Sam Missingham
@samatlounge.bsky.social
Publishing commentator. Founder of Meet The Booktokers, As Seen On Booktok, and The Empowered Author. Trying to disrupt book publishing for 15+ years. Not easy.
Pinned
Sam Missingham
@samatlounge.bsky.social
· Dec 22
The largest, most technologically advanced companies in the world NEED quality content to feed their machines. They have also explicitly said they'd like to crush IP laws.
And, given what I've just said about Amazon.
Do you think big 5 publishers are going to come out on top?
And, given what I've just said about Amazon.
Do you think big 5 publishers are going to come out on top?
Very much my pov, but I have long applied the aggressive blocking strategy on social media. Preemptive blocking. It is the only way I can keep something resembling decent mental health and engage here. I refuse to hate-follow anyone.
February 7, 2026 at 12:12 PM
Very much my pov, but I have long applied the aggressive blocking strategy on social media. Preemptive blocking. It is the only way I can keep something resembling decent mental health and engage here. I refuse to hate-follow anyone.
The media (The Times) is already trying to reframe Mandleson’s image. Now, let’s think for more than a nanosecond why would they want to do that?
February 7, 2026 at 11:14 AM
The media (The Times) is already trying to reframe Mandleson’s image. Now, let’s think for more than a nanosecond why would they want to do that?
Yes, and fuck me it’s going to be ludicrously hard to dismantle. Especially when so many people choose self interest over our collective interests.
The “empire” was never about land or countries and never went away. It was always, & remains, about privileged rich white men controlling those they see as inferior and non-human.
What is being exposed is that the entire western “democracy” is designed to protect this system and keep us colonised.
What is being exposed is that the entire western “democracy” is designed to protect this system and keep us colonised.
February 7, 2026 at 10:17 AM
Yes, and fuck me it’s going to be ludicrously hard to dismantle. Especially when so many people choose self interest over our collective interests.
Hard to find words to describe T posting that hideously racist video. He wants to embolden the worst traits in people, enrage others and pit us all against each other, doesn’t he?
February 6, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Hard to find words to describe T posting that hideously racist video. He wants to embolden the worst traits in people, enrage others and pit us all against each other, doesn’t he?
Idea: don’t reflect on your life at 55 and come to the conclusion you’ve amounted to nothing. How’s your day going?
February 5, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Idea: don’t reflect on your life at 55 and come to the conclusion you’ve amounted to nothing. How’s your day going?
Bezos shutters his books coverage. Need I go on?
the Washington Post effectively blew up its arts section today, dismissing its books, TV, music, and theater critics, features writers, and several editors. (I'm also guessing the vacant film critic position will stay that way.) Just an insane loss of talent and a huge self-inflicted wound.
February 4, 2026 at 11:06 PM
Bezos shutters his books coverage. Need I go on?
Reposted by Sam Missingham
‘No one can say with certainty if, or when, the bubble will burst. If it does, it will be a financial market trauma, but from the viewpoint of the planet it might be better sooner rather than later.’
Donald MacKenzie on AI’s scale.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Donald MacKenzie on AI’s scale.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Donald MacKenzie · AI’s Scale
AI’s scale doesn’t matter just to specialists. The rest of us are being taken on a ride along the logarithmic curve...
www.lrb.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 5:50 PM
‘No one can say with certainty if, or when, the bubble will burst. If it does, it will be a financial market trauma, but from the viewpoint of the planet it might be better sooner rather than later.’
Donald MacKenzie on AI’s scale.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Donald MacKenzie on AI’s scale.
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
And many are happy to see one atrocity and ignore another.
In my latest essay in LitHub, I wrote about the west's deliberate break from reality, from Gaza City to Minneapolis lithub.com/from-gaza-to...
From Gaza to Minneapolis We Are Still Being Told to Disbelieve Our Eyes
Living outside of the United States, my social media feed from back home over the last three weeks has felt like it is primarily composed of highly analyzed snuff films. These analyses have been ne…
lithub.com
February 4, 2026 at 6:03 PM
And many are happy to see one atrocity and ignore another.
Insane. Should also end the use of woke as a pejorative, as we can now see who created this nonsense, and why.
My favorite genre of Epstein emails are powerful people emailing WITH JEFFREY EPSTEIN about how MeToo has gone too far and the woke mob must be stopped.
February 4, 2026 at 7:22 AM
Insane. Should also end the use of woke as a pejorative, as we can now see who created this nonsense, and why.
Reposted by Sam Missingham
New fuck/marry/kill list just dropped
February 4, 2026 at 6:05 AM
New fuck/marry/kill list just dropped
Reposted by Sam Missingham
FIRED? Who gives a fuck about “fired”?!? How about “send them to jail for life”? And I mean ALL of ‘em.
February 3, 2026 at 2:31 AM
FIRED? Who gives a fuck about “fired”?!? How about “send them to jail for life”? And I mean ALL of ‘em.
Seriously, they stayed in Earl’s Court while all the building work was happening and THEN decide to move? Sounds very, very publishing.
