iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Will Smith

Submissions are open! We're seeking short stories from writers living in the North of England for our anthology of cosmic horror. Find out more and submit: carnyxpress.co.uk/anthology-3-...

Submissions are open for short stories on the theme of cosmic horror, from writers living in the North of England, from the 1st October to the 30th November.

13942

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Hugely pleased to have read upcoming genre-blurring true crime memoir, Felled: The Killing at Sycamore Gap (published 22nd October by @newmodernbooks.bsky.social). A gem of a book, thought-provoking and layered. My review will be in an upcoming issue of Cumbria Life but suffice to say I loved it.

A proof copy of Andrew Hankinson's Felled: The Killing at Sycamore Gap (New Modern Arcade) with dry stone wall covered in moss behind

030

Reposted by Will Smith

Carnyx Press @carnyxpress.co.uk · 04/09/2026

It'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-...

Submissions will be open 1st October to the 30th November. We’re seeking weird and literary tales of cosmic horror, from writers living in the North of England, for our third anthology.

11822

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Workington otters, or taking the car for a service again

010

Reposted by Will Smith

Alan Cleaver @postalpathsguy.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

I was in Grasmere today when Will Smith from @samreadbookseller.bsky.social ran out and grabbed me kicking and screaming into his shop to sign some books. I signed about 50 and then he clarified he wanted me to sign MY book, The Postal Paths. There's also one rare unsigned book left in the shop 😁

Alan Cleaver in front of Grasmere's postbox

0233

Reposted by Will Smith

Nicola Pitchford @npitchford.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

OK, I'm going to post yet again one of the happiest photos I have. Me & distinguished #RuralWritingInstitute pals bringing in the cows at the regenerative idyll of Strickley for milking, summer 2019. (I am available for herding hire! And milk/cheese tasting....) Proud of our mate James Robinson. 💚

Three people seen from behind, following several heavy-uddered dairy shorthorn cows down a farm track in summer sunshine, with rolling green pastures on all sides.

1101

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Absolutely delighted to be able to buy milk from Strickley Dairy now on the shelves of @boothscountry.bsky.social. Fresh from the Dairy Shorthorn Cattle of Old Hutton, and the brilliant work of the Robinson family.

Strickley Organic Nature-Friendly Whole Milk with dry stone wall behind.

140

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Two legends side by side on the bookshop table in Grasmere here... @postalpathsguy.bsky.social @countbinface.bsky.social

Alan Cleaver's The Postal Paths next to Count Binface: What On Earth? An Alien's Guide to Fixing Britain on the bookshop table

130

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Yesterday, a lady in the bookshop hinted darkly that Grasmere was involved in some kind of conspiracy and that red squirrels must be made up. Today, after leaving the shelves of @samreadbookseller.bsky.social, this mythic figure was chomping outside our house.

181

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

On reflection, and to correct some misreadings here, I must make it clear that I was getting the MOT done and this heron was absolutely not.

000

Reposted by Will Smith

Sam Read Bookseller @samreadbookseller.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

It's June and #IndieBookshopWeek is fast approaching. Join us in Grasmere Village Hall on Wednesday June 17th to hear us talk with Katie Clapham about her bookselling life, and owning a small indie, through her shiny new book 'Receipts from the Bookshop'. Tickets here!

samreadbooks.co.uk

Receipts from the Bookshop: An evening with Katie Clapham on June 17th | Sam Read Bookseller Online Shop

In this in-person event we will hear from bookseller, author and substack-star Katie Clapham. Katie will be talking all things bookselling to celebrate the launch of her new bookshop memoir Receipts f...

083

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Getting the MOT done in Workington again.

010

Reposted by Will Smith

Dr Penny Bradshaw @drpennybradshaw.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

The next event in our Cultural Landscapes series is a free talk by @whitbyabi.bsky.social on Anne Lister and her 1824 tour of the Lake District. The talk will take place on Tue 14 April (6.30pm) at our Ambleside campus. For further details & to book a place see www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/per...

