Sarah Jane Butler
@sarahjanebutler.bsky.social
Writer and ditch-poker. First novel, Starling, published by @FairlightBooks 2022. Next book, The Many Lives of Rivers, due 2027. Agent Julia Silk/Greyhound. she/her; pwME https://linktr.ee/sarahjanebutler
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
"The Hamoun wetland, straddling the Iran-Afghan border on the Helmand River, once covered some 1,500 square miles and was home to abundant wildlife, including a population of leopards. Now it is mostly lifeless salt flats."
e360.yale.edu/features/ira...
e360.yale.edu/features/ira...
After Ruining a Treasured Water Resource, Iran Is Drying Up
Iran is looking to relocate the nation’s capital because of severe water shortages that make Tehran unsustainable. Experts say the crisis was caused by years of ill-conceived dam projects and overpump...
e360.yale.edu
December 18, 2025 at 4:13 PM
"The Hamoun wetland, straddling the Iran-Afghan border on the Helmand River, once covered some 1,500 square miles and was home to abundant wildlife, including a population of leopards. Now it is mostly lifeless salt flats."
e360.yale.edu/features/ira...
e360.yale.edu/features/ira...
My most reliable source of suggest of joy here brings us TWO owl pellets today ...
In other owl news, thank you @adamcsharp.bsky.social for alerting me to the fact that a popular phrase in Punjabi, meaning "mind your own business", is "keep your own owl straight".
Almost certainly the best thing I was ever told about owls was when I met an owl handler at an owl sanctuary and he told me that the wild owls who lived near the sanctuary worried about the tame show owls there and sometimes stopped by to leave them shrews and mice as presents.
December 18, 2025 at 11:02 AM
My most reliable source of suggest of joy here brings us TWO owl pellets today ...
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
I'd like to chat to one or two people, ideally women (I've already talked to a load of men) who've got into the Merlin app for identifying birdsong this year. For a nice positive story. Please drop me a line, thank you!
December 17, 2025 at 9:14 AM
I'd like to chat to one or two people, ideally women (I've already talked to a load of men) who've got into the Merlin app for identifying birdsong this year. For a nice positive story. Please drop me a line, thank you!
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
Really Sir Keir? "Watering down" protections against torture and inhumane treatment?
On #HumanRightsDay?
On #HumanRightsDay?
December 10, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Really Sir Keir? "Watering down" protections against torture and inhumane treatment?
On #HumanRightsDay?
On #HumanRightsDay?
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
There have NEVER been ‘unrestricted’ taxis for asylum seekers. Travel to medical appointments has ALWAYS required Home Office approval.
Many of the people we support miss urgent care because they can't get there. UK Gov must stop scapegoating people for its poor management ➡️ tinyurl.com/fzsk3aen
Many of the people we support miss urgent care because they can't get there. UK Gov must stop scapegoating people for its poor management ➡️ tinyurl.com/fzsk3aen
December 3, 2025 at 11:46 AM
There have NEVER been ‘unrestricted’ taxis for asylum seekers. Travel to medical appointments has ALWAYS required Home Office approval.
Many of the people we support miss urgent care because they can't get there. UK Gov must stop scapegoating people for its poor management ➡️ tinyurl.com/fzsk3aen
Many of the people we support miss urgent care because they can't get there. UK Gov must stop scapegoating people for its poor management ➡️ tinyurl.com/fzsk3aen
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 8: Black Bear Cub
Painted by Japanese artist Mori Shūhō, this small bear looks directly out at the viewer while it sits uneasily on a ledge amid the snowflakes. Shūhō was a member of the Mori School of artists who specialised in lifelike depictions of animals.
🐻 EA1964.95.F
Painted by Japanese artist Mori Shūhō, this small bear looks directly out at the viewer while it sits uneasily on a ledge amid the snowflakes. Shūhō was a member of the Mori School of artists who specialised in lifelike depictions of animals.
🐻 EA1964.95.F
December 8, 2025 at 8:01 AM
#AshmoleanAdvent Day 8: Black Bear Cub
Painted by Japanese artist Mori Shūhō, this small bear looks directly out at the viewer while it sits uneasily on a ledge amid the snowflakes. Shūhō was a member of the Mori School of artists who specialised in lifelike depictions of animals.