Trade-fair halls are blank canvasses and LBF at Excel can be more ambitious, more world-class and what we want it to be, truly showcasing our industry, says Kate Nash in our recent Comment piece 👇 #BookSky
London Book Fair at Excel is the right move
ebx.sh
February 3, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Seriously, they stayed in Earl’s Court while all the building work was happening and THEN decide to move? Sounds very, very publishing.
Is there any comfort in finding out every person that you thought was a wrong un is indeed a very, very wrong un? No, not really.
February 3, 2026 at 1:41 PM
Is there any comfort in finding out every person that you thought was a wrong un is indeed a very, very wrong un? No, not really.
Exactly
The move of a very arrogant, entitled man. 🤢
February 3, 2026 at 10:14 AM
Exactly
Close to finishing a new novel, you say? Suddenly appearing in the media, you say? The victim of a smear campaign, you say?
Neil Gaiman claims sexual assault allegations are result of ‘smear campaign’ www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...
Neil Gaiman claims sexual assault allegations are result of ‘smear campaign’ www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...
Neil Gaiman claims sexual assault allegations are result of ‘smear campaign’
Author says accusations ‘spread and amplified’ by people more interested in ‘outrage and getting clicks’
www.theguardian.com
February 3, 2026 at 10:07 AM
Close to finishing a new novel, you say? Suddenly appearing in the media, you say? The victim of a smear campaign, you say?
Neil Gaiman claims sexual assault allegations are result of ‘smear campaign’ www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...
Neil Gaiman claims sexual assault allegations are result of ‘smear campaign’ www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...
I mean, I haven’t accidentally given tickets to a convicted child rapist, have you?
a man is making a funny face while standing in front of a tree .
ALT: a man is making a funny face while standing in front of a tree .
media.tenor.com
February 3, 2026 at 9:12 AM
I mean, I haven’t accidentally given tickets to a convicted child rapist, have you?
There’s always someone who’ll defend her
Not sure that she actually sat down and sent out invites herself 🤷🏻♀️
February 3, 2026 at 9:01 AM
There’s always someone who’ll defend her
Shocking that someone who fights so passionately for the safety of women and girls would do such a thing. Shocking, I tell you.
Bet the TERFs are going to be very vocal about this indeed.
Bet the TERFs are going to be very vocal about this indeed.
JK Rowling's team invited Jeffery Epstein to the deathly hallows play and to a Harry potter dinner.
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
www.justice.gov
February 3, 2026 at 8:39 AM
Shocking that someone who fights so passionately for the safety of women and girls would do such a thing. Shocking, I tell you.
Bet the TERFs are going to be very vocal about this indeed.
Bet the TERFs are going to be very vocal about this indeed.
Hear me out - we put pedophiles and rapists in prison.
February 2, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Hear me out - we put pedophiles and rapists in prison.
Reposted by Sam Missingham
Fist bump to anyone else caught between the need to bow down & accept the dire, broken reality of the attention economy to continue surviving via their creativity & a desire to disconnect which becomes more vast, and more potentially vital to their sense of inner peace, with every year that passes.
February 1, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Fist bump to anyone else caught between the need to bow down & accept the dire, broken reality of the attention economy to continue surviving via their creativity & a desire to disconnect which becomes more vast, and more potentially vital to their sense of inner peace, with every year that passes.
Reposted by Sam Missingham
The Epstein emails should really end the debate over whether society should have billionaires. "Do you want there to be a class of people so powerful they can fuck your kids and no one will even try to do anything" seems like an easy sell if everyone in politics wasn't trying to get on their payroll
January 30, 2026 at 11:21 PM
The Epstein emails should really end the debate over whether society should have billionaires. "Do you want there to be a class of people so powerful they can fuck your kids and no one will even try to do anything" seems like an easy sell if everyone in politics wasn't trying to get on their payroll
Can barely cope with how rotten the world is right now. Is everyone struggling?
January 31, 2026 at 5:10 PM
Can barely cope with how rotten the world is right now. Is everyone struggling?
Reposted by Sam Missingham
Today, we’re striking.
January 30, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Today, we’re striking.
Reposted by Sam Missingham
Brave New World: Justice for creators in the age of GenAI
In our ongoing commitment to campaign for author rights and interests, we have joined forces with other creator-led organisations to co-launch a ground-breaking report showing the onset of a creative jobs crisis in the UK. buff.ly/wThFNtu
In our ongoing commitment to campaign for author rights and interests, we have joined forces with other creator-led organisations to co-launch a ground-breaking report showing the onset of a creative jobs crisis in the UK. buff.ly/wThFNtu
January 30, 2026 at 8:01 AM
Brave New World: Justice for creators in the age of GenAI
In our ongoing commitment to campaign for author rights and interests, we have joined forces with other creator-led organisations to co-launch a ground-breaking report showing the onset of a creative jobs crisis in the UK. buff.ly/wThFNtu
In our ongoing commitment to campaign for author rights and interests, we have joined forces with other creator-led organisations to co-launch a ground-breaking report showing the onset of a creative jobs crisis in the UK. buff.ly/wThFNtu