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Dirk Maggs

@dirkmaggs.bsky.social
6.1K followers 1.1K following 1.7K posts

#1 New York Times Audio Bestseller. Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, Superman, Batman (BBC Radio); Alien, The Sandman (Audible) and many other audio productions. Writes. Directs. Plays Drums. No AI needed. 50% 🇳🇱 50% 🇬🇧 + a smidge of 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 = 100 % 🇪🇺

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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Very very sad news. We have lost Tony De Meur - aka Ronnie Golden, he of The Fabulous Poodles, all round lovely human - and the world is a sadder place. Surely right now he is in a celestial bar swapping parrot jokes with Baz Cryer over a double.
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hookland.bsky.social @hookland.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Still a bit blown away to see copies of ‘Hookland Fragments’ in the wild. Here is a signed copy available from @treadwells-books.bsky.social
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Mitch Benn @mitchbenn.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Mitch Benn presents Gilbert & Sullivan’s DRACULA Lost for 120 years, restored, recreated and completely made up by MITCH BENN STRICTLY LIMITED RUN - FOUR PERFORMANCES ONLY 24/25 October www.tickettailor.com/events/circl... #dracula #gilbertandsullivan #operetta #mitchbenn
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Tom Jenkins @tomoljenkins.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Here is the trailer for Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk’ launch on 9October that has been banned by YouTube, TikTok and Meta, citing “political” content. X won't even take Bleecker Street's calls. The distributor is appealing. www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFTf...
youtube.com
MUSK | Official Trailer HD
YouTube video by Elevation Pictures
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Patrick Barkham @patrickbarkham.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I've written Joe Harkness's obituary for the Guardian. I hope it pays good tribute to a wonderful man who was brave, honest and made the world a better place. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Joe Harkness obituary
Writer, teacher and naturalist who explored the effects of the natural world on neurodivergency
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Richard Harris @beeblebrox.com · 21/09/2026
Lest we forget: there are still real journalists at the BBC. Global Eye demonstrates that, and Steve Rosenberg does a masterly job of reporting from Russia, treading the line twixt factual journalism and being summarily thrown out of the country. youtu.be/SebfRk_0jzg?...
youtu.be
Russia's "Special Election Operation" and growing pessimism in Russia
YouTube video by Steve Rosenberg
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Crikey - I don’t have copies of some of these titles
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David Quantick @quantick.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
You can pre-order THE HYENA for your own devices: www.starsandsabers.com/books/the-hy...
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ukjarry.bsky.social @ukjarry.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Have you seen the original artist Russ Heath's comic strip reply to Lichtenstein:
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Dave Gibbons making this point about Lichtenstein made me very happy.
A copy of Roy Lichtenstein’s “pop art” comic book panel painting where the text and sound effects make it clear that the work was not original nor created by Lichtenstein.
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katie @supermathskid.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I really need a job, if anybody knows of somewhere looking to hire a good writer with connections in scientific academia and a few random folks in government please lemme know
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The irony of Canada and the EU talking about free movement and a closer association while the nation that created the “British Commonwealth” conned itself into self-imposed exile and sits alone on the bench, sulking.
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Barnaby Edwards @barnabyedwards.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
My new exhibition of paintings opens on Monday! I'll post the online version of the exhibition that evening. Here's hoping it goes down well. 🤞 Aside from Labyrinth, can you guess any of the other fantasy classics from the last 100 years which I've chosen? There are 22 of them in all.
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huck mason @tylerhuckabee.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
rip annie dillard
One of the things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Oh no. This is very sad. RIP Bonnie.
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Ali Trotta @alwayscoffee.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Darlings, witches, nerds—have YOU snagged my witchy, tarot-filled, myth/fairytale-laden poetry collection, Offerings for Ordinary Gods from @clashbooks.bsky.social ? Handy links for purchase: www.alitrotta.com/recent-works Fun post I did at @scalzi.com : whatever.scalzi.com/2026/07/21/t...
chimeraobscura.com
Episode 684 – Ali Trotta
Virtual Memories Show 684: Ali Trotta “I think mythology and fairy tales provide a good baseline, because almost everyone has read a subset of those stories, and the symbolism is something mo…
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Andy Walsh @englishscribe.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
OPPORTUNITY Madhead, Senior Narrative Designer Not affiliated. Shares welcome careers.madheadgames.com/jobs/senior-...
careers.madheadgames.com
Senior Narrative Designer - Mad Head Games
Senior Narrative Designer at Mad Head Games
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
“If you have nothing positive to say, say nothing” which is why I’m not posting much at present. Also I’m working, hurrah (this photo was taken a couple of weeks back). More on that to come.
Photo of Dirk holding a pint. Well, it is Sunday after all (though he’s actually working on the Sunday he’s posting this photo).
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Genius
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Duncan Jones @manmademoon.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
From the family for all of us. youtu.be/9govup-IG3c?...
youtu.be
A Message from the Family of Dolly Parton
YouTube video by Dolly Parton
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Joel Meadows @joelmeadows.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
so I am looking to expand my freelance work. So if anyone needs a graphic designer for books or magazines, proofreader for comics or books please bear me in mind. For my design here's a few samples of my work joelmeadows.co.uk
joelmeadows.co.uk
Joel Meadows Design – Just another WordPress site
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Someone I know (who is diagnosed) has been going through a deeply miserable time at work under a manager who sees the condition as a myth. Luckily they have medical and legal support and have options but documentaries like this just further an unnecessary agenda of intolerance and wilful ignorance.
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
This.
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
New from 404 Media: we solved which AI company is buying massive shipments of rare books, scanning and destroying them to train AI. We put an Apple AirTag in a rare book, followed it. It ended up at an Amazon facility. Its logo is a dinosaur ripping through a book www.404media.co/we-tracked-a...
404media.co
We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training Facility
We placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it, and found an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books.
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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Since Bluesky was being glitchy yesterday and, well, I need the money to cover bills, I'm going to keep this open for the next couple of days. If you're interested, let me know ASAP. I've been having a lot of fun with these and they really, REALLY help while I wait to get paid for stuff.
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
A perfect album in a year full of perfect albums.
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Perfect.
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Joel Meadows @joelmeadows.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
