iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Dogs are certainly a theme with me - see also I Am Dog (illustrated by #ChrisJeavons, Dogdunnit (ill. #TorFreeman) Hot Dog Hal (ill. #TomMcLaughlin) and the special picture book version of Dodie Smith’s The Hundred and One Dalmatians (ill. @stevenlenton.bsky.social and published October 8th!). 😊

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Signe Rudoviča @signeru.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Consulting my home-stock reveals that @peterbently.bsky.social is a particular favourite and a strong contributor to dog books. See the more recent 'Dogs in Disguise' as well as the *forever* classic (now 17 years old!) 'The Great Dog Bottom Swap' #KidsBooksFriday #KidLitUK #UKKidLit #KidLit

A blue book cover showing an illustration of at least two dogs standing on top of each other while wearing human clothes and holding a blue leash attached to a small white dog, possibly a Maltese. The book is called "Dogs in Disguise", written by Peter Bently, illustrated by John Bond.

A book cover showing an illustration of a dalmatian playing a contrabass, a small lab on the piano, and what appears to be a hyena look-a-like dog on the sax. The book is called "The Great Dog Bottom Swap", written by Peter Bently, illustrated by Mei Matsuoka.

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Marianne Doherty @mariannedoherty.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Happy #IndieBookshopWeek! To celebrate I’ve put together a starter pack of all the indie bookshops in the UK and Ireland that I’ve found so far on BlueSky. Let me know if there’s any more I should add. #BookSky #IndieBookshops #KidLitUK #ChildrensBooksIreland go.bsky.app/Ro4BskK

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Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Happy World Book Day week! I’m just heading to my first school visits of the week in to share some book love and fun in this National Year of Reading. (Thanks Harriet Howe for putting together the video!) @worldbookdayuk.bsky.social @andersenpress.bsky.social www.instagram.com/reel/DVWRwEW...

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Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

I am delighted and proud to support the National Year of Reading 2026, a year of campaigning and celebration that aims to reignite a passion for reading throughout the UK. Spearheaded by the National Literacy Trust, the campaign aims to make reading joyful, relevant, and visible for all. #GoAllIn

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Mary J @primaryteachermary.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

If you want a picture book little ones will want read over and over again, these will do the trick ! #KidsBooksFriday

OCTOPUS SHOCKTO PUS!
PETER BENTLY & STEVEN LENTON

Adam Bestwick
The Chicken that Hatched a Cow!
Illustrated By
Claire Evans

MORAG HOOD
BRENDA
IS A
SHEEP
A laugh-out-loud story of woolly mayhem

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Mehsi-Hime @mehsi.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

🌈ARC #BookReview up for The Princes and the Pea ★★★★★plus stars! A really fun rainbow-coloured spin on the original fairy tale, it was cute and it made me laugh! Recommended!✨ #BookBloggers #Blogging #LGBT #Romance #FairyTales #ChildrensBooks #BookSky💙📚 twirlingbookprincess.com/2025/04/revi...

Pink Promo Banner for Twirling Book Princess' Book Reviews featuring the Cover for The Princes and the Pea by Peter Bently and Claire Powell with two princes standing before a rainbow of mattresses with a princess behind the bed holding a small pea

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Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

A great day in Portsmouth as the guest of the excellent Portsmouth School Library Service. It was a fantastic day talking to wonderfully engaged children, who came up with some terrific funny story ideas. Huge thanks to Amy & Lisa from PSLS for inviting me & for your fantastic support all day.

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Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Very happy to see THE PRINCES AND THE PEA by me and Claire Powell in this Books of the Year selection. Nice to be in such brilliant company. @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social

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Letterbox Library @letterboxlibrary.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

The @booksforkeeps.bsky.social Books of the Year 2025 has our regular round up of selected primary aged texts with lgbtq+ stars🤩 Books by @tommydoyle.bsky.social Sarah Tagholm& @manumontoya.bsky.social @peterbently.bsky.social & Claire Powell @catwrote.bsky.social @maisiechanwrites.bsky.social

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Bridget Phillipson MP @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

I am running to be Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. As a proud working-class woman from the North East, I have come from a tough council street all the way to the Cabinet. I will be a strong voice to unite our Party, take the fight to Reform, and deliver for our country.

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Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

Thank you to leading Irish bookseller @dubraybooks.bsky.social for making DOGDUNNIT by me and #TorFreeman one of your July favourite book choices! @andersenpress.bsky.social 🇮🇪 #kidlituk #ukkidlit #books

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Jenny Hawke @jennyhawke.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

Hello #kidlituk_intro I'm Jenny Hawke and am a children’s librarian for GLL Bromley Libraries, passionate about children’s libraries & literature, love being involved with the YLG nationally & regionally.

