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Will Smith

@likewinterblue.bsky.social
344 followers 92 following 47 posts

Book peddler, book reviewer, book hoarder, academic and freelance writer.

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Reposted by Will Smith
Carnyx Press @carnyxpress.co.uk · 01/10/2026
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.
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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
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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.
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Still think John Wark could do a job in either team.
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Workington otters, or taking the car for a service again
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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
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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.
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
I was once in a first class carriage (it was on offer) with Love Island runners up who had just filmed their "meet the family" episode and were discussing all the offers that were coming their way. Eye opening.
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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.
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
P was swimming, I was all about the stonechats
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Eskdale stiles do not mess about. @lakesstiles.bsky.social
View down five flights of steps on a stile in Eskdale, Cumbria
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
not for the first time, wishing there was a Cumbrian evri dowser for such hedge deliveries
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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
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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.
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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.
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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...
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Getting the MOT done in Workington again.
A heron in mid-flight
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Fascinating! The erne!
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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...
Image courtesy of @wyorksarchives
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Join us on Wednesday 14th at 5pm on zoom! #DorothyWordsworth #Droste #Romanticism #DisabledWriters #QueerHistory #DisabilityHistory
post for event: 14 January 2026, 5pm UK time, via zoom. 
This roundtable highlights new developments in research and outreach around the work and lives of the English poet and diarist Dorothy Wordsworth and the German poet and author Annette von
Droste-Hülshoff.

While foregrounding the writings of Dorothy and Droste, the
roundtable will also introduce Que(e)ry Points, a collaborative project that interweaves work by the writers with new texts, audio material, and a playable online game. Que(e)ry Points invites readers, listeners and players to explore how queerness and chronic illness inform the
writing of both authors, as well as their relationship to landscape. Que(e)ry Points takes its name from notes Dorothy Wordsworth made to herself in her Alfoxden journal of questions about her surroundings as she walks, that she needed to record to look up later. Speakers: Polly Atkin, Anneke Lubkowkitz, Abi Palmer and Annie Rutherford
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
New Year Grasmere Rook
Rook, in winter sunshine, in tree
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
This morning's heron
Heron standing in beck
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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
Kestrel with wings outstretched
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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!!
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
Love this. Also, how does it all work?
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
Solid Grasmere heron content
Heron with beak under wing in the field opposite the bookshop on Broadgate
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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.
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
Lovely. I will be at the bookshelves tomorrow, Saturday, for all Grasmere book needs. Hope you have a good weekend either way!
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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.
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
Another sunny day in Grasmere...
Sun going down over Silver How, seen from Stock Lane
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Me on Radio Cumbria this morning, introducing Jenn Ashworth's new coast-to-coast book "path books are having a time..."
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Such nostalgia for seed tray gardens.
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
Your daily Grasmere heron
Heron balanced on a fence over the river in amongst green fields.
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
You should have seen his seedtray garden. One of the best.
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
Good to see the Albanian market for Postal Paths catered for there.
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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?
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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)
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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.
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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)
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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.
Teal coloured square with background of shape of the British Isles. Top left corner has the golden nib logo of the nibbies with 2025 under it and The 35th British Book Awards to the right. Top right has sponsored by Gardners. Centre text reads: independent bookshop of the year, regional and country finalist, north england.
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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 behindRumer Godden, Black Narcissus (Virago Modern Classic) on the bookshop counter with bookshelves behindRumer Godden Virago Modern Classic reissues, spine on on the bookshop table, standing next to Elizabeth Fair, Rose Macaulay and Elizabeth von Arnim
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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
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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).
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Hugely excited about @jennashworth.bsky.social's coast-to-coast memoir The Parallel Path: Love, Grit and Walking the North coming in July... www.samreadbooks.co.uk/product/pre-...
samreadbooks.co.uk
PRE ORDER - Jenn Ashworth, The Parallel Path: Love, Grit and Walking the North | Sam Read Bookseller Online Shop
*Please note this title is not published until the 17th July 2025*Burnt-out and in need of retreat, Jenn Ashworth emerged from lockdown with a compulsive need to walk - and to walk away. Armed with li...
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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.
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Too kind! Yes, that's the best. I think it's a fascinating first hand account and it's only just been published in a very small press edition.
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Oh yes, can I send you a copy Luke? It's this recently transcribed diary... www.samreadbooks.co.uk/product/dr-r...
samreadbooks.co.uk
Dr Reginald Hannay Fothergill, In Search of Honour: The War Diary of Dr Reginald Hannay Fothergill (ed. Dave Dunn) | Sam Read Bookseller Online Shop
The unique record of a country town doctor who swaps his genteel practice in the Lake District for the horrors of the Western Front in a bid to find 'honour', these diaries also capture a seldom-heard...
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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
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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
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Will Smith @likewinterblue.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Amazing night sky in Grasmere
A starry sky in Grasmere above snow-topped fells.
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