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Polly Atkin

@pollyrowena.bsky.social
7.6K followers 1.7K following 1.7K posts

Writer, Lake-swimmer, Bookseller. FRSL hEDS/Haemochromatosis/all the comorbs she/her rep @PortyLiterary Books incl: Recovering Dorothy Some Of Us Just Fall The Company of Owls Emergency Dream Swimming The Seasons linktr.ee/pollyatkin

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Reposted by Polly Atkin
Louise Kenward @louisekenward.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I'm excited to be organising this two-day symposium with @janesamuels.bsky.social - The Nature Within - keynote from @pollyrowena.bsky.social - details at www.thenaturewithin.co.uk
thenaturewithin.co.uk
The Nature Within
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
So delighted to be part of this. Join us next June. Brava @louisekenward.bsky.social
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Manderley Press @manderleypress.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
I’m re-reading Blue Remembered Hills - the memoirs of Rosemary Sutcliff - aptly covered in cornflower cloth and gorgeously published by @slightlyfoxed.bsky.social. A perfect tonic for our times - an utterly compelling autobiography. What should I read next? #booksky
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Slightly Foxed @slightlyfoxed.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
‘The magazine is rather like that voice you always hope to hear behind you in old bookshops which, when you finger a volume . . . would pipe up and say: “Ah, now that's an interesting one”.’ Independent OUT NOW: Slightly Foxed Issue 91, Autumn 2026 🦊🍂 foxedquarterly.com/shop/slightl...
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Push the Boat Out Festival @ptbopoetry.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Festival Nights for #PTBOFestival2026 are now on sale! 🤩 Jackie Kay. Luke Wright. Joelle Taylor. Anthony Joseph. Henry Normal. Aurora Engine. Dean Atta. JL Williams. Nick Makoha. plus special guests! Poetry, performance, music + unforgettable nights in Edinburgh. 🎫 pushtheboatout.org/programme/
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Persiflage @persiflage.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
4.30am A twit and a twoo, Not one owl, but two, A pair of Tawnies Calling in the dark. #DailyNature #NatureWriting (Made me immediately think of @pollyrowena.bsky.social and her book)
uk.bookshop.org
The Company of Owls
* LONGLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING 2025 LoveReading’s Best Books of the Year 2025 Share in the company of owls in this nocturnal love song… From the author of Some of Us Just Fa...
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Catching the partially eclipsed sun in my hand as the moon moved away this time yesterday.
Hand seen half over have under water with drop of gold light just above palm Hand under water with fells and duskish sky above and sun dropping light down into hand
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
For no particular reason whatsoever, I've decided to share the text of a lecture I gave last March. TL;DR: only people who have experienced lengthy and painful undiagnosis get to have opinions about whether overdiagnosis is a real social condition or just all in some people’s heads
pollyatkin.com
“Promoting Chronicity”:
On Illness Narratives, Ongoingness, and Unrecovery University of Southern Mississippi Center for Ethics and Health Humanities March 24th 2025 ForewordBelow follows the text of a lecture I wrote and…
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Louie Stowell @louiestowell.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Just saw this is over 60k this morning! He needs 75k so can you help push it up up up if you have anything to spare? And if you don't, please do share! #Booksky
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Damon Young @damonyoung.com.au · 07/08/2026
There are disability scholars and activists who’ll no doubt give this bullshit the criticisms it deserves, so I will merely ask: Is a requirement for being a terf that you simple *refuse* to recognise others’ embodiment?
KATHLEEN STOCK
Why are young women using walking sticks?
A disproportionate number of Gen Z females are affected by vague syndromes and may be victims of' social contagion
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Katharine Norbury @katharinenorbury.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Congratulations on this lovely book and thank you @kerriandrewsuk.bsky.social @hjosephinegiles.bsky.social @annamfleming.bsky.social @pollyrowena.bsky.social @anitasethi.bsky.social @helenmort.bsky.social @gailsimmons.bsky.social Beatrice Seattle, Linda Cracknell, Kate Davies 🌱🌱
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Nicola Pitchford @npitchford.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
And when I was already posting about what a happy morning I am having, I just saw an American badger for the very first time! Ambling along on its badgery business, badger-style, as if I weren’t there all sweaty & panting! Video to follow. Paging @pollyrowena.bsky.social the Grasmere badger queen
Stripe-backed, tawny-coloured badger with small round black-and-white ears disappearing into long dry grass and woodland edge.
