Simon Spanton
@simonguy.bsky.social
"I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself."
Wandering. Wondering. Freelancing. Often acquiring and editing SFFH for Angry Robot Books. Live in Edinburgh. Views my own and independent of my employers. Photos my own unless otherwise etc.
Wandering. Wondering. Freelancing. Often acquiring and editing SFFH for Angry Robot Books. Live in Edinburgh. Views my own and independent of my employers. Photos my own unless otherwise etc.
Pinned
Simon Spanton
@simonguy.bsky.social
· Nov 26
"Out on the pale criss-crossed sand, high-stepping, fringed, gauntleted, stalked some fantastic leviathan..."
To The Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
To The Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
"But in a Miyazaki movie, the possibility that what we've seen is a dream, or dream-related, is not grounds for disappointment that it isn't real. It's confirmation of how real dreams are, and how expansive and deep their realms can be and feel."
February 5, 2026 at 7:37 PM
"But in a Miyazaki movie, the possibility that what we've seen is a dream, or dream-related, is not grounds for disappointment that it isn't real. It's confirmation of how real dreams are, and how expansive and deep their realms can be and feel."
What Will said.
If you review, blog, booktok or cover books in any way, now's the time to request your copy of "The Dead Man's Empire"! I can't wait for people to get their hands on this book.
A new epic fantasy by @willwiles.bsky.social?
Click if you'd like the chance to see if you agree...
"I haven't been as surprised and enthralled by a fantasy series in years."
Francis Spufford
"Fantasy is rarely as smart, immersive or scintillant."
Adam Roberts
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Click if you'd like the chance to see if you agree...
"I haven't been as surprised and enthralled by a fantasy series in years."
Francis Spufford
"Fantasy is rarely as smart, immersive or scintillant."
Adam Roberts
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
February 5, 2026 at 6:06 PM
What Will said.
Jeffrey Archer informed me that I could not possibly be correct when I told him that his new book was not the number one bestselling title in the bookshop I was working in.
One of my academic colleagues looks a bit like Bob Mortimer. One time near our labs I saw him walking towards me and I warmly said Hey Kevin. It was Bob Mortimer.
Please share your very low impact celebrity encounters here.
Please share your very low impact celebrity encounters here.
Fun low level anecdote: I once sat near Peter Mandelson in a theatre but I had a name blank and said rather too loudly ‘ooh look it’s Michael Portillo!’
He was visibly unamused.
He was visibly unamused.
February 5, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Jeffrey Archer informed me that I could not possibly be correct when I told him that his new book was not the number one bestselling title in the bookshop I was working in.
Mark Fisher linking Eno's Ambient 4 and "Oh Whistle, and I'll Come to You My Lad" FTW
February 5, 2026 at 2:25 PM
Mark Fisher linking Eno's Ambient 4 and "Oh Whistle, and I'll Come to You My Lad" FTW
Reposted by Simon Spanton
We are very sad to learn of the death of Dr Neil Philip, folklorist, writer, poet, & long-standing member of The Folklore Society.
Jack Zipes says: ‘He was one of the most kind and helpful people I ever knew. … He was a superb scholar and devoted to the study of folklore.’
Jack Zipes says: ‘He was one of the most kind and helpful people I ever knew. … He was a superb scholar and devoted to the study of folklore.’
February 4, 2026 at 10:08 PM
We are very sad to learn of the death of Dr Neil Philip, folklorist, writer, poet, & long-standing member of The Folklore Society.
Jack Zipes says: ‘He was one of the most kind and helpful people I ever knew. … He was a superb scholar and devoted to the study of folklore.’
Jack Zipes says: ‘He was one of the most kind and helpful people I ever knew. … He was a superb scholar and devoted to the study of folklore.’
Post of the week.
And very much here for heroic posties. Our dog ADORES ours and goes frantic with joy even if he spots him down the street.
We used to think it was just Ollie but apparently every single dog in the neighbourhood goes into similar fervent passionate throes.
What is Gary's secret?
And very much here for heroic posties. Our dog ADORES ours and goes frantic with joy even if he spots him down the street.
We used to think it was just Ollie but apparently every single dog in the neighbourhood goes into similar fervent passionate throes.
What is Gary's secret?
Postman EXPLODES through shop door (which also has a jingly old-school bell for full attack mode). “BILL! BILL! SPAM!” he chants as he hands me three envelopes, one at a time. EXPLODES out of shop. I love our postman (we have discussed his v operatic entrances and exits before)
two men are carrying a statue of a deer on a dolly
Alt: two men are carrying a statue of a deer on a dolly
media.tenor.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Post of the week.
And very much here for heroic posties. Our dog ADORES ours and goes frantic with joy even if he spots him down the street.
We used to think it was just Ollie but apparently every single dog in the neighbourhood goes into similar fervent passionate throes.
What is Gary's secret?
And very much here for heroic posties. Our dog ADORES ours and goes frantic with joy even if he spots him down the street.
We used to think it was just Ollie but apparently every single dog in the neighbourhood goes into similar fervent passionate throes.
What is Gary's secret?
Forty curlews busy on the school rugby pitch.
February 5, 2026 at 9:24 AM
Forty curlews busy on the school rugby pitch.
"Like many of those who give their lives in loyalty to a cause or banner, these people were also betrayed by their banner. The great Austrian myth of the servant faithful to his master teaches us that the servant is indeed faithful, but the lord is often faithless."
February 5, 2026 at 8:11 AM
"Like many of those who give their lives in loyalty to a cause or banner, these people were also betrayed by their banner. The great Austrian myth of the servant faithful to his master teaches us that the servant is indeed faithful, but the lord is often faithless."
Portalage alone.
A gate in the woods with no wall or fence either side of it is surely some mysterious portal. @simonguy.bsky.social ?