🐻 EA1964.95.F
Painted by Japanese artist Mori Shūhō, this small bear looks directly out at the viewer while it sits uneasily on a ledge amid the snowflakes. Shūhō was a member of the Mori School of artists who specialised in lifelike depictions of animals.
🐻 EA1964.95.F
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
Crypto investor Christopher Harborne, who has just donated £9 million to Reform, is also an aviation fuel entrepreneur.
In other news Reform, which has pledged to scrap all Net Zero plans, just declared a £36,000 donation from Heathrow
bylinetimes.com/2025/12/04/c...
In other news Reform, which has pledged to scrap all Net Zero plans, just declared a £36,000 donation from Heathrow
bylinetimes.com/2025/12/04/c...
Crypto Investor Donates £9 Million to Reform UK as Nigel Farage Plugs His Company and Tells Industry 'I Am Your Champion'
The Reform leader recently used media interviews to back Christopher Harborne's company while promising to cut taxes and regulations on crypto firms
bylinetimes.com
December 4, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Crypto investor Christopher Harborne, who has just donated £9 million to Reform, is also an aviation fuel entrepreneur.
In other news Reform, which has pledged to scrap all Net Zero plans, just declared a £36,000 donation from Heathrow
bylinetimes.com/2025/12/04/c...
In other news Reform, which has pledged to scrap all Net Zero plans, just declared a £36,000 donation from Heathrow
bylinetimes.com/2025/12/04/c...
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
Not religious at all, but I want to congratulate this #Massachusetts Parish for their nativity display this year. This is how to resist fascism. Courage in the face of cowardice. A true stand against injustice. Perfect response to "What Would Jesus Do?" based on all I ever learned about that guy.
hell yeah church in Massachusetts
www.wpri.com/new-england/...
www.wpri.com/new-england/...
December 4, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Not religious at all, but I want to congratulate this #Massachusetts Parish for their nativity display this year. This is how to resist fascism. Courage in the face of cowardice. A true stand against injustice. Perfect response to "What Would Jesus Do?" based on all I ever learned about that guy.
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
1/3 **MAYORAL ELECTIONS DELAYED TIL 2028!**
Labour: incompetent, scared & zero regard for democracy. The devolution agenda they sprung on us a year ago is in utter chaos, they are terrified of their plummeting in the polls, and - most importantly...
Labour: incompetent, scared & zero regard for democracy. The devolution agenda they sprung on us a year ago is in utter chaos, they are terrified of their plummeting in the polls, and - most importantly...
December 4, 2025 at 10:40 AM
1/3 **MAYORAL ELECTIONS DELAYED TIL 2028!**
Labour: incompetent, scared & zero regard for democracy. The devolution agenda they sprung on us a year ago is in utter chaos, they are terrified of their plummeting in the polls, and - most importantly...
Labour: incompetent, scared & zero regard for democracy. The devolution agenda they sprung on us a year ago is in utter chaos, they are terrified of their plummeting in the polls, and - most importantly...
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
The "100 Notable Small Press Books of 2025" list is out today on LitHub! I read creative nonfiction for this project and will share my reviews in this thread - but you should really check out the entire list, so much goodness. lithub.com/100-notable-...
100 Notable Small Press Books of 2025
The idea of 100 Notable Small Press Books was born November 2024, after The New York Times’s annual 100 Notable Books list featured eighty-two books from the Big Five publishing houses (Pengu…
lithub.com
December 1, 2025 at 7:12 PM
The "100 Notable Small Press Books of 2025" list is out today on LitHub! I read creative nonfiction for this project and will share my reviews in this thread - but you should really check out the entire list, so much goodness. lithub.com/100-notable-...
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
MISSING: Closing tax loopholes for private jets, taxing airplane fuel, a frequent flyer levy.
Why does the Chancellor have such a blind spot for anything that might tackle the excesses of the aviation industry? #Budget
Why does the Chancellor have such a blind spot for anything that might tackle the excesses of the aviation industry? #Budget
November 26, 2025 at 1:40 PM
MISSING: Closing tax loopholes for private jets, taxing airplane fuel, a frequent flyer levy.