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Clare Shaw @clareshawpoet.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Moss as organism and teacher, pioneer, healer, ancestor and future. Discover and create stories and poetry about this ancient, world-building plant. The workshop is recorded, and you’ll be sent copies of the writing prompts, links and references. Book here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1990041216...
eventbrite.co.uk
The World of Moss
an online creative writing workshop with authors Anna Chilvers and Clare Shaw
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EveryHeron 𓅣 @everyheron.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
Its heart is an old compass. #HeronPoetry
The heron
Its heart is an old compass pointing off in four directions.
Ascending tall ladders that walk to the edge of dusk.
Surely that would be considered miraculous
almost anyplace.
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Isabellettriste @minxmarple.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
And tonight, in a very dark corner of my own garden : HEDGEPIG NEWS (I am beyond thrilled at this Visitation).
A hedgehog of substantial girth, at the edge of my garden
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 07/06/2026
‘Görli is our garden’: Berliners fight to stop mayor locking their park at night
theguardian.com
‘Görli is our garden’: Berliners fight to stop mayor locking their park at night
Kreuzberg campaigners win court ruling against €2m fence aimed at shutting out drug dealers
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
we have just got this in the shop! it looks fab :)
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 05/06/2026
The UK banning trans women from breast cancer screening gives the game away, they want trans people dead. It's social murder.
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Member of the Society of Authors? Thinking about practical ways to make a difference to other members, prospective members, and help ensure a more equitable literary ecosystem for all? How about considering joining the board? Come along Tues 9th to learn more. societyofauthors.org/event/luncht...
societyofauthors.org
Lunchtime learning - Why you should stand for the Board - The Society of Authors
With four seats available, this is your opportunity to add to the diversity of perspectives and influence the strategic direction of the Society of Authors over the next few years.
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Nasim Marie Jafry @nmjk.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Marjane Satrapi, creator of Persepolis and acclaimed French-Iranian artist, dies aged 56 www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...
theguardian.com
Marjane Satrapi, creator of Persepolis and acclaimed French-Iranian artist, dies aged 56
Family members said the author of the landmark comic book memoir ‘died of sadness’ after the death of her husband last year
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Deadline Monday so tell me now or never!
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 04/06/2026
If my math is right, the crime rate for pardoned insurrectionists is roughly three times higher than that of immigrants.
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Tonight! online! BSL interpreted and recorded! Join us if you can. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wild-women...
eventbrite.co.uk
Wild Women Writers Salon 24: Wonderfully Other (BSL Supported)
On disability, visibility & the right to a rich & radiant life -- with Grace Quantock, Rachel Charlton-Dailey & Polly Atkin
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Once again somehow @likewinterblue.bsky.social is doing the Northern Preview for @thebookseller.com on top of his usual monthly paperback one, and I'm doing the Disability Preview, both for books out July 2026 to June 2027. If your book fits the bill or you're publishing one, please send AIs!
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
So great to see this review of The Company Of Owls up at @adroitjournal.bsky.social by B. Anne Kalicki - theadroitjournal.org/2026/05/25/a...
theadroitjournal.org
A Review of Polly Atkin’s The Company of Owls: A Memoir
Connection to the natural world and its capacity for solace permeate Atkin’s lyrical memoir, The Company of Owls, where in her state of chronic illness, she feels “more kinship with owls than oth…
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Helen Tookey @helentookey.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
‘A Meditation of Small Frogs’ by Charlotte Eichler, from Swimming Between Islands (@carcanet.bsky.social). @pollyrowena.bsky.social read this and thought of you!
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Ahhhhhh! Love it.
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Kathleen 🌲 @mossgatherer.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
The UK is currently using 66.4% renewables to power the national grid!
Screenshot of national grid overview showing renewable at 66%
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Queen of Land @queenofland.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Watching Black men dying in their 50s again has been painful...and it turns out there might be something we can do about it. This is big.
