Mary Novakovich
@marynovakovich.bsky.social
Travel writer, journalist, author of award-winning My Family and Other Enemies: Life and Travels in Croatia's Hinterland. Words in Guardian, Times, Telegraph, Independent, i, CNN Travel, etc.
Agent: https://cullandco.com/
https://linktr.ee/marynovakovich
Agent: https://cullandco.com/
https://linktr.ee/marynovakovich
Arrived in St Maarten yesterday after far too many hours in transit. Worth it for this view, though. And my first taste of the Caribbean.
November 29, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Arrived in St Maarten yesterday after far too many hours in transit. Worth it for this view, though. And my first taste of the Caribbean.
Here I am hiking in 3 Zinnen Dolomites in less than ideal weather. Although the mountains proved elusive, the food made up for it. (Loved the print edition's headline "Cloudy with a chance of dumplings".) @travwriters.bsky.social @mediacontactspr.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/...
www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/...
I’m hiking in the Dolomites, Italy’s magical mountains – if only I could see them!
Poor weather couldn’t spoil my high-altitude walking trip amid these stunning peaks, especially with delicious, hearty Tyrolean cuisine to keep me going
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Here I am hiking in 3 Zinnen Dolomites in less than ideal weather. Although the mountains proved elusive, the food made up for it. (Loved the print edition's headline "Cloudy with a chance of dumplings".) @travwriters.bsky.social @mediacontactspr.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/...
www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/...
👇👇👇
With everyone hating on Boris Johnson, can I just say that I've reviewed the forthcoming BBC drama about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and I'd forgotten how his laziness and carelessness arguably endangered her life in an Iranian prison and he still didn't apologise. The fucking rat.
November 23, 2025 at 10:05 AM
👇👇👇
My old #Strictly posse from the past couple of years seem to have gone quiet, but if anyone's left ... my word, what an incredible Charleston from Lewis Cope.
November 22, 2025 at 7:08 PM
My old #Strictly posse from the past couple of years seem to have gone quiet, but if anyone's left ... my word, what an incredible Charleston from Lewis Cope.
What a beautiful, heartbreaking tribute.
observer.co.uk/style/featur...
observer.co.uk/style/featur...
‘Her amazing smile was undimmed, and I would try anything to summon it’ | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 22, 2025 at 3:17 PM
What a beautiful, heartbreaking tribute.
observer.co.uk/style/featur...
observer.co.uk/style/featur...
Absolutely!
will admit i don't fully understand this but POETRY OUTFOXES AI is the best case for preserving English degrees i have ever heard. 'all the teenage girls who were really into Sylvia Plath at one point vs tech bros' is the battle for civilisation we deserve
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
November 21, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Absolutely!
Can’t believe I’ve never heard of these sisters until I read their obituary. Extraordinary story.
Alice and Ellen Kessler obituaries: twins inseparable on stage for 70 years
www.thetimes.com/article/dbcf...
Alice and Ellen Kessler obituaries: twins inseparable on stage for 70 years
www.thetimes.com/article/dbcf...
Alice and Ellen Kessler obituaries: twins inseparable on stage for 70 years
Identical German sisters whose singing and dancing brought them fame in Italy and America, as well as the unwanted attention of Elvis Presley
www.thetimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Can’t believe I’ve never heard of these sisters until I read their obituary. Extraordinary story.
Alice and Ellen Kessler obituaries: twins inseparable on stage for 70 years
www.thetimes.com/article/dbcf...
Alice and Ellen Kessler obituaries: twins inseparable on stage for 70 years
www.thetimes.com/article/dbcf...
Reposted by Mary Novakovich
FDR: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
JFK: Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country."
Trump: “Quiet, Piggy’
JFK: Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country."
Trump: “Quiet, Piggy’
November 18, 2025 at 5:16 PM
FDR: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
JFK: Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country."
Trump: “Quiet, Piggy’
JFK: Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country."
Trump: “Quiet, Piggy’
As if freelance travel journalists didn't have enough to worry about...
The Daily Express has offered journalists compensation after they claimed the publisher stole their work pressgazette.co.uk/news/express...
Express offers compensation after freelances say work was stolen
First person account of rail journey apparently rewritten using AI.
pressgazette.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 11:29 AM
As if freelance travel journalists didn't have enough to worry about...
@fliceverett.bsky.social Just spotted your new book in the latest issue of Saga magazine. Congrats!
November 17, 2025 at 5:28 PM
@fliceverett.bsky.social Just spotted your new book in the latest issue of Saga magazine. Congrats!
Reposted by Mary Novakovich
Imagine having a thumping majority in parliament and deciding to use it for something as squalid as this.
November 17, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Imagine having a thumping majority in parliament and deciding to use it for something as squalid as this.