195

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 15/11/2025

I call this photo Workington, home of the best kestrel AKA getting the car serviced on a windy day

082

Reposted by Will Smith

Dr Chiara Bullen @chiarab.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

My cozy fantasy novel inspired by my love (and fear…) of Scotland’s mountains, misadventures in academia, and time spent adventuring in Dungeons and Dragons, will be out next July!!

1312824

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

Love this. Also, how does it all work?

020

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

Tomorrow morning I'll be on BBC Three Counties radio answering questions on the ouevre of Will Smith. Classic wireless content.

010

Reposted by Will Smith

Sam Read Bookseller @samreadbookseller.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

We're delighted to announce Rory Stewart will be launching new book Middleland in conversation with James Rebanks at Westmorland Hall, Kendal on Tuesday 28th October, 7pm. Buy your ticket and pre-order signed copies of Middleland to collect on the night: betterboxoffice.co.uk/westmorland-...

Photo of Rory Stewart on the left hand side, image of Rory's new book Middleland: Dispatches from the Borders (Jonathan Cape) in the centre, and on the right hand side, a photo of James Rebanks.

1125

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

Another sunny day in Grasmere...

Sun going down over Silver How, seen from Stock Lane

020

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

Amazing to see a photo with vivid childhood memories. This is the side of the Entwistle Cup, which I recall as being *the* hotly contested trophy (for children in Suffolk) at what used to be the Barrow and District Horticultural Society Show... @jessasatomp.bsky.social is that you on there too?

182

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

I spent £4.20 on @theobserveruk.bsky.social and Erica Wagner’s comment piece on Raynor Winn is missing its last sentence. Can I get any money back? (from the Observer not Raynor Winn which is obviously less likely)

110

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

Last night's Northern Lights over Grasmere #undertheaurora

Northern lights in the sky above Grasmere. Silhouette of Helm Crag on the horizon. Purple, blue and green light visible in the sky.

060

Reposted by Will Smith

Luke Turner @luketurner.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

Book tip! This diary of a Lakeland Dr turned RAMC Lieutenant is fantastic on the disconnect between the intimate violence & filth of the trenches and surrounding countryside, and also deeply moving w fragmentary glimpses of two men trying to rekindle a love affair against the backdrop of war (1/2)

1104

Reposted by Will Smith

Sam Read Bookseller @samreadbookseller.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Very proud to be a regional finalist for the Independent Bookshop of the Year once more. It may be #TheNibbies 35th anniversary year, and Sam Read Bookseller's 138th, but it is judged on @likewinterblue.bsky.social and @pollyrowena.bsky.social's 1st full year of stewardship, so extra special to us.

3295

Reposted by Will Smith

Sam Read Bookseller @samreadbookseller.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

RUMER HAS IT that these amazing Virago Modern Classic editions are published today! Rumer Godden's novels with excellent cover illustrations by Joanna Lisowiec. www.samreadbooks.co.uk/s/search?q=%...

Rumer Godden, In This House of Brede (Virago Modern Classic) on the bookshop counter with bookshelves behind

Rumer Godden, Black Narcissus (Virago Modern Classic) on the bookshop counter with bookshelves behind

Rumer Godden Virago Modern Classic reissues, spine on on the bookshop table, standing next to Elizabeth Fair, Rose Macaulay and Elizabeth von Arnim

061

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

SO excited about Ella Risbridger's In Love with Love: The Persistence and Joy of Romantic Fiction, published in November by @sceptrebooks.bsky.social #SceptreSalon25

010

Reposted by Will Smith

Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Enjoying the life stream of this salon! Wolf Moon by @arifa.bsky.social sounds great and of course super excited for #TheParallelPath by fabulous @jennashworth.bsky.social. Also for Ella Risbridger's new one and all the EM Forster reissues (always a Forster stan).

