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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 23d

Thank you, Marie! ☺️

Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 23d

For 6+ years, I’ve been working on a novel called UNDERDOGS. It's about a father, a son & the gamble of their lives.
I’m delighted to say that UNDERDOGS will be published by JM Originals @johnmurrays.bsky.social on 2 July 2026!
You can read the opening on p. 33:
www.hachette.co.uk/wp-content/u...

A pink and white background with black text:
I'd just gone ten year auld the day that I met Bertie. Well, I say 'day', but it was half five in the mornin and it was Januree, so really it was night.
Underdogs Louise Powell July 2nd 2026

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Aug 26

Thank you for the good wishes - that's very kind of you :)

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Aug 25

Spending the Bank Holiday as I've spent the past week or so: paying very close attention to the fine details of a project that means a lot to me, & feeling very grateful towards all those who are supporting it... #amwriting #amediting

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Aug 25

I'm so sorry, I've only just seen this. I'll have a look to see whether I can pop through to see your Dad, then let you know, if that's OK? x

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Aug 11

'Extremely well' is music to my ears! I feel honoured to be on his produce list - I'd love some if he has any to spare. I've wanted to pop through to see him for months now, but between family health issues & being unwell myself, haven't managed it. Hope that changes soon & all is well with you x

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Aug 10

I'm glad that your Dad is enjoying his allotment! The family and I were talking about him last night & hoping he was keeping well.

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Reposted by Dr Louise Powell

Photobook Junkies @photobookjunkies.bsky.social · Jul 28

📷 Jean Gaumy

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Reposted by Dr Louise Powell

Colin Smith @colinsmith.bsky.social · Jul 29

Clay Lane Furnaces, South Bank, Middlesbrough, 1981, by Graham Smith.

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Jul 30

Thank you also for the additional print! It's going in a frame. I love the Transporter zine too, by the way. I pass that area very often & you've captured it beautifully. Further great inspiration & fantastic work! :)

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Jul 29

So impressed by @mariegardiner.bsky.social's 'Changing Landscapes' zine, which brightened my weekend when it arrived & now sits on my shelves for inspiration! With a beautiful colour palette and evocative images, it's a zine I'm already looking forward to returning to...

Marie Gardiner @mariegardiner.bsky.social · Jul 28

Trying not to wang on about this too much, but Changing Landscapes (my second zine) is available for £10 including (UK) postage. It contains many awesome ruins of houses, former industrial sites, abandoned vehicles... it's even got some sheep.

#Photography

www.mariegardiner.co.uk/zines-and-pr...

a mostly hidden red shell of a car by grass, there's a ruined house in the background and bare hills behind that

a ruin in the middle of the frame, facing to the side. The bottom half of the image is grass and the top is grey flat sky

bright blue skies with a ruined house in the middle and a tree behind it. The foreground is longish yellow-green grass

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Jul 29

Your short story collection sounds fascinating. All the best of luck with it - I'm looking forward to hearing more about it!

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Jul 29

Thank you for writing the piece! It brought back many memories of being an early teen, having to change clothing styles, & its impact. Still get that supermarket 'following' if I go in with what's judged to be a more 'working-class' hairstyle, too. I look forward to your other work 🙂

Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Jul 29

"I have learned what is safe. What makes assumptions vanish:" it's been a long time since I read a piece that resonated with me as strongly as Matt Taylor's 'Tracksuits and Me'. It spoke to me on too many levels to sum up in one post, but it's brilliant to see writing like this commissioned.

The Bee @beelitmag.bsky.social · Jul 29

"Class has a uniform," writes Matt Taylor. "Whenever I slip back into a tracksuit, Tesco staff follow me around the store, and the cashiers ask for ID. If I go for a run, police stop me and ask why I’m running."

He writes for us about clothing and class today:

thebeemagazine.com/tracksuits-a...

Tracksuits and me

I still love them, but in Tesco they can bring no end of trouble.

thebeemagazine.com

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Jul 29

So pleased to have reached the 20,000 word mark of a new project. Lots of exploratory work around character & setting in there, so I’d be surprised if 5,000 appear in the polished draft – but the thought & the spirit behind those words will underpin the whole piece. #amwriting

A blue notebook with two pens laid across it: one orange pen, and one black. There is a white index card book laid across the blue notebook. In brown, orange, red and yellow capitals it reads: You've Got This.

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Jul 26

Yes, you're right that it was for TVCA. Thanks for letting me know they have an Insta - I've been wondering about joining up, so this may be the push I need! It would be great to read some new Teesside writing :)

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Jul 25

This looks really interesting! I'm so pleased to see this as I carried out a funded research report into new Teesside writing in 2023-24 (with a playwriting focus) & recommended the development of a new writing infrastructure. Do you know where this magazine is available from? I'd love to read it 😊

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Reposted by Dr Louise Powell

womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · Jul 23

'The watcher' by Yorkshire born printmaker Hester Cox #WomensArt

Print featuring the upper half of a rabbit facing forwards head turned to the right among tall grasses in golden light under a yellow sun

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Jul 19

As a writer of a Northern dialect novel myself, I feel very fortunate that @newwritingnorth.bsky.social, my agent & other publishing professionals have made a safe creative space in which I can embrace this style, rather than repress it. That's the sort of support we need to see more of.

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Jul 19

"The decision to use a Northern dialect could mean the work itself is then subject to the stereotypes about Northerners being inferior, uncultured & uneducated": a powerful article from @jenbowden12.bsky.social on barriers which Northern writers (particularly dialect writers) face within publishing.

Jen Bowden @jenbowden12.bsky.social · Jul 18

My first journal article 'Publishing the North: Bias, Diversity and the North–South Divide in the UK Book Industry' out now in Publishing Research Quarterly.

It's open access, anyone can read it, and I think if you work in the UK book industry you really should.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Publishing the North: Bias, Diversity and the North–South Divide in the UK Book Industry - Publishing Research Quarterly

This article explores the place of writers and writing from Northern England in the contemporary UK book industry by highlighting the biases faced by these writers and the subsequent challenges of und...

link.springer.com

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Jul 19

Congratulations on the publication, Jen, & thank you very much for researching, writing & sharing what's an incredibly important piece of work. It's deeply frustrating to see those stereotypes & assumptions about Northern writers & dialect fiction persist & I hope your article causes a rethink.

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Jul 17

Thank you, Marie. The link worked for me & I'm looking forward to the zine!

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Reposted by Dr Louise Powell

Lizzie Lovejoy @lizzielovejoy.bsky.social · Jul 16

One week to go until GOBBY LASS at Durham Fringe! If you like spoken word and stand-up poetry, come along durhamfringe.co.uk/events/gobby...

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · Jul 16

I'm excited for this zine! Looking forward to my order when it arrives. Is a Transporter zine still available? I see that you mentioned a small number of them below. I was passing by there the other day & thinking about your work - would love to order a copy if there are any still available.

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Reposted by Dr Louise Powell

Emma Purshouse @emmapurshouse.bsky.social · Jul 14

Willenhall Writers have undertaken a commission as part of Creative Black Country’s Creative Communities project.

www.youtube.com/@WillenhallWritersGroup

Stop by and have a look. You’ll find poems, stories, memoir, glorious pictures of Willenhall, and even a song!

Happy Black Country Day!

Willenhall Writers' Group

www.youtube.com

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