if people are in London and free this Thursday come and check out Joel Meadows and Frazer Irving at the Cartoon Museum, just down the road from Goodge St tube … tripwiremagazine.co.uk/headlines/po...
tripwiremagazine.co.uk
Pop Along And See Sherlock Holmes And The Empire Builders co-creator Joel Meadows And Holmes Cover Artist Frazer Irving At London’s Cartoon Museum In Aug
The Game Is Afoot In The Big Smoke On the evening of 13 August 2026, Sherlock Holmes And The Empire Builders writer/ co-creator Joel Meadows will be joined by Sherlock Holmes And The Empire Builders c...
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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
If you want to hear two Matts talk about just about everything other than the book they're supposed to be talking about before doing their best to decipher said book, this is the podcast episode for you.
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Duncan Jones @manmademoon.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
The war in Ukraine is in its 5th year. Europe/UK needs to understand that everything 🇺🇦 is suffering through, they too would have to endure, if 🇺🇦 loses. For both 🇺🇦 and EU/UKs sake, we must develop a European & cheaper alternative to the Patriot system… & it will need industrial scale production.
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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
ON SHELVES NOW! AMELIA SHADOWS AND THE MONSTER IN THE BOX!! The second book in the middle grade Amelia Shadows graphic novel series from me and @papercutzgn.bsky.social!!! Available wherever books are sold!!!! Like, RIGHT NOW!!!!
When your father is a powerful dark magician, you end up with a lot of interesting and dangerous things around the house souvenirs of his many magical exploits, trophies of his many battles, even a magical prisoner or two.
But Amelia Shadows's father isn't just any powerful dark magician, he is the most powerful dark magician in the whole world! So you know her house is filled with all sorts of stuff. Very dangerous stuff. Stuff she's not supposed to mess with. Not that Amelia has ever been good at obeying rules.
While poking around in one her father's many trophy rooms, Amelia breaks the most important magic rule of all - when you find a mysterious box making strange noises at you, under no circumstances should you open it! Now there's an incredibly dangerous and ferocious creature on the loose in the Shadows's nouse and Amelia had better find a way to get it back into its box before the head ghost Hans finds out, or even worse, her dad gets home!
More magic and mischief from Matthew Dow Smith, the creator of THE OCTOBER GIRL and DC's MISFITS OF MAGIC!
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
This has been my driving motivation for some time now.
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HG2G Scrapbook @hg2g-scrapbook.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
'Perspective' Written by @dirkmaggs.bsky.social #TertiaryPhaseVinyl
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waltydunlop @waltydunlop.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Listening to H2G2's Quandary Phase. I think out of the three latter series, this might be my favourite. Arthur shifts into romantic lead mode and it *works*. Ford flits in and out, stealing every scene he's in. It's all strangely melancholy, and I love it. Thank you, @dirkmaggs.bsky.social and all.
Cover to the CD release of "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Quandary Phase". A babel fish swims around in an embossed fishbowl, which carries the message "So Long and thanks for all the fish". In the background, the dolphins leave Earth for the last time.
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jessamyn @librarian.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
I work at a public library. People who want to use AI seem to have no trouble doing so. People who don't want to use AI have a harder time. I crowdsourced and then finalized this document "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI" and then gave it a short URL: notoai.org Please pass along if it's useful
An aircraft passenger oxygen mask: a drop down passenger mask with air bag and yellow plastic mouth and nose cover, oxygen tube has been cut; Demonstration model used by flight attendant crew for passenger instruction. Has text on the side indicating that it's non-functional.
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Owen Booth @owenbooth.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
You will, of course, already have your copy of this lovely thing from @hookland.bsky.social - but if by any chance *you haven’t* then you need to sort that out right away. I would happily give up whatever remnants of a literary career i have left to read another nine volumes of this instead…
The cover of the pamphlet “Hookland Fragments Volume One” by David Southwell
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
I felt a large part of my remit as a BBC Radio Comedy Producer was to bring the next generation of UK writing talent (of any age). The steady attrition of BBC Radio Drama in recent times is an ominous sign that the BBC is losing sight of its essential mission. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
theguardian.com
BBC radio drama is in grave danger. Without it we may lose the next generation of writing talent
Hundreds of hours of original plays have been cut from the corporation’s programming in recent years. If the trend continues, a valuable training ground for writers will be lost
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Matthew Dow Smith @matthewdowsmith.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
BTW, if you're a NetGalley user, you can now request AMELIA SHADOWS AND THE MONSTER IN THE BOX to review!!! www.netgalley.com/catalog/book...
netgalley.com
Amelia Shadows and the Monster in the Box
NetGalley helps publishers and authors promote digital review copies to book advocates and industry professionals. Publishers make digital review copies and audiobooks available for the NetGalley comm...
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Kristen … a dream of a Delirium to work with. ❤️
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Want to write comedy? Join Joel in the Writers Room.
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Indie Book Spotlight @bookspotlight.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
LMFAO
AI User: I'm an artist.
Me: *turns off wifi* Prove it.
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
I was hoping to get to the puppet play 'At Sea' at Little Angel Theatre Islington this weekend but can't make it. There are shows at 2pm and 4pm on July 31st and 11am and 2.30pm on the 1st and 2nd Aug. Worth seeing as a holiday treat? Definitely. Here is the trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeAL...
youtube.com
At Sea Trailer
YouTube video by Life and Limb Puppets
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
For those who loved The Goodies but don’t know that Tim, Bill and Graeme had a final (audio) adventure in 2019, this reply/thread may be of interest.
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Joel Meadows @joelmeadows.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Watch Mary and Bryan Talbot Talk At Dr Johnson's House This September in London tripwiremagazine.co.uk/headlines/wa...
tripwiremagazine.co.uk
Watch Mary And Bryan Talbot At Dr Johnson’s House Talk About Lo! An Amazon! The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Mary Wollstonecraft
The Life Of A Victorian Original This September, UK creators Mary and Bryan Talbot will be appearing at Dr Johnson’s House in Gough Square off London’s Fleet Street to talk about their forthcoming gra...
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
RIP Bill … you were sparky, funny, talented, capricious, inspiring and occasionally infuriating and I will always be proud to have worked with you.
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Dirk Maggs @dirkmaggs.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
What’s your sign?
A sign from the astronomer Sir Patrick Moore’s front door warning guests not to let the cat escape.
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hookland.bsky.social @hookland.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
The wonderful @treadwells-books.bsky.social will have new stock of signed books and Right To Reside cards very soon as I am booked up to go in and sign them.
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hookland.bsky.social @hookland.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Today's answer to the question: What is Hookland?