Why does the Chancellor have such a blind spot for anything that might tackle the excesses of the aviation industry? #Budget
Why does the Chancellor have such a blind spot for anything that might tackle the excesses of the aviation industry? #Budget
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
“We are ramping up sanctions on Russia,” she said. “We are freezing known Russian assets.” Then the punchline: “But let me be clear, I don’t actually mean the right honourable member for Clacton!”
Nice.
Nice.
The Commons isn’t usually the place for sharp comedy, but today’s Budget delivered a moment that made even the frontbench blink.
Let’s just say Russia came up… and Farage was the punchline. 🔥
Let’s just say Russia came up… and Farage was the punchline. 🔥
Reeves aims a searing ‘Russian assets’ gibe at Farage
Rachel Reeves used her Budget speech to jab at Nigel Farage, invoking Russia amid renewed security concerns
eastangliabylines.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 6:34 PM
“We are ramping up sanctions on Russia,” she said. “We are freezing known Russian assets.” Then the punchline: “But let me be clear, I don’t actually mean the right honourable member for Clacton!”
Nice.
Nice.
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
“I’m not a serious thinker. I’m a writer: that’s very different. I think a writer’s intelligence has to be alive, has to be incomplete. It has to carry contradiction. It has to be sort of haphazard and amateur.”
- Benjamín Labatut
- Benjamín Labatut
November 23, 2025 at 10:02 PM
“I’m not a serious thinker. I’m a writer: that’s very different. I think a writer’s intelligence has to be alive, has to be incomplete. It has to carry contradiction. It has to be sort of haphazard and amateur.”
- Benjamín Labatut
- Benjamín Labatut
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
wrote an article for @thebookseller.com outlining to the industry why small presses are the lifeforce & future of book production. Pls share esp w people who may not know what small press publishers do!
www.thebookseller.com/comment/dont...
www.thebookseller.com/comment/dont...
Don’t invest in AI, invest in the future of the book
Why the publishing industry must back small presses, rather than LLMs.
www.thebookseller.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:48 AM
wrote an article for @thebookseller.com outlining to the industry why small presses are the lifeforce & future of book production. Pls share esp w people who may not know what small press publishers do!
www.thebookseller.com/comment/dont...
www.thebookseller.com/comment/dont...
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
TONIGHT at Manchester Poetry Library & ONLINE.
Celebrating Jean Sprackland's new book, Night Vision.
Celebrating Jean Sprackland's new book, Night Vision.
We're very excited for the book launch of Jean Sprackland's new book, Night Vision, this week at Manchester Poetry Library.
Online and in-person tickets.
#BookSky #NightSky #Darkness
www.mmu.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
Online and in-person tickets.
#BookSky #NightSky #Darkness
www.mmu.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
Night Vision: Book Launch with Karen Solie and Jean Sprackland, 20 Nov 2025
Reading, Manchester Poetry Library
www.mmu.ac.uk
November 20, 2025 at 10:24 AM
TONIGHT at Manchester Poetry Library & ONLINE.
Celebrating Jean Sprackland's new book, Night Vision.
Celebrating Jean Sprackland's new book, Night Vision.
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
This is a really nice font to have. In addition to being readable it hits that attractive-yet-unobtrusive sweet spot, and it’s TOTALLY FREE
periodic reminder of the existence of Atkinson Hyperlegible, a free font available from the Braille Institute designed to improve readability for people with low vision
I use it in talks because it's pretty and also because, as an audience member, I am perpetually squinting at people's slides
I use it in talks because it's pretty and also because, as an audience member, I am perpetually squinting at people's slides
Atkinson Hyperlegible Font - Braille Institute
Read easier with Atkinson Hyperlegible Font, crafted for low-vision readers. Download for free and enjoy clear letters and numbers on your computer!
www.brailleinstitute.org
November 17, 2025 at 12:54 PM
This is a really nice font to have. In addition to being readable it hits that attractive-yet-unobtrusive sweet spot, and it’s TOTALLY FREE
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
Illegal immigration is not tearing Britain apart. A media-driven obsession with illegal immigration is tearing Britain apart.
