iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Newcastle upon Tyne, 1975, photo by Chris Killip.

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Lonely Tower Film & Media @lonelytower.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Lovely to meet siblings Ray and Moira, and their friend Keith, yesterday. Horden's regeneration plan means their childhood home would be demolished and replaced with new housing they couldn't afford. They support regeneration, but not at the cost of the house they've lived in for 60 years.

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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Cottages By A Lake, Achill, west of Ireland, painting by Paul Henry (1876-1958), Belfast-born artist.

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Eva Verde @evakinder.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Hello beautiful Bluesky readers and writers! If I may, I'd like to introduce my new brilliant book THEM GIRLS - A novel about sisterhood, 90s pop culture and the corruption of power, published 9th April 2026 by @simonschusteruk Now available on Netgalley and to preorder Love Eva 🧡

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Jericho Writers @jerichowriters.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Congratulations to @louisepowell.bsky.social, whose debut literary fiction novel Underdogs will be published by JM Originals in July 2026. Louise was the recipient of a free Agent One-to-One session and you can find out more about these sessions by following the link in our bio.

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Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 02/12/2025

Great culture can save lives. Literally. Amazing letter in today’s @thetimes.com about Tom Stoppard

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

For 6+ years, I’ve been working on a novel called UNDERDOGS. It's about a father, a son & the gamble of their lives. I’m delighted to say that UNDERDOGS will be published by JM Originals @johnmurrays.bsky.social on 2 July 2026! You can read the opening on p. 33: www.hachette.co.uk/wp-content/u...

A pink and white background with black text:
I'd just gone ten year auld the day that I met Bertie. Well, I say 'day', but it was half five in the mornin and it was Januree, so really it was night.
Underdogs Louise Powell July 2nd 2026

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 25/08/2025

Spending the Bank Holiday as I've spent the past week or so: paying very close attention to the fine details of a project that means a lot to me, & feeling very grateful towards all those who are supporting it... #amwriting #amediting

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Photobook Junkies @photobookjunkies.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

📷 Jean Gaumy

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Colin Smith @colinsmith.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Clay Lane Furnaces, South Bank, Middlesbrough, 1981, by Graham Smith.

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

So impressed by @mariegardiner.bsky.social's 'Changing Landscapes' zine, which brightened my weekend when it arrived & now sits on my shelves for inspiration! With a beautiful colour palette and evocative images, it's a zine I'm already looking forward to returning to...

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

"I have learned what is safe. What makes assumptions vanish:" it's been a long time since I read a piece that resonated with me as strongly as Matt Taylor's 'Tracksuits and Me'. It spoke to me on too many levels to sum up in one post, but it's brilliant to see writing like this commissioned.

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

So pleased to have reached the 20,000 word mark of a new project. Lots of exploratory work around character & setting in there, so I’d be surprised if 5,000 appear in the polished draft – but the thought & the spirit behind those words will underpin the whole piece. #amwriting

A blue notebook with two pens laid across it: one orange pen, and one black. There is a white index card book laid across the blue notebook. In brown, orange, red and yellow capitals it reads: You've Got This.

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womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

'The watcher' by Yorkshire born printmaker Hester Cox #WomensArt

Print featuring the upper half of a rabbit facing forwards head turned to the right among tall grasses in golden light under a yellow sun

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

"The decision to use a Northern dialect could mean the work itself is then subject to the stereotypes about Northerners being inferior, uncultured & uneducated": a powerful article from @jenbowden12.bsky.social on barriers which Northern writers (particularly dialect writers) face within publishing.

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Lizzie Lovejoy @lizzielovejoy.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

One week to go until GOBBY LASS at Durham Fringe! If you like spoken word and stand-up poetry, come along durhamfringe.co.uk/events/gobby...

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Emma Purshouse @emmapurshouse.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Willenhall Writers have undertaken a commission as part of Creative Black Country’s Creative Communities project. www.youtube.com/@WillenhallWritersGroup Stop by and have a look. You’ll find poems, stories, memoir, glorious pictures of Willenhall, and even a song! Happy Black Country Day!

youtube.com

Willenhall Writers' Group

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

When I started writing seriously, I was given a beautiful pen for my birthday. I put the pen in my desk drawer & said that I wouldn't use it til I reached a certain writing milestone. Yesterday I met that milestone, & got to use that pen. It felt like writing with pure sunshine… #amwriting

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Stu Hennigan @stuhennigan.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

Shout out to @jenbowden12.bsky.social who's really struggling keeping the excellent Northern Voices podcast afloat atm. If anyone is able to donate even a little it'd help a lot. Pls share w/anyone who may be interested. @beelitmag.bsky.social any chance of a RT pls? donorbox.org/northern-voi...

donorbox.org

Northern Voices | Northern Voices (Powered by Donorbox)

Thank you for your support. It takes a bit of work to get NV out into the world each week, so here's a quick breakdown of what's involved: 1–2 hours reading per episode 1 hour creating a script/schedu...