February 5, 2026 at 7:35 AM
Portalage alone.
"the act of ever-tightening categorisation is one that haunts and harms the genre and all who sail in it" @chloroformtea.bsky.social
PREACH
PREACH
I promised ducks, quacking: well! @chloroformtea.bsky.social (not a duck) provides Thursday's essay on knowing genre when you see it.
"We need a more expansive approach to any attempt at definition today. The genre can and plainly does sit alongside other genres which operate on different axes."
"We need a more expansive approach to any attempt at definition today. The genre can and plainly does sit alongside other genres which operate on different axes."
Quacking Like A Genre
What is SF? Idk, vibes.
strangehorizons.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:57 PM
"the act of ever-tightening categorisation is one that haunts and harms the genre and all who sail in it" @chloroformtea.bsky.social
PREACH
PREACH
Muddy spaniel in the curtains and all's well.
February 4, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Muddy spaniel in the curtains and all's well.
Cooking tea music.
February 4, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Cooking tea music.
Of all the covers on all the books I own this has the weirdest cover.
Plus it has a story called The Inspired Chicken Motel ("a motel straight out of revelations").
Plus it has a story called The Inspired Chicken Motel ("a motel straight out of revelations").
February 4, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Of all the covers on all the books I own this has the weirdest cover.
Plus it has a story called The Inspired Chicken Motel ("a motel straight out of revelations").
Plus it has a story called The Inspired Chicken Motel ("a motel straight out of revelations").
Black and white portalage.
When a dry stone wall inadvertently becomes a piece of art - Working Landscape - Lake District Observations
📷Pentax 17
🎞️Ilford HP5 developed with DDX
#believeinfilm #filmphotography
📷Pentax 17
🎞️Ilford HP5 developed with DDX
#believeinfilm #filmphotography
February 4, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Black and white portalage.
"Riddley Walkers ben to show
Riddley Walkers on the go
Dont go Riddley Walkers track
Drop Johns ryding on his back
Stil I wunt have no other track."
Happy birthday Russell Hoban.
Riddley Walkers on the go
Dont go Riddley Walkers track
Drop Johns ryding on his back
Stil I wunt have no other track."
Happy birthday Russell Hoban.
February 4, 2026 at 12:00 PM
"Riddley Walkers ben to show
Riddley Walkers on the go
Dont go Riddley Walkers track
Drop Johns ryding on his back
Stil I wunt have no other track."
Happy birthday Russell Hoban.
Riddley Walkers on the go
Dont go Riddley Walkers track
Drop Johns ryding on his back
Stil I wunt have no other track."
Happy birthday Russell Hoban.
Charles Keeping was a genius. A short thread of just some examples. All from Neil Philip's The Tale of Sir Gawain.
Illustrations by Charles Keeping for Neil Philip, THE TALE OF SIR GAWAIN (Philomel Books, 1987). Post 1 (of 3).
February 4, 2026 at 10:14 AM
Charles Keeping was a genius. A short thread of just some examples. All from Neil Philip's The Tale of Sir Gawain.
Reposted by Simon Spanton
A massive loss to the folklore, myth and literary community.
Although fascinated by & knowledgeable about a wide range of religions, Neil did not adhere to a particular one. His ingrained belief was that of William Blake: “The world of imagination is the world of eternity.”
V sorry to hear of the death of Neil Philip. The obit he prepared will follow #KidLit
V sorry to hear of the death of Neil Philip. The obit he prepared will follow #KidLit
February 3, 2026 at 8:37 PM
A massive loss to the folklore, myth and literary community.
A massive loss to the folklore, myth and literary community.
Although fascinated by & knowledgeable about a wide range of religions, Neil did not adhere to a particular one. His ingrained belief was that of William Blake: “The world of imagination is the world of eternity.”
V sorry to hear of the death of Neil Philip. The obit he prepared will follow #KidLit
V sorry to hear of the death of Neil Philip. The obit he prepared will follow #KidLit
February 3, 2026 at 8:37 PM
A massive loss to the folklore, myth and literary community.
Reposted by Simon Spanton
Neil was a kind soul with an endless passion for the power of folk tales and mythology. I was proud and thrilled to have helped his book of English Folktales back into print in a new edition with Watkins. So sad that he won't see the upcoming reissue of Scottish Folktales
What a legacy he leaves.
What a legacy he leaves.
Very sorry to say, Neil Philip has died. He has posted on X about his passions for folk story and traditional literature but more recently he posted about his illness.
His last book 'The Watkins Book of English Folktales' is excellent.
His last book 'The Watkins Book of English Folktales' is excellent.
February 3, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Neil was a kind soul with an endless passion for the power of folk tales and mythology. I was proud and thrilled to have helped his book of English Folktales back into print in a new edition with Watkins. So sad that he won't see the upcoming reissue of Scottish Folktales
What a legacy he leaves.
What a legacy he leaves.
"'It isn't fair,' she said. A stone hit her on the side of her head.
Old Man Warner was saying, 'Come on, come on, everyone.' Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves beside him.
'It isn't fair, it isn't right,' Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her."
Old Man Warner was saying, 'Come on, come on, everyone.' Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves beside him.
'It isn't fair, it isn't right,' Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her."
February 3, 2026 at 1:36 PM
"'It isn't fair,' she said. A stone hit her on the side of her head.
Old Man Warner was saying, 'Come on, come on, everyone.' Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves beside him.
'It isn't fair, it isn't right,' Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her."
Old Man Warner was saying, 'Come on, come on, everyone.' Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves beside him.
'It isn't fair, it isn't right,' Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her."
Quick brown fox darts away from the put out bins.
February 3, 2026 at 7:35 AM
Quick brown fox darts away from the put out bins.