iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

The audiobook of THE DARK WITHIN US is live! I know for a fact it’s on Audible, Spotify and Libro, and I anticipate it will be on Apple, Kobo, Overdrive (so you can request it to your library) and YouTube Music within the week!

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

He’s also 100% correct that all Jessicas are good Jessicas (😇) - but seriously, yes, it’s nice to see this. I agree with him!

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Rosie (she/her) @airfriedrosie.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Remember Streeting's review into whether young people are being overdiagnosed with ADHD, autism, and mental health issues? Well, the interim report is out, and there's a reason the media are silent on it (spoiler: it proves what a lot of us have been saying all along)

In others, notably ADHD and autism, rising diagnoses and referrals appear to exceed changes in underlying epidemiological prevalence and are likely to reflect a combination of:

improved recognition
changing help-seeking behaviour
institutional incentives
pressures within existing service pathways
Across both ADHD and autism, best currently available population-based estimates remain relatively stable, while administrative diagnoses, self-identification and recorded service demand have increased substantially. In autism, the evidence also points to particularly rapid growth in identified need within educational systems, including increasing identification among girls and among young people without learning disability.

These patterns suggest that rising demand is not simply the result of increasing prevalence, but of several processes operating simultaneously, including:

real increases in distress in some groups
improved recognition of previously unmet need
changing expectations about support
systems that frequently rely on formal diagnosis as the primary route to assistance
Across the system, support is too often accessed through pathways that are slow, fragmented and heavily dependent on diagnostic categorisation. While diagnosis remains essential for some forms of clinical decision-making, the evidence suggests that current arrangements do not always provide the most effective or efficient way of identifying and responding to need.

In particular, where access to support depends heavily on formal diagnosis, demand for diagnostic assessment can increase more rapidly than systems are able to respond, generating long waiting times, duplication of assessment and pressure on specialist services.

The next phase of the review will therefore focus on clarifying the relationship between distress, diagnosis and need, and on examining how systems might respond more effectively to these patterns. A central objective will be to identify opportunities for developing more coherent, evidence-informed care pathways that enable support to be provided earlier and more proportionately, while ensuring that specialist services are available in a timely and appropriate manner for those whose needs are most complex.

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

This seems like good old fashioned common sense to me!

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Don’t mind me, I’ve had a low-level headache going on 2 weeks and am feeling grumpy that I can’t write anything, so I’m crocheting furiously and drinking the delightful Sauvignon Blanc I won from the @notquitewrite.com Flesh Fiction comp (yeah, the giant cockroach fella’s mine). Thanks, Ed & Amanda!

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Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 326: Don't let the fear of rejection stand in your way. Every author you have ever admired has been rejected many times. It's not a mark of shame: it's a sign that you dared to put yourself out there. Most people never do.

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Orcspiration @orcspiration.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

YOU CANNOT GRIND THE BONES OF YOUR ENEMIES INTO DUST TOMORROW IF YOU DO NOT HAVE SOMETHING TO EAT.

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L. D. Lewis, Sea Witch Apologist 🧜🏾‍♀️ @ldlewiswrites.blacksky.app · 21/05/2026

You have to support the projects you love with money. I am sorry we do not live in a world where that is not the truth.

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Well, they seem like a lovely pair. Great interview, as I hadn’t heard of this and am now keen to watch!

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

I feel the same. I might tell friends in group chats about books I didn’t love, but those are my colleagues so I won’t be doing that in public.

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Not Quite Write @notquitewrite.com · 20/04/2026

Flesh Fiction Volume 1 is now available for pre-order! Containing 304 pages of the most "unsafe for work" content our authors could dream up. Trust us when we say, reading this book will blow your... mind! Ships worldwide from 1 June. Head to notquitewritepress.com to pre-order your copy now.

The cover of Flesh Fiction Volume 1 appears beside a quote from Blanche d'Alpuget, author of the Bunny Club, "I laughed a lot, and fell in love with a giant cockroach. Yes! Really."
Available for pre-order now from not quite write press dot com. Write is spelled w r i t e.

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Not in quite the same way but Spiritfarer made me sob, so I’m always sympathetic to video game emotions!!