352

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

I'm loving this evening's #SceptreSalon25, packed with exciting books for the year ahead but also brilliant for programming a simple livestream for booksellers outside of London to watch too.

112

Reposted by Will Smith

Sam Read Bookseller @samreadbookseller.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

Happiest of publication days to Neko Case and her memoir The Harder I Fight The More I Love You out today from @headlinebooks.bsky.social. Available now from our shelves in Grasmere or in our online shop, as modelled here by our four-footed marketing trainee. www.samreadbooks.co.uk/product/neko...

hardcover book 'the harder I fight the more I love you', a memoir, by Neko Case, with photo of a young girl on front, holding an orange cat, and a shadowy monster wolf behind her. The book is upright on mossy tarmac ground in the sun, with a cat standing behind it, in the sun, blurry in the background.

tabby cat standing in front of hardcover book, 'hardcover book 'the harder I fight the more I love you', a memoir, by Neko Case, with photo of a young girl on front, holding an orange cat, and a shadowy monster wolf behind her, which is propped upright on stone paving slab in front of open wooden garden gate

072

Reposted by Will Smith

Laura Dietz @loradeets.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Publication day for an incredible book! Free OA download for Women Booksellers in the Twentieth Century: Hidden Behind the Bookshelves by Prof Samantha Rayner www.cambridge.org/core/element...

cambridge.org

Women Booksellers in the Twentieth Century

Cambridge Core - Anglo Saxon and Medieval Literature - Women Booksellers in the Twentieth Century

0127

Reposted by Will Smith

Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

Visited a short-eared pal this afternoon. #Owls

short eared owl with ear tufts up sitting on sloping grassy bank against grey sky

1543

Reposted by Will Smith

Sam Read Bookseller @samreadbookseller.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

A book stack of 2024 bookshop bestsellers! These books have been flying off the shelves in Grasmere this year. The top two spots go to Cumbrian book royalty @herdyshepherd.bsky.social and Helen Rebanks.

Stack of books inside the shop with bookshelves behind. The stack of books are: 1. James Rebanks, The Place of Tides (Allen Lane) 2. Helen Rebanks, The Farmer’s Wife (Faber) 3. Tom Palmer, Angel of Grasmere (Barrington Stoke) 4. Kim Tillyer, Beginner’s Guide to Cyanotype (Search Press) 5. Katie Hale, The Edge of Solitude (Canongate) 6. Ellie Wood, The Restaurant at the Heart of the Lakes (HarperNorth) 7. Polly Atkin, The Company of Owls (Elliott and Thompson) 8. E.M. Ward, Forest Silver (British Library) 9. Tom Chesshyre, Lost in the Lakes (Summersdale) 10. Esther Rutter, All Before Me (Granta) 11. Polly Atkin, Recovering Dorothy (Saraband) 12. Lemn Sissay, Let the Light Pour In (Canongate) 13. Polly Atkin, Some of Us Just Fall (Sceptre) 14. David Nicholls, You Are Here (Sceptre) 15. Grasmere History Group, Grasmere in 55½ Buildings (GHG)

411013

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

We saw three deer come bellowing in on Christmas Day in the afternoon.

Three deer staring at the camera in the woods.

1161

Reposted by Will Smith

lorencafferty.bsky.social @lorencafferty.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Am about to begin a reread of this gem (for book club) ECR Lorac’s Fell Murder. Set right outside my village. So grateful to @samreadbookseller.bsky.social for introducing me to Lorac.

072

Reposted by Will Smith

Kit de Waal @kitdewaal.com · 21/12/2024

Moniack Mhor, a beautiful writers centre in Scotland is running a gothic writing course starting in January, all online. Lots of residential, day and online courses on their website too. Check it out. www.moniackmhor.org.uk Please share

Snowy winter sunrise with sun through trees

417885

Reposted by Will Smith

Sam Read Bookseller @samreadbookseller.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

A seasonal passage from EM Ward's wonderful 1941 novel of Grasmere life, #ForestSilver, which echoes across the years in the winter village. We have loved sharing this new British Library Women Writers edition this year! samreadbooks.co.uk/product/e-m-...

