Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Seán Padraic Birnie

@seanbirnie.bsky.social

2.5K followers 1.7K following 2.7K posts

Writer: I Would Haunt You if I Could. Stories in Fictionable, Cōnfingō, Best British Short Stories, Interzone, Black Static, The Dark, ergot. seanbirnie.com undertowpublications.com/shop/i-would-haunt-you-if-i-could linktr.ee/seanbirnie

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · Jun 11

First post on the new blue app: the wonderful @undertow.bsky.social’s published I Would Haunt You if I Could, my debut collection of short stories, in 2021, and it’s available here, among an absolute treasure trove of other titles: https://undertowpublications.com/shop/i-would-haunt-you-if-i-could

I Would Haunt You if I Could — Undertow Publications

COVER ART: Jana Heidersdorf I would haunt you … The debut short story collection from Seán Padraic Birnie does indeed haunt. Sown with seeds of sorrow and grief, and imbued with disquieting bod...

undertowpublications.com

10 12 62

Reposted by Seán Padraic Birnie

@Galleybeggars @galleybeggars.bsky.social · 5h

"What is at stake if we cannot continue?"

Simultaneously very happy and crestfallen to be part of this Open Letter (written to the industry, as well as readers, writers, and - well - everyone who cares).

Please read, and share:

www.thebookseller.com/comment/open...

Open letter on the future of small press publishing in the UK

The industry must work together to ensure the longevity of the UK’s independent presses.

www.thebookseller.com

6 7

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 4h

Need new glasses

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 4h

For a moment there I legitimately thought Bill Bailey had won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

2 4

Reposted by Seán Padraic Birnie

Undertow Publications 🇨🇦 @undertow.bsky.social · 4h

Just got an email telling me it's the last day for 'prime deals.' Fug that crap. Want a real deal? Check out our selection of $2 eBooks for October. Any sale helps keep our indie spirit going. Thank you!

undertowpublications.com/ebooks

1 37 46

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 1d

go shawty

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 1d

argh such a pain in the arse. I hope today's a good day!

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks. v weirdly it coincided with a phase of really bad joint pain and fatigue, but while that's gotten better the cold has just proceeded. At least it's making me rest a lot. I hope your symptoms are currently manageable?

1 1

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 1d

deactivating my account again out of embarrassment

1 1

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 1d

I have a cold and my brain is mush and I didn't even see that. Christ.

2 1

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 1d

!!!!!!!!!!

1 1

Reposted by Seán Padraic Birnie

Paul Duane 🥔 @paulduane.bsky.social · Apr 15

The key paragraph from @naomiaklein.bsky.social & @astra.bsky.social's powerful piece describing the urgency of our present moment. They are right, and we better move quickly.

To move forward with focus, we must first understand this simple fact: we are up against an ideology that has given up not only on the premise and promise of liberal democracy but on the livability of our shared world – on its beauty, on its people, on our children, on other species. The forces we are up against have made peace with mass death. They are treasonous to this world and its human and non-human inhabitants.

4 71 180

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 1d

I'm not sure how long it's been up. Maybe the approx. 3 people who have read it just assumed it was some daft cutesy abbreviation I use?

Not as bad as the cover letter that began 'Dear Mr Editors'

1 1

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 1d

Typo on my site bio: “In 2021, my debut collection of shorties, I Would Haunt You if I Could, was published by Undertow Publications in 2021.” I hope I haven't been sending that to publishers.

3 1 16

Reposted by Seán Padraic Birnie

The Stinging Fly @stingingfly.bsky.social · 1d

Join our meet and greet session on Thursday October 30th to share your experiences as a writer with a disability, as we devise a range of targeted supports for disabled writers.

Please contact Declan Meade by Wednesday October 22nd

We’d love to hear from you.

stingingfly.org/news/a-call-...

11 10

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 2d

Very relatable!

Reposted by Seán Padraic Birnie

George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 2d

ME/CFS is a devastating condition that has long been denied, dismissed, psychologised and underdiagnosed. Research is at last starting to catch up with it, with glimmers of hope for those who have been left untreated for so long.
There's a huge BUT coming ...🧵
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Scientists develop first ‘accurate blood test’ to detect chronic fatigue syndrome

Research could offer hope for ME patients – but some experts urge caution and say more studies needed

www.theguardian.com

58 630 1.5K

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 3d

Sorry brain slow with the lurgy today, silly assumption of mine.

1 1

Reposted by Seán Padraic Birnie

Verso Books @versobooks.bsky.social · 3d

Books on the history of Palestine, including our free ebook From the River to the Sea, and our new releases Gaza: The Story of a Genocide, The Idea of Israel by Ilan Pappe, and Men in the Sun by Ghassan Kanafani

Gaza: Books on Solidarity, Resistance, and Hope

Books on the history of settler violence, global resistance, and Palestinian art and identity including Gaza: The Story of a Genocide.

www.versobooks.com

16 31

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 3d

if you work with AI in your job, you're known as a 'sloperator'.

3 20

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 3d

Was that for a DYCP application? I've been thinking about applying again but it's so much work and I probably lack the capacity to do it again

1 1

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 3d

Someone should train an LLM on it, might actually be worth something!

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 3d

Writing a synopsis for a collection pitch, a style of document surely conceived to put off potential readers. Not as bad as artist statements in the artworld, but still.

www.artybollocks.com/generator.html

Instant artist statement

If you're an artist and have been slaving away for hours at your artist statement - and it's still going nowhere - then this website is for you. One-click artist statements, for free.

www.artybollocks.com

1 5

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 3d

Deactivate account. Reactivate account. Deactivate account. Deactivate account. Wait—

Reposted by Seán Padraic Birnie

Ray Newman @raynewman.bsky.social · 5d

Municipal Gothic is “a short story collection that’s basically non-stop highlights; the definition of all killer, no filler...”

theupstairswindow.substack.com/p/my-favouri...

1 1 16

Seán Padraic Birnie @seanbirnie.bsky.social · 5d

That line about reading from the CEO of this silly website 'The book is here to serve me' has been playing and replaying in my head since I saw it in her post the other day.