What is Hookland?

Hookland is England as seen from the ghost train.

It is a fierce refusal to let psychogeographers tell you that when you talk about spirits of place you can’t really believe in them. It is all the books you borrowed time and time again from the library as a child – encyclopaedias of horror films, Usborne’s Worlds of the Unknown UFOs and Charles Berlitz’s The Bermuda Triangle.

It is walking home through the woods in November mist and feeling that the place has monsters, not the sort they made into Aurora model kits, but old, nameless things that are fed by the fear you’ve had of this place since that murder a few years back. It is the terror of living in a haunted landscape. It is the delight of living in a profoundly haunted landscape. Hookland is the place that you can almost allow yourself to believe in magic again before realising it is a territory you already inhabit. Shared space where all the broken memories of childhood are resuscitated and walking alongside you.

It is knowing the names of Soviet spacemen orbiting above and feeling the youthful power if recognising which mushrooms are poisonous. It is sneaking into fields to release crows from cruel traps and thinking up mad schemes to raise money to buy fireworks when the air becomes rich with the intoxicating smell of bonfires. It’s being more scared by gaudy movie posters for films that you haven’t ever seen than being afraid of the things your parents constantly warn you about.

It is knowing that everywhere is layers of story, layers of memory and realising you may be the ghost of someone else’s future.

On its jagged rocks, its snaring brambles, fragments of ripped cloth that you know are clues to something you have forgotten. Something important you cannot unlock.

It has a default setting of unease and déjà vu. Just when you think you are clear of it, you always turn the corner and discover you are walking its lanes.

It is home.
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Eddie Robson @eddierobson.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Everyone who uses "smart glasses" to be legally required to strap one of these to their head and light it up when the camera is on
Replica BBC studios "RECORDING LIVE" sign
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