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Julia O’Connell

@juliajoyce.bsky.social
853 followers 465 following 651 posts

Publicity Director at Penzler Publishers; Freelance editor; Book blogger at The Gothic Library. She/her ✡️📚

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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 15h
Yet she is a phantom, unable to inflict actual physical harm on the youth, only to torment him mentally until he is driven to starvation and exhaustion. She’s no figment of his imagination, though—the dog can sense her too! #AScareADay 4/
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 15h
Gertrude has more sense, refusing to join his oath bc “the dead who die at peace with God are happy in heaven.” But she makes an ominous exception for suicides—something I usually associate with other forms of undead rather than ghosts #AScareADay 3/
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 15h
If there might be one moral from the stories in the reading challenge so far, it is: don’t swear stupid oaths. Out unnamed protagonist is all to quick, for someone with a fickle heart, to swear that death will not part him from his lover (and cousin), asking her to do the same. #AScareADay 2/
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 15h
Day 6 of #AScareADay is “The Cold Embrace” by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, an old favorite ghost story that I’ve read a couple times before. This time, the young lovers are not threatened by outside forces but rather by the young man’s carelessness and disloyalty. 1/
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
This one resolves rather quickly and cleanly and I’m not sure anyone learns any lessons here, apart from: always keep a cross blessed by a priest on-hand. #AScareADay 3/
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Anyone could tell you that when a vampire asks you to sacrifice the next dove that rushes into your embrace, that “dove” will turn out to be your beautiful young lover. But turns out you don’t need to keep up your end of demon-deals! If only the lady of yesterday’s story had known #AScareADay 2/
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Day 5 of #AScareADay is “The Unholy Compact Abjured” by Charles Pigault-Lebrun. This was very nearly another case of tragic lovers, but luckily it all ends happily ever after. Our hapless hero startles a witch, then stumbles into a den of vampires and enters into an ill-advised oath. 1/
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
New blog post! If you love both murder mysteries and fantasy set in uniquely crafted worlds, then you don’t want to miss BODIES OF MAGIC by @freyamarske.bsky.social: www.thegothiclibrary.com/bodies-of-ma... 💙📚 💀🔎📚
thegothiclibrary.com
Bodies of Magic—Fantasy Does Murder Mystery - The Gothic Library
What could be more stressful than a five-day practical final exam on which all of your future plans and job prospects depend? Try throwing a dead body into the mix! Five students at a magical school f...
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
But who is in charge here? Is the devil punishing this man for his disrespect to Jesus? Or did the devil swoop in with a new deal for getting him out of the curse to wander until “the heavens and the earth have passed away” with a chance to rest? Is he twice over a cursed immortal? #AScareADay 4/
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The stranger explains that he “curst his Saviour on the cross” and that Jesus’s dying gaze on him has made him immortal. But now he serves a “master” who demands a million souls and then will allow him to rest. Thus combining the two major threads of Cursed Immortal tropes. #AScareADay 3/
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Clotilda quotes the words of Ruth to Naomi, but little does she know what god she has just promised to follow… I sensed from early on that this was some variation on the Wandering Jew/cursed immortal figure. Yet there’s a part of the stranger’s story that doesn’t make sense to me. #AScareADay 2/
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Day 4 of #AScareADay is “The Spectre Bride” by William Harrison Ainsworth. We continue our theme of fathers and lovers! When a mysterious stranger shows up at Clotilda’s birthday party and murders her father, somehow this does nothing to lessen her youthful passion for him. 1/
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Who is the Black Knight and how did he end up at the bottom of a lake? Was he a real knight once who is living out some curse? Or just a supernatural entity that has taken the form of a knight. Does he do anything besides blow his deathly winds at people who forget to pray? #AScareADay 3/
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Though our protagonist Earl William is ominously warned that he must stop and pray before reaching the edge of the water, he forgets. Oops. Maybe King Robert should have taken an extra moment to mention the creepy death-knight that dwells there. #AScareADay 2/
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
It’s Day 3 of #AScareADay, and it’s also Spooky Lake Month! Anne Bannerman’s poem “The Black Night of the Water” is all about a particularly spooky lake in a marsh of sedge. Nothing good ever emerges from strange whirlpools in stagnant lakes… 1/
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Ah, thank you for explaining the incest, I somehow missed that. Though looking back at it now, it is the obvious Gothic trope!
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
At least he gets a cool story out of it—one that he refuses to actually tell us! What is the “terrible secret” of the Gravesend stranger and his imprisoned lover? And what does it have to do with the bedroom full of ancient weapons that gives our narrator creepy dreams? #AScareADay 3