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
so fuzzy!
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Yesterday evening owlet action! #TheCompanyOfOwls
tawny owlet in tree  standing v upright with eyes mostly closed tawny owlet in tree gazing down through leaves and branches
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Wendy Miller @burrowingowl.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Good morning!🪶
Young burrowing owlet peeking out
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Isi Baehr-Breen @isibb.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Hasn't even been a year and Zohran's governance is having a massive impact on my family. Our daycare was able to open a 15-seat 3K program because of the 2,000 extra seats the admin funded. Everyone we know got in somewhere they wanted. This is gonna save us almost 50 grand.
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
our martins always arrive first - they live under the eaves of the daffodil hotel - then its anxious waiting to see who else turns up!
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
fabulous!
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
SWIFTTTS!
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Winnipeg Free Press @winnipegfreepress.com · 16/05/2026
British Columbia’s provincial health officer says one of the four Canadians isolating in the province who had been on board a cruise ship where there was a hantavirus outbreak has received a “presumptive positive” test.
winnipegfreepress.com
Canadian isolating in B.C. tests "presumptive positive" for hantavirus
British Columbia’s provincial health officer says one of the four Canadians isolating in the province who had been on board a cruise ship where there was a hantavirus outbreak has received a “presumptive positive” test.
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Lucy Lapinska / LD Lapinski 💛🤍💜🖤 @ldlapinski.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Logging on and seeing Eurovizion skeets
static.klipy.com
Misha Collins as Castiel's Awkward Face
ALT: Misha Collins as Castiel's Awkward Face
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
@channel4news.bsky.social -
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Ulysses 31 has entered the chat!
static.klipy.com
Animated Space Adventure Characters
Alt: characters from 1980s space odessey cartoon Ulysses 31
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
This I assume means: 1. any despotic queen who allies with him ought to abstain from punishing innocent people or suffer a fiery fate 👀 2. he’ll be back running free in the North once his hard work is over 🌼 3. we’ll end up with a disabled oracle as our rightful leader 🥳
static.klipy.com
Jon Snow Kneels to King Bran Stark
Alt: Jon Snow Kneels to King Bran Stark
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Clearly, he’s Jon Snow on the brink of re-amalgamating his Northern power with the South purely in order to save us all from the White Walkers a.k.a. Reform.
static.klipy.com
Winter Is Coming зимаприближается
Alt: Winter King leading army of white walkers
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Once more the people at the back. It’s King IN The North, not King OF the North. I read one think piece last year that assumed Andy Burnham is Rob Stark in this scenario and doomed to slaughter before any triumph. Oh media illiteracy!
static.klipy.com
Jon Snow Declared King In The North - Game Of Thrones
Alt: Jon Snow Declared King In The North - Game Of Thrones - by all the lords raising their swords to him
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Genuinely extraordinary to hear Westminster mps argue that A) the electorate wanted Keir Starmer (99.9% just wanted the tories gone) B) Wes Streeting would be a good leader (no words for this other than No No No) C) Ed Miliband (even less words)
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Terri Windling @terriwindling.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Polly's work is terrific.
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Trying it on for size when I was making it ... and the inspiration - Mikle trying on the ones I made for the shop window!
Polly standing outside in front of stone wall looking archly out from under large paper daffodil hat. Mikle the tabby cat looking at camera wearing white and pink paper daffodil on his head, standing on table covered in paper daffodilsMikle looking dramatically upwards with paper daffodil hat slipping down the back of his neck like a straw hat on a tie.
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Thanks Terri! x
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Stephen G. Rae @stephengrae.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
In my "Folklore of the Lake District", I write about my encounter with the 'Red Lady', the ghostly figure in a red cloak walking through a wooded area. I met the owner earlier and she informed that her late grandfather often talked of something "otherworldly" there and best avoided at night.
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
So chuffed to see this first review of Emergency Dream @serenbooks.bsky.social -
writeoutloud.net
Emergency Dream: Polly Atkin, Seren | Write Out Loud
Emergency Dream: Polly Atkin, Seren
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Polly Atkin @pollyrowena.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Thanks Katie!
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