Monica Byrne
@monicabyrne13.bsky.social
Writer living in Ireland. AI-free. Buy THE ACTUAL STAR: https://www.monicabyrne.org/the-actual-star. Reps at CAA, DG&B, and Kaplan/Perrone. She/her.
monicabyrne.substack.com
patreon.com/monicabyrne
monicabyrne.substack.com
patreon.com/monicabyrne
Pinned
Monica Byrne
@monicabyrne13.bsky.social
· Oct 23
The Actual Star review: A masterpiece of imaginative world building
Monica Byrne's fantastic second novel follows three storylines in the past, present and future, all of which are linked by historical threads and religious ideas, says Michael Marshall
www.newscientist.com
"When a book is this ambitious, either it is a thumping success or it falls on its face. Happily, The Actual Star is a stone-cold masterpiece. It is one of the most moving novels I have read and surely a contender for major awards."
Welp. 😳
Welp. 😳
If I ever have a frustratingly stubborn attraction to someone, it’s usually because they have a skill set / body of experience I want to have. That was a useful lesson to learn. The attraction went away when I went out and learned / experienced the thing I was actually craving.
November 25, 2025 at 11:22 PM
If I ever have a frustratingly stubborn attraction to someone, it’s usually because they have a skill set / body of experience I want to have. That was a useful lesson to learn. The attraction went away when I went out and learned / experienced the thing I was actually craving.
Deep Space Nine S5E19: “Ties of Blood and Water.” Another episode seemingly written specifically to f*** me up 😢.
So good.
So good.
November 25, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Deep Space Nine S5E19: “Ties of Blood and Water.” Another episode seemingly written specifically to f*** me up 😢.
So good.
So good.
And now:
A dramatic reading of my one-star reviews.
A dramatic reading of my one-star reviews.
November 25, 2025 at 7:19 PM
And now:
A dramatic reading of my one-star reviews.
A dramatic reading of my one-star reviews.
Frustrations aside, I really love living here and hope I can find a way to stay. That’s all.
November 25, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Frustrations aside, I really love living here and hope I can find a way to stay. That’s all.
My first piece of performance art was a success. OR WAS IT!? Read my write-up to find out.....(it involved candy). www.patreon.com/posts/you-ma...
November 25, 2025 at 3:08 PM
My first piece of performance art was a success. OR WAS IT!? Read my write-up to find out.....(it involved candy). www.patreon.com/posts/you-ma...
Set design coming along for OHIO!. The second act occurs entirely in a labor camp recreation room. 🙃
November 25, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Set design coming along for OHIO!. The second act occurs entirely in a labor camp recreation room. 🙃
Reposted by Monica Byrne
One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.
November 24, 2025 at 6:19 PM
One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.
Reposted by Monica Byrne
“This isn’t the U.S.” —Ancient European Proverb (especially popular among countries engaged in ethno-religious conflict for centuries)
November 24, 2025 at 5:45 PM
“This isn’t the U.S.” —Ancient European Proverb (especially popular among countries engaged in ethno-religious conflict for centuries)
So the world is falling apart and we’re all just managing in different ways, huh
November 24, 2025 at 5:39 PM
So the world is falling apart and we’re all just managing in different ways, huh
Reposted by Monica Byrne
RIP Udo Kier, a true original
📽️
his one and only social media post:
📽️
his one and only social media post:
November 24, 2025 at 7:27 AM
RIP Udo Kier, a true original
📽️
his one and only social media post:
📽️
his one and only social media post:
Tonight’s movie: Jules et Jim (1962). Sprightly beginning, but unfortunately it got less and less interesting as it went on. There might have been some metaphor about interbellum Europe that I missed? But generally just seemed like the French equivalent of “b/tches be crazy amirite”
November 23, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Tonight’s movie: Jules et Jim (1962). Sprightly beginning, but unfortunately it got less and less interesting as it went on. There might have been some metaphor about interbellum Europe that I missed? But generally just seemed like the French equivalent of “b/tches be crazy amirite”
Sunday is for buying a rotisserie chicken and pinching off breast meat while leaning over the sink
November 23, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Sunday is for buying a rotisserie chicken and pinching off breast meat while leaning over the sink
Let the record show that I tried to find a Bible-themed Advent calendar. Alas; the Lindor heathens have bested the market.
November 23, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Let the record show that I tried to find a Bible-themed Advent calendar. Alas; the Lindor heathens have bested the market.
