate and Gavin Esler dissect the Spycatcher affair.

Poster showing Oyinkan Braithwaite, Joanne Harris, Michele Roberts, Elizabeth Buchan, Julie Anderson, Tim Tate and Gavin Esler.

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 3h

😂

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 12h

I’m really looking forward to this!

World Fantasy 2025 @worldfantasy2025.bsky.social · 14h

It's just 28 days to WFC. PR3 has gone out and with it the news about our new MC. We are very sorry to lose Sarah Pinborough but delighted to welcome Joanne Harris.
Joanne Harris was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has written over 20 novels, published in over 50 countries.

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 13h

Today’s antique shop find: a bottle of Guerlain’s Eau Imperiale AND WITH SOME STILL LEFT INSIDE. And the shopkeeper let me dab some! The 19th century, stored in scent…

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 16h

AT ANY TIME. 😂

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 18h

And this morning the Shed is a battleship, with cannons at the ready…

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 1d

I'm so glad you liked it! I'm having a lovely time here...

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 1d

Another lovely full house at the Isle of Wight Litfest today: thanks to everyone who was there!

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 1d

If your aim in writing the story wasn't to sell it, why do you count not selling it as a failure?

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 1d

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 259:
Failure is nothing to be ashamed of. It means you tried something. No-one succeeds without failures: it’s a necessary part of the process.

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 1d

And this morning the Shed is a mirror maze, with faces turning like autumn leaves…

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 2d

Such a fun event this evening at the Isle of Wight Litfest! Thank you so much to Jack Thompson, our sponsor, and to Helena Nicklin and Chantal Coady for their insights on wine and chocolate - and to our lovely audience for all their laughter and applause!

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 2d

You have to know what the pitfalls are in order to avoid them…

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 2d

Absolutely. No point copying what has been done…

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 2d

Absolutely. But looking at other people’s phones tends to come across as rude…

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 2d

The multi-billion pound arts industry might beg to differ.

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 2d

The reason the Right are so invested in the myth that the arts have no value isn’t because the arts don’t generate wealth (they do); it’s that studying the arts teaches people to imagine better ways of judging the value of an idea than by counting how much money it makes…

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 2d

The Cat Who Looked Out to Sea…

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 2d

And making theft illegal would “kill” the thieving industry. Good. Make theft illegal again.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 2d

Not at all surprising…

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 2d

The result tends to resemble the work of those mediaeval artists, trying to depict a lion (or a baby, or a woman) without ever having seen one. Trust me; no one wants that.

a painting of a man playing a guitar with a monkey playing a trumpet in the background

ALT: a painting of a man playing a guitar with a monkey playing a trumpet in the background

media.tenor.com

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 2d

Why? Because your readers do. The literary world is full of people wanting to write children’s books, who haven’t looked at a children’s book since the 60s. Or people who want the sales associated with romantasy (or cosy crime, or sci-fi), but don’t actually know the genre, or want to read any.

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 2d

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 1579: If you’re going to write in any genre (children’s fiction, SFF, romance, etc), you need to read EXTENSIVELY in that genre. You need to read current authors in the genre. You need to know what’s been done; what tropes exist; how the genre has changed.

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Reposted by Joanne Harris

Corey Brotherson - ready for my close up--NOOO TOO CLOSE! @coreybrotherson.bsky.social · 2d

Hey kids!

Remember when the pandemic struck and eventually the (Tory) government told everyone to stay at home, and the arts and entertainment industries were one of the few things keeping everyone from pulling our own eyes out of our skulls from abject fear and boredom?

Remember that?

Tim Worthington @outonbluesix.bsky.social · 2d

How is this repeatedly made into a policy issue - by *all* parties - when the blunt fact of the matter is that grown adults who are obliged to pay for their own education, and relentlessly pursued to repay their loans, should be able to study whatever the fuck they want.

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Reposted by Joanne Harris

Naomi Alderman @naomialderman.bsky.social · 2d

feels like yet again time to mention that the *videogames* industry (that's a creative industry, which people do creative degrees in) brings in more than twice the amount to the British economy as the fishing and steel industries *combined*

Naomi Alderman @naomialderman.bsky.social · 2d

I cannot understand what these people think the purpose of human life is?

It is *not* "pursue joy, deal justly, love well, try to understand as much and see as much of this beautiful world and of the deepness, richness and variety of human culture and experience as you can before you die"?

Tim Worthington @outonbluesix.bsky.social · 2d

How is this repeatedly made into a policy issue - by *all* parties - when the blunt fact of the matter is that grown adults who are obliged to pay for their own education, and relentlessly pursued to repay their loans, should be able to study whatever the fuck they want.

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