November 16, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Illegal immigration is not tearing Britain apart. A media-driven obsession with illegal immigration is tearing Britain apart.
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
This is the logical consequence of Labour’s appeasement of the far right - this is an arms race Labour should never seek to win
Not everyone is unhappy about the Government's descent into anti-refugee politics
November 16, 2025 at 10:27 AM
This is the logical consequence of Labour’s appeasement of the far right - this is an arms race Labour should never seek to win
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
There is no difference in practice between removing rights of individuals and leaving the ECHR. The end outcome is still the same, people lose rights. If human rights are an obstacle to your policy it is not the rights which are the issue, it is your policy. Labour going full Reform at this stage.
November 16, 2025 at 10:00 AM
There is no difference in practice between removing rights of individuals and leaving the ECHR. The end outcome is still the same, people lose rights. If human rights are an obstacle to your policy it is not the rights which are the issue, it is your policy. Labour going full Reform at this stage.
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
"the fossil fuel industry has been lobbying the climate negotiations for 30 years now"
~ a flotilla of Indigenous people travels 3000km to ensure their voices are also heard at COP30. See the full story at:
youtube.com/shorts/RAJRO...
~ a flotilla of Indigenous people travels 3000km to ensure their voices are also heard at COP30. See the full story at:
youtube.com/shorts/RAJRO...
November 12, 2025 at 5:39 PM
"the fossil fuel industry has been lobbying the climate negotiations for 30 years now"
~ a flotilla of Indigenous people travels 3000km to ensure their voices are also heard at COP30. See the full story at:
youtube.com/shorts/RAJRO...
~ a flotilla of Indigenous people travels 3000km to ensure their voices are also heard at COP30. See the full story at:
youtube.com/shorts/RAJRO...
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
Love being reminded to do this every year. It's a win/win all round
November 11, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Love being reminded to do this every year. It's a win/win all round
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
If you live in an English town your sewage will likely be treated twice before being discharged into a river. If you live in a small village it may only be treated once. Neither is enough to destroy all the meds + pathogens in sewage. In Switzerland, they treat water 3x to destroy meds + pathogens🧵
⚠️💧 A new study by the University of Exeter found that when common non-antibiotic drugs like painkillers mix with antibiotics in our waterways, they help bacteria become antibiotic-resistant.
This aligns with findings from our Autumn #GreatUKWaterBlitz. 🔗 https://earthwatch.pulse.ly/cpuuoj9fg5
This aligns with findings from our Autumn #GreatUKWaterBlitz. 🔗 https://earthwatch.pulse.ly/cpuuoj9fg5
November 10, 2025 at 4:46 PM
If you live in an English town your sewage will likely be treated twice before being discharged into a river. If you live in a small village it may only be treated once. Neither is enough to destroy all the meds + pathogens in sewage. In Switzerland, they treat water 3x to destroy meds + pathogens🧵
Reposted by Sarah Jane Butler
yes the question is not "are the BBC perfect?"
(obviously not, sometimes they are awful)
it's "if we let them fall, will we like what comes next to fill the vacuum they leave?"
(no. no one on Bluesky will like it unless they are purely on here to hate-read.)
(obviously not, sometimes they are awful)
it's "if we let them fall, will we like what comes next to fill the vacuum they leave?"
(no. no one on Bluesky will like it unless they are purely on here to hate-read.)
BBC needs to be protected. While they certainly have leanings towards bias on many issues (imo) & can be infuriating, alternative is a media controlled by ratings driving advertising revenue & drowning in bad actors w/ personal agendas - the poison will spread through UK media landscape as a whole
November 10, 2025 at 12:07 PM
yes the question is not "are the BBC perfect?"
(obviously not, sometimes they are awful)
it's "if we let them fall, will we like what comes next to fill the vacuum they leave?"
(no. no one on Bluesky will like it unless they are purely on here to hate-read.)
(obviously not, sometimes they are awful)
it's "if we let them fall, will we like what comes next to fill the vacuum they leave?"
(no. no one on Bluesky will like it unless they are purely on here to hate-read.)