William J. Barker
@williamjbarker.bsky.social
Editorial Assistant @quillette.bsky.social
Fiction writer, film critic, journalist and poet. Currently writing my first novel.
Fiction writer, film critic, journalist and poet. Currently writing my first novel.
Reposted by William J. Barker
2016 memory of this epic launch event for Lawrence Block’s anthology of crime fiction inspired by Edward Hopper paintings, with JoyceCarol Oates, Jonathan Santlofer, Lee Child, and more
January 16, 2026 at 7:51 PM
2016 memory of this epic launch event for Lawrence Block’s anthology of crime fiction inspired by Edward Hopper paintings, with JoyceCarol Oates, Jonathan Santlofer, Lee Child, and more
Reposted by William J. Barker
First edition Chandler on this week’s rare list. See more here: mailchi.mp/mysteriousbo...
November 14, 2025 at 6:41 PM
First edition Chandler on this week’s rare list. See more here: mailchi.mp/mysteriousbo...
Reposted by William J. Barker
In this house, Satantango is considered a crime novel
László Krasznahorkai wins the Nobel prize in literature 2025
László Krasznahorkai wins the Nobel prize in literature 2025
The author was announced as winner at a ceremony in Stockholm
• Nobel prize in literature 2025 live: László Krasznahorkai wins ‘for his compelling and visionary oeuvre’
The Nobel prize in literature for 2025 has been awarded to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, the Swedish Academy has announced.
The Academy cited the 71-year-old’s “compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art”. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
October 9, 2025 at 1:08 PM
In this house, Satantango is considered a crime novel
Reposted by William J. Barker
Archaic Greek Gold Plaque of Gorgon Flossing Her teeth, 7th century BC. Parco Archeologico di Himera, Palermo
October 5, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Archaic Greek Gold Plaque of Gorgon Flossing Her teeth, 7th century BC. Parco Archeologico di Himera, Palermo
Reposted by William J. Barker
Y’all the moon let me photograph her
October 5, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Y’all the moon let me photograph her
Reposted by William J. Barker
Remember that time that Sigmund Freud used hypnosis to help Sherlock Holmes kick his coke habit?
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution screens this Sunday at The Roxy Cinema Tribeca, with a Q&A with author Nicholas Meyer to follow. Details: www.roxycinemanewyork.com/screenings/t...
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution screens this Sunday at The Roxy Cinema Tribeca, with a Q&A with author Nicholas Meyer to follow. Details: www.roxycinemanewyork.com/screenings/t...
September 25, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Remember that time that Sigmund Freud used hypnosis to help Sherlock Holmes kick his coke habit?
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution screens this Sunday at The Roxy Cinema Tribeca, with a Q&A with author Nicholas Meyer to follow. Details: www.roxycinemanewyork.com/screenings/t...
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution screens this Sunday at The Roxy Cinema Tribeca, with a Q&A with author Nicholas Meyer to follow. Details: www.roxycinemanewyork.com/screenings/t...
Reposted by William J. Barker
Good morning from the Brooklyn Book Festival!! We’re here at Booth 515 all day, come see us
September 21, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Good morning from the Brooklyn Book Festival!! We’re here at Booth 515 all day, come see us
I found a kid’s teddy bear in the garden fifty years after the house was condemned.
Read the #shortstory by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #shortstory by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
September 16, 2025 at 11:26 PM
I found a kid’s teddy bear in the garden fifty years after the house was condemned.
Read the #shortstory by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #shortstory by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
The film’s seemingly antagonistic flavours make #Scarface a compelling watch as both a film and a cinematic artefact.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
September 16, 2025 at 2:20 AM
The film’s seemingly antagonistic flavours make #Scarface a compelling watch as both a film and a cinematic artefact.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Reposted by William J. Barker
It's like #DarrenAronofsky is badly impersonating himself.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
September 12, 2025 at 1:26 AM
It's like #DarrenAronofsky is badly impersonating himself.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Reposted by William J. Barker
Shuang Zou, directing Mozart's opera in the Adelaide Festival this year, has turned it into an absurd mess, like a toddler gluing a jigsaw puzzle together with play dough.