Reposted by Monica Byrne
I am really losing patience with Americans who treat their elected officials like celebrities they have to defend, instead of representatives they have to hold responsible. Grow the fuck up. Millions of lives are at stake.
November 23, 2025 at 10:55 AM
I am really losing patience with Americans who treat their elected officials like celebrities they have to defend, instead of representatives they have to hold responsible. Grow the fuck up. Millions of lives are at stake.
What is the term for those gross influencers who teach young men how to read/deceive/seduce women? It’s not incels, but it’s a neologism like that….
November 23, 2025 at 11:57 AM
What is the term for those gross influencers who teach young men how to read/deceive/seduce women? It’s not incels, but it’s a neologism like that….
Can Irish people give me any tips for getting out of a heated blanket situation into the freezing air each morning 😅
November 23, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Can Irish people give me any tips for getting out of a heated blanket situation into the freezing air each morning 😅
I love texting with a friend in Kuala Lumpur who is texting with another mutual friend in Melbourne, all of us at different stages of our day
I love having friends all over the world
I love having friends all over the world
November 23, 2025 at 9:21 AM
I love texting with a friend in Kuala Lumpur who is texting with another mutual friend in Melbourne, all of us at different stages of our day
I love having friends all over the world
I love having friends all over the world
I didn’t want to become a writer because I thought it would be too easy. Instead, I tried to become an astronaut
November 22, 2025 at 10:56 PM
I didn’t want to become a writer because I thought it would be too easy. Instead, I tried to become an astronaut
Tonight’s movie: The Faculty (1998), a touchstone I’ve never seen. I came for the bad fashion and pre-LotR Elijah Wood, but I also see it has….Jon Stewart, Selma Hayek, Famke Janssen, Robert Patrick, Jordana Brewster, AND MORE!? Watching this is like reading the April issue of Seventeen magazine 😂
November 22, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Tonight’s movie: The Faculty (1998), a touchstone I’ve never seen. I came for the bad fashion and pre-LotR Elijah Wood, but I also see it has….Jon Stewart, Selma Hayek, Famke Janssen, Robert Patrick, Jordana Brewster, AND MORE!? Watching this is like reading the April issue of Seventeen magazine 😂
Can anyone tell at a glance what font this is?
Trying to replicate it for my anti/fa theatre design.
Trying to replicate it for my anti/fa theatre design.
November 22, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Can anyone tell at a glance what font this is?
Trying to replicate it for my anti/fa theatre design.
Trying to replicate it for my anti/fa theatre design.
Reposted by Monica Byrne
Read the Actual Star by @monicabyrne13.bsky.social for a view of our nomadic future
November 22, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Read the Actual Star by @monicabyrne13.bsky.social for a view of our nomadic future
Reposted by Monica Byrne
I love it when everybody is talking about something horrifying but no sign of the source is on my feed, it's like using the gravity of unseen objects to make speculation about bodies in space
November 22, 2025 at 3:40 PM
I love it when everybody is talking about something horrifying but no sign of the source is on my feed, it's like using the gravity of unseen objects to make speculation about bodies in space
"Like the sections on Bobbie Gentry or any southern singer, I was told to take it out, that it was irrelevant.[...] The corporate world hates soul. As a result, it hates the south." -- @sarahkendzior.bsky.social
The Empty Stage
Johnny Cash, loss, and redemption
sarahkendzior.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:34 PM
"Like the sections on Bobbie Gentry or any southern singer, I was told to take it out, that it was irrelevant.[...] The corporate world hates soul. As a result, it hates the south." -- @sarahkendzior.bsky.social
Pa Kiang Noodles shop in Nimman. Bon appetit ;)
Um, so, I will be in Chiang Mai in a month and would love to know where to get the best khao soi. 🥺🙏
November 22, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Pa Kiang Noodles shop in Nimman. Bon appetit ;)
"I love the frame of the Alexander Technique because it reminds me to continually ask: how much of this effort is actually necessary for the task I am trying to accomplish?"
Another terrific piece from my friend Emily. Who's offering a webinar today (!).
Another terrific piece from my friend Emily. Who's offering a webinar today (!).
Trauma and Your Voice
My Webinar is on November 22 and You Need to Be There
emilykoriath.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:15 PM
"I love the frame of the Alexander Technique because it reminds me to continually ask: how much of this effort is actually necessary for the task I am trying to accomplish?"
Another terrific piece from my friend Emily. Who's offering a webinar today (!).
Another terrific piece from my friend Emily. Who's offering a webinar today (!).