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Our adventurous narrator, who has traveled all the way to the exotic land of England and now is on his homeward journey, has no sense of self-preservation. Sure, let’s row over to the creepy island, walk toward that castle the locals avoid, invite myself in, then enter random caves. #AScareADay 2/
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Day 2 of #AScareADay is the short story “The Island of Bornholm” by Russian author Nikolai Karamzin. More tragic lovers! More grieving fathers! Some fun Danish Gothic architecture. But what is this story actually about? The narrator could tell you. Or he could just leave you in eternal suspense. 1/
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Penzler Publishers @penzlerpublishers.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Looking for some spooky book events? If you're in any of the cities listed below, come see internationally bestselling author Lyndsay Faye on her book tour for RAVEN. RAVEN is "at once an homage to Edgar Allan Poe and a playful riff on the gothic genre" (PW). www.lyndsayfaye.com/new-events
Lyndsay Faye's RAVEN Tour Dates. 1) September 17, 5:30pm, Richmond, VA Tell-Tale Talk at the Poe Museum; 2) October 5, 6pm, New York, NY, The Mysterious Bookshop; 3) October 6, 6pm, Providence, RI Books on the Square; 4) October 8, 6:30pm, Arlington, VA, One More Page Books; 5) October 12, 7pm, Los Angeles, CA, Book Soup; 6) October 14, 5:30pm, San Francisco, CA, Book Passage, SF Ferry Building; 7) October 16, 7pm, Portland, OR, Powell's, Cedar Hills; 8) October 18, 6pm; Bellingham, WA, Village Books & Paper Dreams; 9) October 20, 6:30pm, Seattle, WA, Swoon City; 10) November 3, 7pm, Kelso, WA, Folded Corner; 11) November 9, 7pm, Queens, NY, Astoria Bookshop; 12) November 18, 6pm MT, Virtual Event, Poisoned Pen. https://www.lyndsayfaye.com/new-events
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I would go to this party! 👻
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It’s interesting that Ed-ghost could speak to Margaret but not to Conrad. What might he have been trying to say to Conrad? Would the haunting have been more or less effective if Conrad could hear him? I think the silence and the not-knowing makes it scarier. #AScareADay 3/3
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
But he’s not done—Ed-ghost goes on another visit that night to his murderer, who is kept awake by guilt. Act III has no visible ghosts, but instead a ghostly strain of music alerts Margaret’s aging father to the fact that he is now all alone in the world. #AScareADay 2/3
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It begins! Day 1 of #AScareADay is the poem “Night Tales of Other Times” by Joanna Baillie (1790). It’s a Dead Lover tale! Or at least it starts that way. Poor Edward’s ghost keeps his promise to meet Margaret, who waits for him out in the cold. 1/3 romancingthegothic.com/2026/09/16/t...
romancingthegothic.com
The 2026 October #AScareADay Challenge
It’s that time of year again! I’ve spent the whole year putting together this list, trying to find a good range of new authors and some old favourites! The #AScareADay challenge is all …
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
They just canceled the marketplace days and I’m hearing about some of the panels getting canceled. There might not be anything to fly in for anyway…
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Oh no! I was hoping the indoor panels were still on. Ah well, sounds like it will be a good weekend to stay inside and read…
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
New blog post! Check out my review of Back for Blood: Never Whistle at Night Part II: www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-ba... 💙📚 😱📚
thegothiclibrary.com
Review of Back for Blood: Never Whistle at Night Part II - The Gothic Library
A few years ago, the anthology Never Whistle at Night burst onto the horror fiction scene, introducing readers to a whole slew of talented indigenous authors right when the meteoric rise of Stephen Gr...
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
My favorite time of year is almost here!
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Gorgeous. And so cool to hear from the artist!
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Looking for a spooky read that bridges summer and fall? Check out my review of THE HAUNTING OF PAYNES HOLLOW by @kelleyarmstrong.bsky.social: www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-th... 💙📚 😱📚
thegothiclibrary.com
Review of The Haunting of Paynes Hollow—Lakeside Horror - The Gothic Library
Spending the summer in Upstate New York at a private cottage on the shores of Lake Ontario sounds like a dream. But for Sam Payne, whose idyllic childhood summers spent at the family cabin complex wer...
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Reposted by Julia O’Connell
Penzler Publishers @penzlerpublishers.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Hot off the press: it’s the perfect read for spooky season! Lyndsay Faye, bestselling author of Jane Steele and Gods of Gotham, is back with a Gothic suspense novel that is a decadent homage to the life & works of Edgar Allan Poe. RAVEN by Lyndsay Faye - in stores October 6! 💙📚 😱📚
Photo of hardcover book RAVEN by Edgar Allan Poe. The cover features a large black feather against a background of aged parchment with occult symbols. The title “RAVEN” runs diagonally across it in bold red letters
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Dr Sam Hirst @romgothsam.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
I'm running another online course through Liverpool University in October! Come join me for an exploration of the early Gothic in its many forms www.liverpool.ac.uk/continuing-e...
University of Liverpool