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

Really enjoyed watching last night's livestream of the #NorthernWritersAwards 2025 & celebrating its talented awardees. Over the moon to see the powerhouse that is Lizzie Lovejoy win the Sid Chaplin Award! Congratulations everyone - you're in for such a special writing time!

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

There's something very beautiful about editing a project that you've been working on for years. Looking back not just at the writer you were at the beginning, but the person too; reflecting on how you & the manuscript have grown... #amediting

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

I'm chuffed that Emma Morgan's new novel BEGGARS WOULD RIDE @northodoxpress.bsky.social is proving so popular! Emma is part of my Northern Writers' Awards Peer Group & is an incredibly talented, astute & generous writer. Really looking forward to reading this book!

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

Over the past few days, I’ve appreciated having time to not just stop & look at the flowers, but at my writing career. The stories I’ve told, the ones I’m telling, & the ones I need to tell. Where to concentrate my energy so that those seeds of ideas grow into golden blooms...

A profusion of yellow English Marigolds, purple geraniums, and yellow and orange Welsh Poppies.

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Yvonne Battle-Felton @whyiwrite.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

Celebrate Carers Week with an online writing retreat by University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education Centre for Creative Writing this Sunday. We'll be writing, reflecting, and discussing what we write. Free for carers. #writing #community #carer bit.ly/3HD5P53

bit.ly

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: In Your Own Words onlne Writing Retreat. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

Celebrating Carer's Week with an online writing retreat

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Enjoyed Ep 1 of @clairemalcolm.bsky.social & Richard Benson's 'The Working-Class Library' podcast. It was fascinating to listen to Professor Simon James discuss George's Gissing's 'The New Grub Street'. Looking forward to reading it - & listening to more episodes! open.spotify.com/episode/3gjN...

open.spotify.com

New Grub Street by George Gissing

The Working Class Library · Episode

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

During a Bank Holiday Monday sort-out, it was lovely to be reminded of these beautiful photos of greyhound racing, & the inspiration they've given me as I work on my flapping novel. They were posted to me without details of the photographer, but I wish I knew who they were so I could thank them!

A black and white photograph of a man hugging a greyhound.

A black and white photograph of a dog track.

A black and white photograph of a bookie and punters.

A black and white photograph of a proud, smiling, smartly dressed man in a flat cap with a greyhound.

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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

View from Winding Tower, by Lesley Young, b.1942 (Salford Museum & Art Gallery). #WomensArt #NorthernArt

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Durham University Collections @ducollections.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Produced by the MA Museum and Artefact students, a new exhibition will be opening on June 14th in Palace Green Library. Stop in to learn more about folklore from historic County Durham as told through famous stories like the Lambton Wyrm! #beastsandlegends #studentexhibition

A ghostly lad, a boar and the Lambton worm as shadows hovering over the shadow of a soldier with a sword. The shadow is attached to a small boy standing in a doorway.

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Really pleased to have finished a round of edits on a project which means a lot to me. Loved working with notes to improve the story as well as my craft! #amwriting

A pile of papers splayed on a blue surface. To one side of the papers is a brown notebook with a dusky blue spine and a pattern of painted flowers.

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Kit de Waal @kitdewaal.com · 01/05/2025

International Workers' Day is a celebration of labourers and the working classes on 1 May. I chose that day to publish Common People, memoirs of working class lives from both well known and new writers. A privilege to work with them all. So proud of this. Link below. Please share :)

unbound.com

Common People: An Anthology of Working Class Writers

Working-class stories are not always tales of the underprivileged and dispossessed. Common People is a collection of essays, poems and memoir written in celebration, not apology: these are narratives ...

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

1st May marks 6 years since I became a published writer, with a memoir about flapping at Easington Greyhound Stadium. That piece has taken - and continues to take - me to writing places I never dreamt possible. Forever grateful to be one of @kitdewaal.bsky.social's #CommonPeople!

Front cover of 'Common People', edited by Kit de Waal.

First page of 'This Place is Going to the Dogs' by Louise Powell.
While other children went to Florida, I went flapping. To the uninitiated, going 'flapping' might sound like travelling to a holiday camp where The Birdie Song is constantly on repeat...

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

I'm elbow-deep in edits for a writing project that I've been working on for a very long time; one very close to my heart. Really enjoying working through the notes I've been given, strengthening the story - & using the nice pens! Edited in longhand, as it was written #amediting

A white desk laid with papers, pens, post-it notes and glasses. There is a brown notebook with a flowery pattern and a blue spine; an empty latte glass and a certificate in a silver frame which reads: Sid Chaplin Award 2023 Dr Louise Marie Powell Northern Writers' Awards

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Davenant 📸 @marcdavenant.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

‘Coal-Searcher Going Home to Jarrow’ in 1937 by Bill Brandt. He considered this to be the best photograph of that series.