This is such terrible news. What a loss.
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Remembering Rachel Cooke | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 7:43 PM
This is such terrible news. What a loss.
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Very sad to hear this.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...
Marina Lewycka, British-Ukrainian author, dies aged 79
The writer, who was born in a refugee camp in Germany after the war, won the Wodehouse prize for comic writing for her debut A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
www.theguardian.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Very sad to hear this.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/n...
Reposted by Mary Novakovich
Parisians this evening at Place de la République laying flowers and candles in memory of the victims of the November 13th attacks, 10 years ago
November 12, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Parisians this evening at Place de la République laying flowers and candles in memory of the victims of the November 13th attacks, 10 years ago
Superb.
NEW
The letter the BBC could send back to Trump
A proposal for a reply to his $1bn claim
By me. Enjoy.
emptycity.substack.com/p/the-letter...
The letter the BBC could send back to Trump
A proposal for a reply to his $1bn claim
By me. Enjoy.
emptycity.substack.com/p/the-letter...
The letter the BBC could send back to Trump
A proposal for a reply to his $1bn claim
emptycity.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Superb.
🤣🤣🤣
To all the doubters, AI is so close to being perfect
Look my iphone helpfully transcribed a voice message left by my French mechanic
Look my iphone helpfully transcribed a voice message left by my French mechanic
November 12, 2025 at 11:29 AM
🤣🤣🤣
Eight years ago, I wrote a news story for @theipaper.com about the last French soldier to die in the First World War, which I'm reminded of again this Armistice Day.
inews.co.uk/news/french-...
inews.co.uk/news/french-...
The French WWI soldier who died 15 minutes before peace
The morning fog was smothering the River Meuse near the village of Vrigne-Meuse, almost exactly as it had done 99 […]
inews.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Eight years ago, I wrote a news story for @theipaper.com about the last French soldier to die in the First World War, which I'm reminded of again this Armistice Day.
inews.co.uk/news/french-...
inews.co.uk/news/french-...
Reposted by Mary Novakovich
The CURRENT sitting MP for Clacton earns £511,000 as a presenter for GB News and took £281,000 as a brand ambassador for Direct Bullion.
So maybe sit this one out, you rancid herring.
So maybe sit this one out, you rancid herring.
November 10, 2025 at 5:44 PM
The CURRENT sitting MP for Clacton earns £511,000 as a presenter for GB News and took £281,000 as a brand ambassador for Direct Bullion.
So maybe sit this one out, you rancid herring.
So maybe sit this one out, you rancid herring.
Chris Mason talking about Robbie Gibb on the news and outlining his CV while neglecting to mention Gibb’s connection with GB News. Sterling work as usual, Mason.
November 10, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Chris Mason talking about Robbie Gibb on the news and outlining his CV while neglecting to mention Gibb’s connection with GB News. Sterling work as usual, Mason.
Reposted by Mary Novakovich
@theobserveruk.bsky.social points the finger👇
November 10, 2025 at 8:23 AM
@theobserveruk.bsky.social points the finger👇
Heart in mouth after latest episode of #RiotWomen. Bloody hell.
November 9, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Heart in mouth after latest episode of #RiotWomen. Bloody hell.
Reposted by Mary Novakovich
Speaking as a recently-retired BBC journalist who is still self-censoring his opinions on social media: Well.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...
BBC director general Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness resign over Trump documentary edit
Davie says
www.bbc.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Speaking as a recently-retired BBC journalist who is still self-censoring his opinions on social media: Well.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...
Fabulous.
Loving today's news that the mysterious "fedora man" outside the Louvre heist was actually a 15-year-old museum visitor who dresses like a 1940s French detective all the time, just because. apnews.com/article/louv...
Fedora man unmasked: Meet the teen behind the Louvre mystery photo
Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux has become an internet sensation after an Associated Press photo captured him outside the Louvre on the day of a crown jewels heist.
apnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Fabulous.
Reposted by Mary Novakovich
I’ve never seen an American elected official fight so hard to starve people.
November 8, 2025 at 12:23 AM
I’ve never seen an American elected official fight so hard to starve people.
Time for my monthly @the-independent.com round-up of holiday ideas, this time for December, including where to spend Christmas and New Year's Eve. @101holidays.bsky.social
www.independent.co.uk/travel/inspi...
www.independent.co.uk/travel/inspi...
The best holidays to book for December 2025
Winter is coming, and whether you fancy skiing in Austria, a beach escape in Goa or a walk in the North York Moors, we’ve something to inspire you
www.independent.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Time for my monthly @the-independent.com round-up of holiday ideas, this time for December, including where to spend Christmas and New Year's Eve. @101holidays.bsky.social
www.independent.co.uk/travel/inspi...
www.independent.co.uk/travel/inspi...