The Rise of the Gothic, 1764-1820

10 weekly sessions online, on Wednesdays at -8pm, starting from Wednesday 7 October with Dr Sam Hirst
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
What if the only person who might be able to break your family curse was the ex-boyfriend you’ve been trying so hard not to text? Check out my review of EVOCATION by @stgibson.bsky.social! www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-ev... 💙📚
thegothiclibrary.com
Review of Evocation—Faustian Bargains and Found Family - The Gothic Library
What if the only person who might be able to break your family curse was the ex-boyfriend you’ve been trying so hard not to text? S. T. Gibson explores demon bargains and complicated relationship dyna...
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Just listened! Absolutely loved it. You did an amazing job capturing the narrator’s different moods through your tone of voice. This is one of those stories I feel like I get something new out of every time I read it.
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
I’ll be running the Virtual Cocktail Hour on Saturday at 8pm BST. Grab your ingredients so you can follow along! #RomancingtheGothic
Romancing the Gothic 2026 Conference 
More Terrors Than Her Reason Could Justify
Cocktail Hour Recipe Guide 

 Prep mint syrup in advance:

1. Heat equal parts sugar and water on stove
2. Remove from heat and add several sprigs of mint
3. When cool, strain into a jar for storage

Death of the Italian

Mint syrup
Lime juice
Black sambuca*
Prosecco

(*White sambuca also works, but won’t look as goth)

Forest Fizz (non-alcoholic)

Sugar (any kind)
Pickle juice or fresh dill
Lemon juice
Cucumber juice
Seltzer
Rosemary sprig 

How to make cucumber juice:

1. Grate a cucumber until you have about 1 cup 
2. Squeeze through cheesecloth or a strainer until you have ¼ cup of juice
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
This weekend is the #RomancingtheGothic online conference! Sign up now for a weekend full of talks, events, workshops, live readings and an author round table—all centered on Ann Radcliffe and marginalised genders in the Gothic. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/more-terro...
eventbrite.co.uk
'More Terrors Than Her Reason Could Justify': An Online Gothic Conference
On 22nd and 23rd August we celebrate 200 years of Ann Radcliffe's posthumous publications and marginalised genders in the Gothic!
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
“I should learn to read the weather signs like the fishermen.” “Gotta collect all the local folklore!” “Gonna learn to commit all important conversations to memory so I can faithfully transcribe them in my diary, in case I feel like starting a career as a journalist.” She loves life. #DraculaDaily
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
On this, my fifth annual reread of Dracula, I am falling more in love with Mina than ever. She has such a thirst for knowledge and an enthusiasm for picking up new skills. Not only becoming fluent in shorthand and memorizing train time tables to help Jonathan, but also… #DraculaDaily
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Penzler Publishers is hiring a full-time publicity & editorial assistant!
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
New blog post! Check out my review of @chucktingle.bsky.social’s latest horror novel FABULOUS BODIES: www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-fa... 💙📚 😱📚
thegothiclibrary.com
Review of Fabulous Bodies—Brilliant Body Horror - The Gothic Library
Bodies are just bodies, right? Whether it’s the killer physique that gets her tons of followers on social media or the corpse that she’s stealing from a funeral home to sell on the black market, Poppy...
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
You can grab your ticket to the Romancing the Gothic conference here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/more-terro... We’ll have panels not just about the works of the Queen of the Early Gothic, Ann Radcliffe, but also about marginalized genders in the Gothic across history. All over Zoom and recorded.
eventbrite.co.uk
'More Terrors Than Her Reason Could Justify': An Online Gothic Conference
On 22nd and 23rd August we celebrate 200 years of Ann Radcliffe's posthumous publications and marginalised genders in the Gothic!
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
I wanted put this ingredient guide out early because black sambuca can be a little difficult to find. But if you can snag a bottle, it’s so worth it for the shadowy vibe it gives to the cocktail. Regular white sambuca is much more common and equally delicious, though.
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
It’s that time a year again! #RomancingTheGothic is holding their annual all-virtual Gothic literature conference on August 22-23. This year is themed around the works of Ann Radcliffe. As always, I’ll be running the cocktail hour. Ingredient list below if you want to follow along with the demo.
Romancing the Gothic 2026 Conference 
More Terrors Than Her Reason Could Justify
Cocktail Hour Recipe Guide 