EM Ward, Forest Silver (British Library Women Writers) with blurry bookshop bookshelves beyond

Chapter XII - opening: "Another war time Christmas now came to Grasmere. With three times as many people in the valley as there were normally in winter the shops were always full; a clutter of alert, well-dressed babies in their prams obstructed with their nurses the letter-box in Red Lion Square, it being the habit of prams to congregate outside the post office; strangers asked peculiar questions, at all times and of all persons. 'Is that Scafell Pike?' would say an elderly pedestrian, waving vaguely towards those slopes of Silver-how that look so immense from the village roads. 'Oh, is there a post office in Grasmere?' and 'Which is the church, please?'"

0142

Reposted by Will Smith

Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

This week the boy cat - who was feral and so scared of everyone until two months ago today - discovered the joy of: lounging on an unoccupied bed; lounging on a friendly knee. #BeMoreCat #CatLife

Tab cat curled on bed looking up questioningly

Tabby cat stretched out on stretched out jean clad legs of man sitting of sofa next to messy bookcase. He has a dark beard and is wearing a beige jumper with Christmas patterns in green and red on it.

3352

Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

Not long now until they spill the beans... really looking forward to the Nero Book Awards shortlist reveal!

Coffee cup. Reads: Caffè Nero: The Italian Coffee Company

141

Reposted by Will Smith

Grasmere Dialect Plays @grasdialectplays.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Love your linescapes @fellranger.bsky.social - as well as this fab indie bookshop! @samreadbookseller.bsky.social @likewinterblue.bsky.social @pollyrowena.bsky.social If anyone has copies of playscripts or programmes for the Grasmere Dialect Plays (or other info about them), please get in touch

183

Reposted by Will Smith

Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

The strangeness of a new platform that will not know Nala. I've been snuggled on the sofa by fire with the boy cat, remembering her. She loved to sit by the fire on a day like this as much as she loved a walk in the sun. I realised it was 9 years exactly yesterday that she 1st ate in our house.

black and white cat sitting on table in front of open wood fire in tiled mid-century fireplace, with candles on the mantlepiece.

black and white cat lying on green quilt on top of polly who is lying on sofa with red cushion under her head. She is smiling at the cat who is looking off to the right.

sun shining down in rainbow like beams over black and white cat standing alert by a wooden gate in stone gatepost in dry stone wall, with lake and fells and trees seen through all, all in late spring green.

2571

Reposted by Will Smith

Dinosaur Comics! @qwantz.com · 18/11/2024

he called it the "Sherlock Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence" project, or, for short, SETI@Holmes qwantz.com/index.php?co...

T-Rex: Sherlock Holmes was the world's greatest detective, but he'd recently deduced something alarming...

T-Rex: ...there were OTHER worlds in the universe! Tons of 'em!

T-Rex: And if there were other worlds, he deduced, it was possible THEY might carry life too. And if they did, he continued deducing, then they might have evolved detectives, even great ones!
Dromiceiomimus: Sherlock's deduced the Drake Equation for estimating number of alien civilizations in the galaxy?
T-Rex: Yes!

T-Rex: Only he calls it "The Sherlock Equation".
Utahraptor: Makes sense!

T-Rex: Deducing that alien deducers might also be similarly concerned with who is the best at deduction, he quickly set to deducing how other minds might deduce ways to communicate! Solving crimes no longer excited him; deducing the problem of alien communication consumed his every waking moment!!

T-Rex: Later, Sherlock made contact with an alien detective, the two of them teamed up to solve INTRAGALACTIC CRIMES. But he never mentioned it to Watson, so that's how come we can't read about it elsewhere!
T-Rex: *sigh*
T-Rex: It's the PERFECT STORY

817526