Read the #operareview by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #operareview by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
September 12, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Shuang Zou, directing Mozart's opera in the Adelaide Festival this year, has turned it into an absurd mess, like a toddler gluing a jigsaw puzzle together with play dough.
Read the #operareview by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #operareview by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Shuang Zou, directing Mozart's opera in the Adelaide Festival this year, has turned it into an absurd mess, like a toddler gluing a jigsaw puzzle together with play dough.
Read the #operareview by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #operareview by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
September 12, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Shuang Zou, directing Mozart's opera in the Adelaide Festival this year, has turned it into an absurd mess, like a toddler gluing a jigsaw puzzle together with play dough.
Read the #operareview by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #operareview by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
It's like #DarrenAronofsky is badly impersonating himself.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
September 12, 2025 at 1:26 AM
It's like #DarrenAronofsky is badly impersonating himself.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Thunder-
Heavy drum beat
Shaking atmosphere.
#haiku by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Heavy drum beat
Shaking atmosphere.
#haiku by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
September 4, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Thunder-
Heavy drum beat
Shaking atmosphere.
#haiku by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Heavy drum beat
Shaking atmosphere.
#haiku by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Reposted by William J. Barker
Reposted by William J. Barker
When it’s nice enough to have the door open and you get that good afternoon bookshop light
September 2, 2025 at 9:09 PM
When it’s nice enough to have the door open and you get that good afternoon bookshop light
#LawrenceofArabia is a classic film you can’t fully appreciate when you’re young. You must lose your innocence first, at least politically.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
September 2, 2025 at 3:19 AM
#LawrenceofArabia is a classic film you can’t fully appreciate when you’re young. You must lose your innocence first, at least politically.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Reposted by William J. Barker
"Rainy City Cars" - my oil painting, 12"x16"
August 28, 2025 at 8:56 PM
"Rainy City Cars" - my oil painting, 12"x16"
Am I? Slit my neck
Open. Bury me. Someone
Will give me their tears.
Read the #poem by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Open. Bury me. Someone
Will give me their tears.
Read the #poem by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
August 28, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Am I? Slit my neck
Open. Bury me. Someone
Will give me their tears.
Read the #poem by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Open. Bury me. Someone
Will give me their tears.
Read the #poem by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
I don’t remember #JamesGunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy being so funny..
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
August 28, 2025 at 8:55 AM
I don’t remember #JamesGunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy being so funny..
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Reposted by William J. Barker
About halfway through Gunn’s #Superman, you’ll find yourself wondering if you made a mistake and booked tickets for the circus rather than the cinema.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
August 18, 2025 at 10:07 AM
About halfway through Gunn’s #Superman, you’ll find yourself wondering if you made a mistake and booked tickets for the circus rather than the cinema.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Reposted by William J. Barker
Without the light bulbs the night’s blackness washed right up to the church’s front door.
Read the #flashfiction story by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #flashfiction story by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
August 18, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Without the light bulbs the night’s blackness washed right up to the church’s front door.
Read the #flashfiction story by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #flashfiction story by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Without the light bulbs the night’s blackness washed right up to the church’s front door.
Read the #flashfiction story by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #flashfiction story by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
August 18, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Without the light bulbs the night’s blackness washed right up to the church’s front door.
Read the #flashfiction story by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #flashfiction story by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
About halfway through Gunn’s #Superman, you’ll find yourself wondering if you made a mistake and booked tickets for the circus rather than the cinema.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
August 18, 2025 at 10:07 AM
About halfway through Gunn’s #Superman, you’ll find yourself wondering if you made a mistake and booked tickets for the circus rather than the cinema.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Reposted by William J. Barker
Many of the scenes in #JurassicPark are short but they all end with you feeling that you understand the characters.
Read the review of the classic film by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review of the classic film by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
August 12, 2025 at 7:16 AM
Many of the scenes in #JurassicPark are short but they all end with you feeling that you understand the characters.
Read the review of the classic film by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review of the classic film by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...