 Prep mint syrup in advance:

1. Heat equal parts sugar and water on stove
2. Remove from heat and add several sprigs of mint
3. When cool, strain into a jar for storage

Death of the Italian

Mint syrup
Lime juice
Black sambuca*
Prosecco

(*White sambuca also works, but won’t look as goth)

Forest Fizz (non-alcoholic)

Sugar (any kind)
Pickle juice or fresh dill
Lemon juice
Cucumber juice
Seltzer
Rosemary sprig 

How to make cucumber juice:

1. Grate a cucumber until you have about 1 cup 
2. Squeeze through cheesecloth or a strainer until you have ¼ cup of juice
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Reposted by Julia O’Connell
Dr Sam Hirst @romgothsam.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Are you interested in Ann Radcliffe? Women in Gothic and Horror? Trans horror? Writing workshops with amazing people? You can get it all for one online event. Come to as much or as little as you like! 22nd and 23rd August www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1993974113...
eventbrite.co.uk
'More Terrors Than Her Reason Could Justify': An Online Gothic Conference
On 22nd and 23rd August we celebrate 200 years of Ann Radcliffe's posthumous publications and marginalised genders in the Gothic!
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
It’s a fun one!
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
New blog post! Check out my review of MOSS’D IN SPACE by @rebeccathorne.bsky.social, the latest in a growing trend of cozy sci-fi books! www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-mo... 💙📚 #scifi #sciencefiction
thegothiclibrary.com
Review of Moss’d in Space—More Cozy Sci-fi - The Gothic Library
No space ship captain wants to discover that the ship they’ve been saving up for is already inhabited. But what do you do when that inhabitant is a moss-based organic computer with abandonment issues?...
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
New blog post! Check out my review of DARKNESS AT SHADOWSIDE, a classicly Gothic haunted house tale from @amandadeweesauthor.bsky.social: www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-da... 💙📚 😱📚
thegothiclibrary.com
Review of Darkness at Shadowside—Gothic Suspense - The Gothic Library
When Justine arrives at the house she’s been seeing in her dreams, it quickly becomes the house of her nightmares… Amanda DeWees is one of the few authors I can rely upon to regularly supply me with a...
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
I made my first substack post! (yes, I’m aware of the issues with the platform. It seems to be where the publishing folks are, though) It may or may not be my only post, but since I wrote out this scam email PSA for my authors, I figured I’d share: juliajoycepublicity.substack.com/p/watch-out-...
juliajoycepublicity.substack.com
Watch out for scam emails targeting authors
As a book publicist, here are some patterns I've seen in ai-generated scam emails
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
New blog post! Check out my review of THE LAMB WILL SLAUGHTER THE LION by @margaret.bsky.social, a book that hasn’t left my brain since I first read it years ago: www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-th... 💙📚 😱📚
thegothiclibrary.com
Review of The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion - The Gothic Library
“When the solstice sun rose, it drew Uliksi into the world. A spirit that turns the predator into the prey.” I’ve been thinking about this book since I first read it years ago. The Lamb Will Slaughter...
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Julia O’Connell @juliajoyce.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
#ALAAC26 Conference pro tip: stay hydrated! Especially as it gets hotter throughout the weekend. If you’re staying at the Hyatt, there are water bottle refill stations on every floor, near the ice machines.
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