Reposted by Catherine Spooner THE MOURNING PAPER @themourningpaper.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Anti AI Statement from the TMP team 🖤 #goth #gothic #indiemagazine 192
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Dale Townshend @dalegothic96.bsky.social · 18/09/2026University departments that are doing away with research-led teaching and getting their academic staff to teach on broad, non-specialist modules instead are effectively deskilling their workforce. 13611
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Eddie Robson @eddierobson.bsky.social · 10/09/2026TITLE AND COVER REVEAL: My next novel, Painting With A Dead God's Blood, will be published on 22 June 2027. us.macmillan.com/books/978125... 2527179
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Carnyx Press @carnyxpress.co.uk · 04/09/2026It's coming 👀 Writers in the North of England are invited to send us weird and horrifying tales of existential dread for anthology 3: cosmic horror. Opening to submissions next month. Read the guidelines here: carnyxpress.co.uk/anthology-3-... 11822
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Haunted Shores @hauntedshores.bsky.social · 02/09/2026New CFP! We're delighted to invite abstracts for the next Haunted Shores conference: Beyond the Blue Planet: Outer Space, Inner Space, and Extraterrestrial Oceans – online 2 April 2027 Please share with anyone who might be interested! Thank you! Full info: haunted-shores.com/beyond-the-b...haunted-shores.comBeyond the Blue Planet: Haunted Shores 2027Join us for the next Haunted Shores conference! Beyond the Blue Planet: Outer Space, Inner Space, and Extraterrestrial Oceans Online: 2 April 2027 (Double, a crater in the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility… 11510
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Deirdre Flynn @deirdreflynn.bsky.social · 24/08/2026Lecturer in British Romantic Literature University of Glasgow Full time permanent www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DSS069/l...jobs.ac.ukLecturer in British Romantic Literature at University of GlasgowExplore an exciting academic career as a Lecturer in British Romantic Literature. Don't miss out on other academic jobs. Click to apply and explore more opportunities. 33637
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 06/08/2026Obviously plagiarism is unacceptable and credible allegations should be investigated. But (a) since when has an academic integrity hearing been front-page headline news and (b) where were the tabloids when LLMs stole *hundreds of thousands* of academics’ and other writers’ work? 0162
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Dr Laura Eastlake @victorianmasc.bsky.social · 03/08/2026📚"Covers designed by folk who didn't bother to read the book" Episode 5: Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. “Get in, loser. We’re going rowing on the Thames in a boat of dirty and disreputable appearance. Also on Wednesdays we wear arsenic green.” #c19th 411235
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Mike Collins - Chair British Association for American Studies @baaschair.bsky.social · 28/07/2026Excited to offer a fully funded PhD with Maeve Ryan and I at KCL. Details below. www.kcl.ac.uk/study/fundin...kcl.ac.ukCRSW / AHRC Doctoral Studentship: Narratives of Enslavement and their Legacies | King's College LondonKing’s College London’s Leverhulme Centre for Research on Slavery in War (CRSW) is pleased to announce a fully funded AHRC doctoral studentship, jointly supervised by English and War Studies. 01015
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 16/07/2026“This is not just a crisis for higher education – it is a crisis for social mobility, young people’s careers, the skills our economy depends on and the opportunities available in communities across the UK” www.theguardian.com/education/20...theguardian.comHumanities among degrees being ‘extinguished’ by hard-up universitiesExclusive: Experts fear rise in education ‘cold spots’ and social immobility as 4,000 academic posts lost in one year 031
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Jenny Holzer @jennyholzer.bsky.social · 14/07/2026PLAYING IT SAFE CAN CAUSE A LOT OF DAMAGE IN THE LONG RUN 087
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 13/07/2026So much here that’s relevant to writing and other creative professions too. ❤️ Sam Neill (click through for video of Sam talking acting and mental health). 042
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 09/07/2026Wandered back over to the old place in my lunch break. So very happy we will be back here, in individual offices once more, in a month’s time. 🌳 🤞 020
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Glen O'Hara @gsoh31.bsky.social · 08/07/2026A country that is determined to destroy its own economy, and to make everyone's lives greyer and grimmer into the bargain. Peanuts, with vast multipliers. Unbelievable. www.artsprofessional.co.uk/news/dfe-sla...artsprofessional.co.ukDfE slashes creative and performing arts teaching grants for universities - Arts ProfessionalPerforming and creative arts university courses will no longer receive funding from a government teaching grant as part of "difficult decisions" about 18039
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 07/07/2026At the launch of A Ghost Story: Into the Gothic Imagination at Wordsworth Grasmere. Featuring Byron’s snuffbox and the oldest surviving manuscript of Christabel! 0122