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Book Clubs in Schools @bookclubsinschools.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Alex Wheatle MBE (1963-2025) was our charity's patron. Thanks to Hachette UK & @barringtonstoke.bsky.social we have 10 sets of seven of Alex's brilliant books to give away to UK school libraries. To enter, follow us and share this post. Closing date: 18 July. #ReadingForPleasure #UKKidLit 1/2

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Jenny Hawke @jennyhawke.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

So exciting to be at the reopening of West Wickham Library today. Loads of people came along to see the newly renovated library. @peterbently.bsky.social ran a wonderful Storytime & we were joined by some other children’s authors & illustrators! Fantastic day! @marcelafwrites.bsky.social

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Authors Aloud UK @authorsalouduk.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

The Princes & the Pea @peterbently.bsky.social is a heartwarming & joyful twist on the classic fairytale — featuring two princes, a royal test, & a story full of love, acceptance, & happily-ever-afters. 🌈📖 Find out more about Peter & his work: authorsalouduk.co.uk/speaker/pete... #pridemonth

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Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Great to hear more funding for school libraries in the spending review. #libraries

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Abie Longstaff @abielongstaff.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

The @booktrust.org.uk #ReadingRights report is out today, emphasising the importance of reading to children FROM BIRTH. The first years of a child’s life are critical for cognitive, emotional & physical development. Link here williamjoseph.blob.core.windows.net/williamjosep...

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DA Children's Book Agency @da-childrens.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Happy Publication Day to THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA, written by @peterbently.bsky.social & beautifully illustrated by Claire Powell 👑 This hilarious rhyming and irresistible retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fable defies traditional fairy tale conventions!

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Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

@unicolsm.bsky.social Hi Colin. I’m not hugely active here yet but good to see you!

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Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

*****OUT TODAY!***** THE PRINCES AND THE PEA, written by me and hilariously illustrated by the fabulous Claire Powell. It’s a modern take on the classic Hans Andersen tale, with a 🌈 twist!

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Abie Longstaff @abielongstaff.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Am at @harpercollins.bsky.social @farshorebooks.bsky.social Insight into Children's Books. 'Reading for pleasure is collapsing. Kids think of reading as a chore Fewer kids are being read to at home Only 40% of parents enjoy reading to their kid'

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SAM BLAKE @samblakebooks.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

A fantastic turnout in London today to support the @societyofauthors.bsky.social letter to Meta to protest the use of copyrighted materials to train their AI - OUR BOOKS. Sign up for the SoA newsletters or join to find out what happens next - we're stronger together

Brilliant placards from the authors gathering in Granary Square. 5 authors under a bright blue sky including Sam Blake, Julie Cohen, Bee Rowlett and Nell Leyson. Placards read Make it Write and Get the Zuck off our Books. Authors are holding their books

A fantastic turn out of around 150 book lovers and authors with a host of clever placards gathered in Granary Square. This is a group photo of with bonus daschund!

Sam Blake interviewed by ITN in Granary Square about Meta's theft of copyrighted works to train their Llama AI

Author AJ West led the protesters with SoA CEO Anna Ganley carrying a swag bag containing authors words to deliver to Meta

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Abie Longstaff @abielongstaff.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

On ITV news, talking about Meta’s theft of our work #DotheWriteThing @societyofauthors.bsky.social

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Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Unfortunately I won’t be able to make this protest today but I stand in solidarity with everyone whose work has been ripped off by LibGen to train Meta AI (including ten of mine) in breach of copyright and without recompense. #MetaBookThieves, #DoTheWriteThing #MakeItFair

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Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

@michaelrosenyes.bsky.social Thank you for raising the AI and ©️ issue on @bbcpm.bsky.social tonight. Existing copyright law is perfectly fit for purpose: if you use our work, we require recompense. Simple!

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Sally Nicholls @sallynicholls.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

Westminster was my Meeting when I lived in London. Youth Demand were young people meeting peacefully. My heart goes out to Westminster Quakers, the young people arrested, and the two Quaker wardens whose home was invaded. We all have a right to peaceful protest. www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...

quaker.org.uk

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Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Happy #WorldBookDay! I’m currently heading to my fourth school of the week for fun and stories! @worldbookdayuk.bsky.social

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Authors Against Book Bans @authorsabb.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

AABB stands with our trans members, friends, colleagues, heroes, and the countless trans Americans who will be affected by this needlessly cruel Executive Order from the Trump Administration. We are proud to do so alongside so many of our comrades in the fight against book bans.

Statement on the Trump administration's january 20,2025 EO Targeting Transgender, Intersex, Nonbinary and Gender Non Conforming Americans

On January 20, the White House issued an executive order stating that
the United States government will only recognize two sexes, male and
female, as defined “at conception.” The ripple effect of this order will
undoubtedly affect public schools, public libraries, and the literature
that is shelved in both.
Among the many harms it causes, the order targeting transgender,
intersex, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming Americans threatens
unconstitutional censorship that could have a grave impact on literature
for years to come. In dismissing trans, intersex, and nonbinary identities,
the order blacklists LGBTQIA+ literature and invites the government to
dictate the perspectives, beliefs, and identities that can exist in public
forums receiving federal funding, amounting to financial coercion
through the arbitrary withholding of funds. This censorship may begin
with LGBTQIA+ perspectives, but it will not end there: allowing the
government to censor one group erodes the First Amendment rights of
all Americans, creating a precedent for silencing dissenting voices.

