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Claire Mabey

@clairemabey.bsky.social

1.2K followers 540 following 370 posts

Writer. Founder of Verb Wellington. Books editor at The Spinoff. Sylvia Townsend Warner fan. Mum. Author of The Raven’s Eye Runaways, an MG adventure (2024) 🍃Substack at [email protected] | clairemabey.com

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Reposted by Claire Mabey

Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 13h

Goodnight.
🖼️ Maggie Vandewalle #31DaysofHalloween #Gothtober

Black cat with bat wings and stripy tail sat in tree under a full moon and night sky, painting.

Reposted by Claire Mabey

Wendy Parkins @wendmyway.bsky.social · 1d

‘You’ll laugh, you’ll cry…’: Wendy Parkins on the book everyone should read thespinoff.co.nz/books/08-10-...

‘You’ll laugh, you’ll cry…’: Wendy Parkins on the book everyone should read

Wendy Parkins, winner of best first book at the 2025 Ngaio Marsh Awards, on a must-read Victorian 'trauma novel'.

thespinoff.co.nz

Reposted by Claire Mabey

Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 2d

Les Chauves-Souris, Antonio de la Gandara,
c. 1895. 🦇 #Gothtober #31daysofhalloween

Bats in flight over grasses and flowers, painting.

Reposted by Claire Mabey

Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 5d

Goodnight.
Three Women and Three Wolves, Grasset, 1892. #Gothtober

Three ethereal, pale women are shown in the upper part of the image, seemingly fleeing or flying through a forest. The central figure has long, dark hair and a startled expression, while a second blonde-haired figure is visible to the left.
Below the women, three black wolves with glowing green eyes emerge from the trees. Ferns can be seen at the base of the trees.
The piece is a watercolor, pencil, and ink on paper

Reposted by Claire Mabey

The Spinoff @thespinoff.bsky.social · 6d

‘Crying out for advocacy’: impressions from NZ’s big library meet-up

‘Crying out for advocacy’: impressions from NZ’s big library meet-up

Insights about AI, school libraries and a robot called Romi....

thespinoff.co.nz

Reposted by Claire Mabey

The Spinoff @thespinoff.bsky.social · 7d

‘I consider myself a bastard clown’: Jo Randerson’s secret art power

‘I consider myself a bastard clown’: Jo Randerson’s secret art power

An argument for more clowning in our lives....

thespinoff.co.nz

Reposted by Claire Mabey

The Spinoff @thespinoff.bsky.social · 7d

An art history lesson in five artworks – selected by five experts

An art history lesson in five artworks – selected by five experts

A mini curriculum, if you will....

thespinoff.co.nz

Reposted by Claire Mabey

Rachael King @rachaelking70.bsky.social · 7d

I saw this video about Ireland’s artist basic income and did some of my own calculation. Not that I think art should have to return a profit in order to be valued, but if this is the language the powers that be understand, then it still stands up. www.instagram.com/reel/DPDkX8f...

Reposted by Claire Mabey

The Spinoff @thespinoff.bsky.social · 9d

‘Perfect, fully formed little morsels’: No Good by Sophie van Waardenberg, reviewed

‘Perfect, fully formed little morsels’: No Good by Sophie van Waardenberg, reviewed

'No Good is everything I hoped for.'...

thespinoff.co.nz

Reposted by Claire Mabey

The Spinoff @thespinoff.bsky.social · 12d

Who can write a novel today?

Who can write a novel today?

A deep-dive into what it takes to be a successful writer....

thespinoff.co.nz

Claire Mabey @clairemabey.bsky.social · 13d

I have started a new book and have written ten different openings - extremely in the way 🤣

Claire Mabey @clairemabey.bsky.social · 13d

I cannot wait to read this just FYI

Reposted by Claire Mabey

The Spinoff @thespinoff.bsky.social · 14d

‘Poverty in Aotearoa is not accidental’: How our systems deliberately keep people poor

‘Poverty in Aotearoa is not accidental’: How our systems deliberately keep people poor

All of this is avoidable – so how do we fix what's broken?...

thespinoff.co.nz

Reposted by Claire Mabey

Elizabeth Knox @elizabethknoxnz.bsky.social · 14d

Meanwhile

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

World’s oceans fail key health check as acidity crosses critical threshold for marine life

Scientists call for renewed global effort to curb fossil fuels as seven of nine planetary boundaries now transgressed

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Claire Mabey

The Spinoff @thespinoff.bsky.social · 15d

Geoffrey Palmer: ‘Democracy doesn’t get lost in a moment, it gets lost gradually’

Geoffrey Palmer: ‘Democracy doesn’t get lost in a moment, it gets lost gradually’

Instead of being filled with dread by all the signs pointing to the end of democracy as we know it, the former PM has taken the productive route: writing a book....

thespinoff.co.nz

Reposted by Claire Mabey

The Spinoff @thespinoff.bsky.social · 15d

‘An obvious god of nature writing’: Naomi Arnold on the authors that inspire her

‘An obvious god of nature writing’: Naomi Arnold on the authors that inspire her

'I appreciate the serendipity of a good book finding you at the right moment.'...

thespinoff.co.nz

Reposted by Claire Mabey

The Spinoff @thespinoff.bsky.social · 19d

We should all hope to live like Joy Cowley

We should all hope to live like Joy Cowley

The prolific New Zealand author might have found the secret to a happy life....

thespinoff.co.nz

Reposted by Claire Mabey

The Spinoff @thespinoff.bsky.social · 19d

What is ‘dark academia’ – and why is it having a moment?

What is ‘dark academia’ – and why is it having a moment?

Candlelit halls, leathery books and murder – the publishing phenomenon that is dark academia, explained....

thespinoff.co.nz

Reposted by Claire Mabey

The Spinoff @thespinoff.bsky.social · 19d

An ode to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

An ode to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

'If there was ever a child in need of a magic portal, I was that child.' Why the introduction to Narnia still holds so much appeal, 75 years on....

thespinoff.co.nz

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The Spinoff @thespinoff.bsky.social · 22d

The Unity Books children’s book review roundup for spring

The Unity Books children’s book review roundup for spring

Modern classics, fabulous witches and the stuff that stuff is made of....

thespinoff.co.nz

Reposted by Claire Mabey

The Spinoff @thespinoff.bsky.social · 22d

So where can art history take you?

So where can art history take you?

A bunch of art history classmates reunite to explain how the soon-to-be-scrapped subject has served them, two decades on....

thespinoff.co.nz

Reposted by Claire Mabey

Frog and Toad Bot @frogandtoadbot.bsky.social · 26d

Frog and Toad looked into a mirror.

“We look brave,” said Frog.

“Yes, but are we?” asked Toad.

Frog and Toad gaze at their own reflections in a mirror. Toad holds in his hands a book titled "Fairy Tales."

From "Dragons and Giants"
In *Frog and Toad Together*

Reposted by Claire Mabey

The Spinoff @thespinoff.bsky.social · 26d

Review: Elizabeth Knox’s Kings of This World is both dangerous and dreamy

Review: Elizabeth Knox’s Kings of This World is both dangerous and dreamy

'The brainy, evocative weirdness of The Absolute Book is still present as Knox returns to writing for young adults.'...

thespinoff.co.nz

Reposted by Claire Mabey

IIML @modernletters.bsky.social · 28d

Elizabeth Knox introducing her new book Kings of This World to an appreciative crowd in Wellington this evening

Reposted by Claire Mabey

jo @moerakijo.bsky.social · 29d

Love this from @clairemabey.bsky.social

Does reading make better people/people better?

A case for collective reading for compassion

open.substack.com