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

I studied this at A Level, found it fascinating and deeply disturbing, which I think means I enjoyed it!

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jeeyon shim 심지연 @jeeyon.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

How I feel reading 99% of art and media critique these days

a tumblr post with a user named bvckbiter writing "is this character good or bad" "is this shop unproblematic or not" "is this arc deserving of redemption or not" girl...

underneath it is a screenshot from the show shōgun of a character saying "i don't have time for this christian nonsense"

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Publishers have tried and failed to help me “pop” on social media. I just do what I feel like, now. I don’t think authors (unless they’re the rare type who are also good at influencing online) sell their own books very often, it’s whether you can get the book influencers interested.

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John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

"I do not want art for a few, any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few." - William Morris, born 191 years ago today.

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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 23/03/2026

Today is a dark day for London. An attack on our Jewish community is an attack on us all. Decent Londoners of all faiths and none will reject those who seek to pit us against one another.

jewishnews.co.uk

Khan: No Jewish person here should be attacked because of what happened in the Middle East

Mayor describes Golders Green attacks as 'dark day for London'

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Them Fatale, @mxthemfatale.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

This is a horrific hate crime. So are all the replies (i am not QTing antisemitism, but you'll find plenty) 'questioning' why 'they have their own ambulances'. Hatzola is pretty similar to St Johns Ambulances, but no one is conspiratorial about that. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cz...

bbc.co.uk

Four Jewish ambulances set on fire in London in what health secretary calls 'sickening' attack

The attack on the Jewish community ambulance service in north London is being treated as an

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Louie Stowell @louiestowell.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Are any other news outlets going to cover this? Still only seen one local paper do so (with an interesting angle on why this is dangerous) northwestbylines.co.uk/news/educati...

northwestbylines.co.uk

Not banned – just gone: what Manchester’s missing books reveal about England’s schools

Books removed from a Manchester school raise a bigger question: who decides what children are allowed to read?

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Retro Blast 👻 @retroblastpod.com · 19/03/2026

If you have the AUDACITY to play video games on "easy" or "story" mode... I want you to know that I think that's a perfectly acceptable way to enjoy a video game that you paid for because you're supposed to enjoy your favorite pastime any way you like. Real life's hard enough. Enjoy your hobby. 🫶

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

I just published version one of my first interactive fiction story!! It’s a cyberpunk setting about interacting with other people in a world designed to tear you apart and you can find out more about it here: www.jesspopplewell.com/doingthings/...

jesspopplewell.com

I published a game! — Jess Popplewell

I published an interactive fiction game you can play for free!

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Trev Ellis 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇪🇺 #YES @gingertrevtrev.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

The tribes of Britain c. 540 in the time of Gildas.

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Felicia Davin @feliciadavin.com · 18/03/2026

as a parent I would so much rather that my kid encounter *any* topic in a book before encountering it in real life, lol

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Unnerf Rescue Cat @unnerfrescuecat.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

We don't NEED garbage AI slop We don't WANT expensive-ass graphics cards just to play ugly ass 'realistic' characters We want stories that we can enjoy that has beautifully handicrafted art and tales that could be shared to another generation

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Cody @atiredgay.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

I don’t want to yassify game characters, I just want to be able to upgrade my PC without it costing an absolute fortune… 🫩

tomshardware.com

Jensen Huang says gamers are 'completely wrong' about DLSS 5 — Nvidia CEO responds to DLSS 5 backlash

The CEO says artistic control remains with developers.

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Olivia Waite @oliviawaite.com · 09/03/2026

Oh, do romance readers read too much? Of the wrong kind of books, you say? In the wrong kind of language, you say? Are they too easy, too sexy, too fun, too silly? And we’re pretending this is not The argument that people have made against romance since (checks library) 1785?

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Richard Ovenden @richove.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

The study points to using libraries and visiting museums as bringing these enormous brain health benefits ... who would have thought? Well, librarians and museum folk for a start ... www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

theguardian.com

Reading and writing can lower dementia risk by almost 40%, study finds

Cognitive health in later life is ‘strongly influenced’ by lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments, say researchers

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Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Name them shame them

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

This is beautiful and awful and really well written.