If allowed to stand, the order will create new funding requirements
imposed not only on federal entities, but private citizens and
institutions who contract with them. Those requirements can and will be
manipulated to dictate speech. The broader chilling effect on literature
could be even harder to undo. Writers rely on funding from sources like
the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for
the Humanities, as well as the state-level institutions they fund.
Trans, nonbinary, and intersex experience is vastly underrepresented in
literature but disproportionately targeted by bans. During the 2022-2023
school year, 30% of books banned included LGBTQIA+ characters or
themes. Such censorship robs us of perspectives that enrich the
American story. Though the executive order in question tries to paint
LGBTQIA+ people and allies as bullies enforcing their perspective on

others through “legal and other socially coercive means,” that’s exactly
what the order itself does, just as book-banning pressure groups have
done since 2020 in school boards and libraries around the country. The
fate of trans, intersex, and nonbinary people is not a political ideology,
it’s a matter of human rights, civil rights, and freedom of expression.
Government erosion of those rights should concern all Americans,
regardless of their investment in LGBTQIA+ literature specifically.

This executive order is censorship, pure and simple, and it has no place
in a free society. It must be rescinded or stayed as soon as possible, and
at the latest, before the earliest implementation deadline, February 19,
2025. Financially blacklisting trans, intersex, and non-binary
perspectives will rob us of a vital literature yet to be written while
insulting the dignity of LGBTQIA+ people everywhere. This return to
McCarthyism by other means is a leap backwards to a grim chapter of
American history.
Sincerely, the undersigned,
• American Booksellers
Association
• American Booksellers for Free
Expression
• Andrews McMeel
• Annie's Foundation
• Audio Publishers Association
• Authors Against Book Bans
• Berry Powell Press
• Cardinal Rule Press
• Charlesbridge Publishing
• Chestnut Publishing House
• Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
• Deborah Sloan and Company
and Kidsbuzz
• Developmental Texts
• Empowering Latino Futures
• EveryLibrary
• Firewater Media Group
• Florida Freedom to Read Project
• Foreword Reviews

• Freedom to Read Project
• Gryphon Publishing Consulting,
LLC
• Independent Book Publishers
Association (IBPA)
• IngramSpark
• Judging by the Cover: A
Bookstore
• Lafayette Citizens Against
Censorship
• Lambda Literary
• Latino 247 Media Group
• Lee Wind, author
• Levine Querido
• Library Futures
• Livingston Parish Library
Alliance
• Louisiana Citizens Against
Censorship
• Macmillan Children's Publishing
Group
• The National Book Critics Circle
• National Coalition Against
Censorship

• NorthSouth Books
• Nosy Crow
• Patagonia
• Publishers and Writers of San
Diego and Orange County
• PEN America
• PFLAG Fresno
• PubWest
• Rattling Good Yarns Press
• Read Freely Alabama
• Red Comet Press LLC

• Rutherford County Library
Alliance
• Sara Paretsky, Writer
• SCBWI
• SEAT
• SparkPoint Studio
• St Tammany Library Alliance
• Stone Bridge Press
• Texas Freedom to Read Project
• Walker Books Group for
Candlewick Press, Holiday House
Books, and Peachtree Publishing
• We Need Diverse Books

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Louie Stowell @louiestowell.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Did...Did Tolkien write this article?

Screenshot of an article: "The Lack of World-Building is One of the Biggest Problems with The Narnia Books" headline and subtitle: This will be one of Greta Gerwig's biggest hurdles in her adaptation. Below is a picture from a previous Narnia adaptation with the pevensies in king and queen clothes on horseback.

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Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Homophone corner. Just caught a snippet of a news report on Syria and in particular the Alawite influence on the Assad regime. Except what I first heard was “Isle of Wight”.

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Helen Cooper @helencooperbooks.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Happy Thanksgiving today to all those celebrating today. May your pies be the best you ever tasted. ( Here’s one of mine from ‘Pumpkin Soup’ which was inspired by the fall in New England.

Old white cabin in the woods from ‘Pumpkin Soup’ by Helen Cooper.

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Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Spotted near me. If anyone needs to get hold of Mr Chester Drawers (also operating under the curious nickname “Bedside” - probably best not to ask) this is the place to find him. 😆

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Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Nearly up to 100 followers on here. A way to go to match my 4k on the blue bird but encouraging 😊. Nice to see librarians and teachers arriving as well as children’s book writers, illustrators, publishers and promoters of reading.

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Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

@gmcm.bsky.social Hi! Thanks for following me here. I’ll happily follow back - I just need a little more info in your profile. It would be great to know who you are 😊

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Peter Bently @peterbently.bsky.social · 21/08/2024

Hello! I joined a while back but am testing the water now because, well, you probably know why. Looking forward to connecting with other children’s book folk!

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