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Oliver K. Langmead @oliverklangmead.bsky.social · 05/07/2026Susanna Clarke on illness www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...theguardian.comSusanna Clarke: ‘I had been ill for 11 years. I felt like I was about to fall off the world’One hundred years after Virginia Woolf explored the limitations of language in On Being Ill, the Piranesi author reflects on the power of storytelling to shape our experience of sickness 025394
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Angela Wright @angelawright1794.bsky.social · 18/06/2026All set up and ready for Women in White: The New Gothic cinema lecture by @catherinespooner.bsky.social @radcliffecup.bsky.social @dalegothic96.bsky.social 1152
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Christine Ferguson @cferguson.bsky.social · 15/06/2026I had a blast doing this interview for The Mourning Paper, alongside @catherinespooner.bsky.social, about the origins and futures of Gothic as a subculture and a literary genre. Thanks to Shaun McLaren for these great questions! themourningpaper.co.uk/2026/06/15/f...themourningpaper.co.ukFrom Goths to Gothicism (and back to Goths): An Interview with Christine Ferguson and Catherine SpoonerAn interview with professors, Christine Ferguson and Catherine Spooner on their experience of the goth subculture, goth academic spaces and more. 042
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Magma Poetry @magmapoetry.bsky.social · 04/06/2026Amazing evening of poetry and celebration at our competition winners event at the gorgeous Theatreship earlier this week with @betarish.bsky.social Pics: @catherinespooner.bsky.social , @eleanorholmes.bsky.social, Sam Harvey, @elcurwen.bsky.social More: www.instagram.com/p/DZK7Fhtip01/ 073
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 28/05/2026Essential reading for anyone concerned about the current state of British universities. Completely nails the complex economics and political wrangling behind the situation and the cultural vandalism that results. 051
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Dr Amanda Blake Davis 🌱 @abdavis.bsky.social · 22/05/2026📣 Job Alert (permanent) 📣 Lecturer in English Literature (Romanticism), The Open University www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DRQ222/l...jobs.ac.ukLecturer in English Literature at The Open UniversityStart your UK & international job search for academic jobs, research jobs, science jobs and managerial jobs in leading universities and top... 03134
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 21/05/2026I was delighted to be asked onto @hayfestival.bsky.social Book Club last week to talk about Dracula with Anthony Delaney and Eimear McBride - watch the full conversation at www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1Ff...youtube.comDracula by Bram Stoker | Hay Festival Book Club MAY 2026YouTube video by Hay Festival 080
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Dr Jen Baker @jendeavour.bsky.social · 27/04/2026*Very* excited that vol.1 of New Directions in the Ghost Story, edited by myself, @henrybartholomew.bsky.social & @joanpassey.bsky.social is out! Well done to all the contributors, and thanks for bearing with us! :) Please recommend to your academic libraries! link.springer.com/book/10.1007...link.springer.comNew Directions in the Ghost Story, Volume IDiscover New Directions in the Ghost Story, Volume 1, a landmark collection of essays exploring haunted narratives and Gothic fiction. 87229
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 24/04/2026This is a dance off. If you see this, repost a dance. 120
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Whitby Gothic @whitbygothic.bsky.social · 21/04/2026+++ Wishing a most wonderful birthday, to Robert James Smith of The Cure, who was born on this day, the 21st of April 1959, in Blackpool, Lancashire. +++ #robertsmith #thecure #postpunk #newwave #icon #altrock #goth #OTD #blackpool #lancashire #gothcore #gothic #alt 37816
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 16/04/2026New Lancaster University School of Arts podcast dropped! Listen in on me, Richard Rushton, @debraferreday.bsky.social and Kamilla Elliott get over-excited about Wuthering Heights, Charli XCX, costume design and much more: open.spotify.com/episode/2hKg...open.spotify.comEpisode 4 - On Wuthering Heights (Directed by Emerald Fennell, 2026) 000
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 16/04/2026I'm headed to Sheffield later this term to talk about one of my obsessions for the Ann Radcliffe, Then and Now project. Come and join me and talk women in white dresses and why we are all watching Gothic cinema now! 1165
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 12/04/2026Thrilled that my poem 'Scrimshaw' has been commended in the Magma Poetry Competition Editor's Prize. Magma Poetry is a fabulous magazine, so the commendation is really worth having. 0143
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 28/03/2026Great blog by @harrietfletcher.bsky.social on Lady Gaga and Gothic Celebrity: theconversation.com/lady-gagas-m...theconversation.comLady Gaga’s Mayhem Ball reveals the gothic tradition behind modern celebrityThe tour delivered everything fans have come to expect from the artist: spectacle, innovation and, above all, immersion in a gothic world. 074