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

“…they are generally more set on acquiring new kingdoms, right or wrong, than on governing well those they possess.” Thomas More wrote that about monarchies in approximately 1515. We’ve been singing this song about politics way over 500 years, and this is still the world we live in.

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Happy PLR day to all who celebrate (it’s me, I’m celebrating my first ever PLR payment, and also everyone who uses libraries ❤️❤️❤️❤️)

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Sascha // STALKER Maid VTuber // ☢️ 🎀 @toomuchsascha.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

I think the last paragraph of it is important enough that it needs inclusion.

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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Great post about generative AI. Happy Holidays. Don't say I never gave you anything. anthonymoser.github.io/writing/ai/h...

I do understand: you want permission. There’s a machine in the corner wrapped in human skin that makes things out of shit and blood to look like whatever you want (as long as you don’t look too closely). You gave one to your teacher and they didn’t notice. Your boss told you to use it after they laid off half the team and it was fine. You fed one to your kids and they liked it. You want to know you can use it sometimes without me thinking less of you. You don’t need me to believe it’s useful, you just want me to be polite about it.

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

They are absolutely my type of vampires.

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

Periodic reminder that I wrote a book, am v proud of it, and other people seem to quite like it. I dunno, maybe you will too?

A copy of THE DARK WITHIN US which is a red book with an illustration of two people on the front, on a black velvet tablecloth and some other bits and bobs like dry leaves, a candle in a lantern etc. There’s also some text that says “people say nice things about my book: Boxing Day edition”

Screenshot of Amazon review: this book is phenomenal! Jess takes us back to being teenagers, her writing of Jenny is brilliant and really makes you bond with the character and feel those teenage emotions once again. The classic use of early 00s music references and the balls of Jenny reminded me so much of my teens. I was gripped in parts and couldn’t put it down, this book has everything included all of hell! Well done Jess can’t wait to see what you write next PS can you do a second book I definitely need more Jenny and Luc in my life!

Screenshot of Amazon review: This book has absolutely lovely central concepts and themes, brilliantly executed. Jenny’s quest to fill the soul-shaped void inside her is one that I’m sure will resonate with many teens. Just the right amount of thrills, scares and celestial bureaucracy. Wicked, funny, full of feeling. I needed this book when I was a teen and I’m so glad it’s here now. Popplewell is going to be well popular! (Author’s note: don’t know about that last bit!)

A poster showing quotes from 3 lots of 5 star Goodreads reviews: “I enjoyed every minute of this book”, “my most anticipated read of 2024 and it didn’t disappoint at all”, and finally “I feel like I want to read it again in the winter with a candle burning, a blanket and copious amounts of tea.”

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

That only makes me feel *more* Christmassy about the timing, frankly.

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Don’t even need to click the link to know I agree with you. Is anyone surprised??

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Scott Lynch @scottlynch78.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Oh wow, suddenly you have a desperate need for social and artistic skill sets? Amazing. Anyway, eat a cold loaf of Satan's ass cheese, fellas.

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Ed Newton-Rex @ednewtonrex.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

🚨 The UK government just published a breakdown of the responses to its consultation on AI & copyright: - 95% of respondents want AI companies to pay for their training data (made up of 88% saying strengthen copyright law, & 7% saying leave it as is) 🧵 1/2

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

Like, I don’t WANT everyone to sound the same, and LLMs are homogenising our communication, our art. I know this isn’t a new thought, but as someone who has ALWAYS been on the side of the weirdo, the outsider, I can’t help thinking that’s really, really sad. (4/4)

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

And does it matter? If most people can’t tell, does that mean LLMs have won already? Even if that’s the case it won’t stop me writing, but it is sending me into a spiral about authenticity and the writer’s voice. (3)

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

- found a really interesting and important Instagram page… that clearly used ChatGPT to write all its text. And it seems like most people DON’T see what I see. They think those posts have been written by a person. They think that BOOK has been written by someone real… (2)

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Jess Popplewell @jesspopps.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

I’m full of cold, and I’m also ✨hormonal✨ so, maybe I’m taking this differently than I would normally, but within the last few days I have: - got 2 chapters into a book recommended to me before realising it was either written ENTIRELY with ChatGPT or at least relied heavily on it… (1)

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