A man wheeling a bicycle with a sack of coal across the frame

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

In an infringement of copyright & a total disregard for my livelihood, my academic & creative publications have been taken without my consent to train AI. I stand with the @societyofauthors.bsky.social's Day of Action & have signed this petition to protect authors' rights: chng.it/hYknZdPyfq

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Jeremy Corbyn @jeremycorbyn.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

This is a seminal moment: a Labour government cutting disability benefits. Not just continuing Tory levels. Cutting. This comes after a week of speculation, itself an act of cruelty by a government toying with people’s dignity. These cuts are disgraceful - and they will cost lives.

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Bluemoose Books @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Please do support your local libraries. We're losing 40 libraries a year. They are such an essential part of our communities. Please, if you can, contact your MP or councillors before its too late. @librariesconnected.bsky.social @theguardian.com www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Library closures: What impact do they have on communities who lose them?

Research by the BBC finds libraries are being lost at a rate of about 40 each year.

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

So grateful for all of the support shown over the last 6 weeks for the #ACESupported COAL FACE Exhibition at Sunderland Museum. Thank you to our brilliant participants, funders, project partners, visitors & those who spread the word. Here's hoping there are more chances to hear those stories...

An image of two people standing in a gallery of photography and poetry.
Andy, left, white, hat, dark hair, dark beard, dark jacket and jumper.
Louise, right, white, brown hair with blonde highlights, dark coat.

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

"It was clear the exhibition was of real importance to the local community": such a lovely write-up of the #ACESupported COAL FACE Exhibition & Study Day from @kathyhoyle.bsky.social, who was a wonderful Chair for my panel event! Could have talked dialect & working-class writing for hours...

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Kathy Hoyle @kathyhoyle.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Delighted to be chairing the brilliant study day event today! I’ll be talking to Dr Louise Powell about her wonderful poetry, mining communities and why preserving our North East heritage is so important.

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ALCS @alcs.co.uk · 25/02/2025

Got a spare moment on your lunch break? What better way to spend it than by telling the Government to respect the rights of creators. Submit a response to their AI and copyright consultation. It doesn't need to take long. Guidance below 👇 www.alcs.co.uk/news/your-ri...

alcs.co.uk

Your rights are under threat from AI. It’s time to have your say!

The Government recently launched a consultation on AI and copyright. Now is the time to have your say and make sure that legislators hear the concerns of creators.

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Kit de Waal @kitdewaal.com · 21/02/2025

‘Who tells the story determines the story that gets told.’ In 2017 Common People, an anthology of working class memoir was our attempt to offer alternative narratives. So much yet to be done. See the work of @drdaveobrien.bsky.social

theguardian.com

Working-class creatives don’t stand a chance in UK today, leading artists warn

Exclusive: Analysis by the Guardian shows a third of major arts leaders were educated privately

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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Big River, by north-east artist Anthony Caine. #NorthernArt

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Narbi Price @narbiprice.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

The face of Albert ‘Tot’ Holyoak, as photographed by #AndyMartin I’m a big fan of Andy’s work and I’m really looking forward to chatting with him at his and @louisepowell.bsky.social’s incredible world class show COAL FACE at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens on the morning of March 1st.

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Lorraine.Malyan @lorrainemalyan.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

@martintype.bsky.social and @louisepowell.bsky.social have created the most wonderful exhibition combining outstanding photography and words to create CoalFace. It's on now at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens. Please go and see it if you can. Then see it again.

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Happy to have finished work on a short piece for performance which pushes me out of my writerly comfort zone in terms of style & form. So important to keep stretching & developing... #amwriting

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Dr Louise Powell @louisepowell.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Happy to share Ep. 2 in the #ACESupported COAL FACE podcast series, which is now also available on SoundCloud as well as Spotify. I wrote & narrated this ep, in which 5 fascinating people explore what it was like to be a miner's wife - or go 'down the pit' yourself. soundcloud.com/user-2870213...

soundcloud.com

Coal Face Podcast Series 1 Episode 2: Reality

50 years on from the closure of the last colliery in Washington, what does it mean to have mining heritage in the area? Dr Louise Powell speaks to five fascinating people who talk about what it was li

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Andy Martin @martintype.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

We decided to consciously forgo the traditional guestbook at the COAL FACE exhibition in lieu of a giant bar of Pit Head Baths soap. If you visit, please write a comment or two and hoy it into the soap. ☺️

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Andy Martin @martintype.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

We’re into week 2 of the COAL FACE exhibition, extremely proud of the work @louisepowell.bsky.social and me have produced together. Hot off the press today are these A3 handouts/posters, free to all visitors. Open today at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens until 4pm.

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Marie Gardiner @mariegardiner.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

Easington terraces and streets #ThePhotoHour #Photography

a road at the end of a row of terraced houses

a road up the middle of two streets of terraced houses with grass in front of both

a row of terraced houses going uphill into the distance, with a road and grass in front of them

a road behind rows of terraced houses with back wall yards, and kids at the bottom pushing a wheelchair

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