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 25/03/2026Young men get a lot of bad press at the moment, but my 18yo & 8 of his friends walked from Lancaster to Kendal (40km) this weekend to support a friend with mental health difficulties & raise money for Lancashire Mind. They’re still accepting donations at www.justgiving.com/page/mighty-...justgiving.comMighty Nine for Lancashire MindHelp Caleb Woodhouse raise money to support Lancashire Mind 072
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Julie Bell @buliejell.bsky.social · 14/03/2026Superb afternoon @litfest.bsky.social listening to the most talented #authors and #illustrators @moohara.bsky.social @mglnrd.bsky.social @chrismould.bsky.social with @catherinespooner.bsky.social thank you to all of you for sharing your talent and stories today 👏👏 062
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 04/02/2026Lancaster’s first LGBTQ+ bookstore opened today on the charter market and look what I got! Brand new books by @louisewelsh00.bsky.social and @inkyrosey.bsky.social 1111
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Eddie Robson @eddierobson.bsky.social · 19/01/2026One of the projects you can support on Smelt is a new sitcom by me. It's called The Least Bad Of All Possible Worlds and it's about refugees from parallel universes trying to integrate into society in Morecambe. You can pledge to fund it here: if you fund it, we make it! mirlo.space/leadmojo/rel...mirlo.spaceThe Least Bad of All Possible Worlds, by Eddie RobsonAn album by Lead Mojo | Smelt Released Fri Dec 18 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) A boarding house on the Lancashire coast has taken in some unusual residents. Violet is a battle-... 59072
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 30/12/2025How I’m walking out of 2025 052
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 23/12/2025Please someone remake It’s a Wonderful Life but from the POV of Violet narrating her adventures in Pottersville. 040
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Elen Caldecott @elencaldecott.bsky.social · 19/12/2025As a journal editor this is fucken horrifying. Asbestos in the walls. 072
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Boze Herrington, Library Owl @sketchesbyboze.bsky.social · 17/12/2025People say AI is a magic shortcut to creativity & success. I’ll tell you the real secret and it’s voraciously reading, being interested in everything, being diligent in the pursuit of learning, paying attention to the interior lives of others & keeping a heart open to the world. 61051336
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 28/11/2025Just officially launched this wonderful @sidekickbooks.bsky.social anthology which I contributed to... it's perfectly stocking-sized, just right for the vampire lover in your life! sidekickbooks.com/booklab/book...sidekickbooks.comTen Poets Spend the Night in a Vampire's Castle - Sidekick BooksAn anthology of vampire poetry, featuring erotic writing, horror, romantasy and paranormal romance. 273
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Michael Haslam @twigtechnology.bsky.social · 21/11/2025Seals singing in a sea cave #Orkney 🦭🎧 501946681
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Dr Sam Hirst @romgothsam.bsky.social · 14/11/2025When people say that Wuthering Heights doesn't have anything to do with race or that no film has engaged with race, what they mean is that for them Romani people do not count and they also haven't been paying attention. I'm going to share a little material from a recent talk. Content note: racism 1/ 11611202
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 06/11/2025Strong editorial in the Independent today www.independent.co.uk/voices/edito...independent.co.ukYou don’t need a master’s degree to see Britain depends on foreign studentsEditorial: The government’s effort to drive down the number of student visas coming to study in this country is misguided and self-defeating – it will do untold damage to our universities and communit... 010
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Dr Selena Wisnom @lswisnom.bsky.social · 03/11/2025Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching 5245191434
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 31/10/2025I contributed to this one… guess what I chose? 031
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Present & Correct @presentcorrect.bsky.social · 26/10/2025How to Hibernate. Scanned by us from the 1952 book Animal Fair, by the Provensens. It’s time. 6640205
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Eddie Robson @eddierobson.bsky.social · 27/10/2025#BlackCatAppreciationDay 126114
Reposted by Catherine Spooner Glen O'Hara @gsoh31.bsky.social · 24/10/2025So I've been reading the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper. There's some good things in there. But when it comes to universities there's very little to cheer. The situation is very tough and will get worse. The last chance to preserve what we've got has passed. Let me explain why. (1/?) 79063
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 17/10/2025My fab colleague Sharon Ruston on the new Guillermo Del Toro Frankenstein: theconversation.com/guillermo-de...theconversation.comGuillermo de Toro’s Frankenstein: beguiling adaptation stays true to heart of Mary Shelley’s storyGuillermo del Toro’s retelling of the story about a scientist trying to create life is a visual treat and a rousing adaptation. 12412
Catherine Spooner @catherinespooner.bsky.social · 07/10/2025´It’s not about knowing. It’s about being present.´ Devastating essay on the power of gaps, errors, mishearing in the way we teach. 050