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Allyson Shaw

@allysonshaw.bsky.social

1.2K followers 410 following 690 posts

Writer, cat botherer, firebrand based in Orkney.Author of Ashes & Stones-shortlisted for the RSL Christopher Bland Prize.🍉🏳️‍⚧️ally. Any pronouns 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 https://linktr.ee/AllysonShaw More active on Mastodon. https://wandering.shop/@AllysonShaw

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Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Dec 15

My book, Ashes and Stones: A Scottish Journey in Search of Witches and Witness, can be found here: www.hachette.co.uk/titles/allys...

Ashes and Stones

'Beautiful... A moving reminder for us all to connect with what's gone before' STYLIST 'Atmospheric, scholarly - and gripping . . . Shocking and important...

www.hachette.co.uk

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Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · 1d

My friend, the brilliant @nromanek.bsky.social & ¡AU! are kicking off a series of talks about monsters and the creative process. It's going to be fascinating. It launches with @drsurekhadavies.bsky.social & Esdi Reich THIS SATURDAY. #monsters #writingcommunity www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/monster-la...

Monster Lab: Incarnation One - with guests Surekha Davies & Esti Reich

Monster Lab is an event series from ¡AU! where creatives and fans learn how to understand, create, and tame bad guys.

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Reposted by Allyson Shaw

Neal Romanek @nromanek.bsky.social · 1d

Absolutely over the moon about this, esp. having just finished The Tombs of Atuan. Ursual La Guins maps, devised by her for Earthsea et al, are available in a London exhibition running till December.

www.aaschool.ac.uk/publicprogra...

AA School

Architectural Association School of Architecture's website homepage is the online entrance into the AA; to its courses from Foundation to PhD for undergraduate and postgraduate students; its open publ...

www.aaschool.ac.uk

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Reposted by Allyson Shaw

Neal Romanek @nromanek.bsky.social · 27d

Our new monster event at ¡AU!, which kicks off Oct. 18. It's going to be a mix of fun and deep monster study. Still working out what the frequency will be, but we'll be doing Monster Lab regularly. Ticket prices are absurdly low for this first outing. Join us.

¡AU! @auworks.bsky.social · 27d

¡AU! has launched a new event series, MONSTER LAB, where creatives of all types (from painters to brain surgeons) gather to talk monsters & see what we can learn.

First MONSTER LAB is Oct. 18, 2-4pm UK time, online. Get your ticket now!

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/monster-la...

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Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · 19d

"...a landmark $1.5bn settlement of this copyright class action brought by a group of US authors against Anthropic over the use of their works in the training of Anthropic’s large language model, Claude." societyofauthors.org/2025/09/26/a... #GenAI #AI #Anthropic #WritingCommunity

A win for authors? - The Society of Authors

The latest on the US Anthropic case

societyofauthors.org

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Reposted by Allyson Shaw

Nichole Louise @nichole-louise.bsky.social · 28d

My train from Inverness to Glasgow ran into some issues resulting in a 2 hour delay, so the extra time sitting on the track meant I was able to get through half of Ashes & Stones by @allysonshaw.bsky.social 🧹🐈‍⬛ (bought at Leakey's in Inverness!)
#booksky #scotland

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Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · 19d

Ah, brilliant, Nichole. Thanks for posting. Leakey's so cool. I hope you got home ok!

Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · 19d

Fantastic piece on the influence of Alice in Wonderland on writers and artists. It made me consider the influence of that story on my own writing.
www.thecollector.com/alice-symbol... #Feminism #Surrealism #Writing

How Did Alice Become a Symbol of Surrealism and Feminist Reimagination? | TheCollector

Published in 1865, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland unleashed a nonsensical world that challenged Victorian norms and introduced readers to an enigmatic heroine: Alice.

www.thecollector.com

Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Sep 10

Drawing Hands, M C Escher. This image encapsulates #dyslexia for me--the good side of being #neurodiverse in this way is that even two dimensional things like text are three dimensional, or spacial in a way that is nonlinear. It feels a lot like the visual puzzle of Escher's work. #neurospicy

A drawing of two hands drawing each other. The hands are very realistic, and each holds a pencil drawing the minimal lines of the cuffs below the wrists--as if the hands are surfacing from the drawing, coming alive

Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Sep 8

Memory foam pillows are being marketed to M and I on social media. I said, I don’t know why memory foam freaks me out. And M says, ‘I mean what else is it remembering?’

Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Sep 8

The Westray Wifey is giving you the Monday side-eye. This #Neolithic figure from the Stone Age found on Westray #orkney is the first depiction of a face found in the UK to date. #FavouriteThings

A small stone figure with a round head and square body. She has two eyes, a unibrow line across her forehead and two lines for a nose.

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Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Sep 6

😹

Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Sep 6

I actually thought you had happened upon a makeshift bong gone wrong.

Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Sep 6

Sounds like a great technique!

Reposted by Allyson Shaw

Scottttt @scottiebryce2.bsky.social · Sep 4

That sounds amazing. I help writers with worldbuilding and character building, and if anyone needs it I also create maps, character illustrations or even book covers for them.

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Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Sep 3

Hi Scottie! the story has shaped the map in the novel. It’s basically a fairy-drawn map of Scotland. So the names are different and the topography is distorted. This is my first draft. I feel like it should be weirder! Do you draw maps when you write?

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Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Sep 3

Sketching a preliminary map. I love second world maps-once I get something down that works I’ll ink it. Does anyone else draw maps for their books? (This the map of the world of my novel. Do you recognise it?) #WritingCommunity #cartography #maps #fantasy

A pencil sketch of a map of Scotland but weird

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Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Sep 1

Little doodles, big plans. Images for chapter headings for a novel I have just finished. Once I’m happy with them I’ll ink them up with some pilot carbon black & a zebra G nib. #booksky #FountainPens

Six circular drawings of a serpent with a book, a dragon headed torc a seal an eye and two crows.

Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Aug 29

I believe this illustration is by Kay Neilson-it’s a bit distorted but I love her troll bling-complete with temple rings!

An illustration of a large troll woman wearing rings beside her ears

Reposted by Allyson Shaw

Chris @chris.zielecki.pixelfed.social.ap.brid.gy · Aug 27

A close encounter of this little fellow during our dinner camp fire one day in Greenland. Turned out he stole our cheese from one of our bags while we prepared the food a few meters away.

#greenland #arcticfox #Wildlife #WildLifePhotography

This photograph by European Elopement and Wedding Photographer Sturmsucht shows an arctic fox in its summer coat - a rich, dark brown fur that contrasts beautifully with the vibrant Greenlandic landscape. The compact fox stands alertly on a thick carpet of bright green moss, its pointed ears erect and dark eyes focused.

Scattered throughout the mossy terrain are delicate Arctic wildflowers in brilliant magenta and purple hues, likely fireweed or purple saxifrage blooming during the brief summer season. The background features characteristic weathered granite boulders and rocky formations typical of Greenland's tundra.

The scene captures the surprising abundance of life and color that emerges in the Arctic summer, with the dark-coated fox serving as a striking focal point against the lush green moss and colorful wildflowers in this harsh but beautiful northern wilderness.

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Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Aug 27

The US Republican Administration expects other countries to collect tariffs on its behalf; it doesn’t have the infrastructure to do it. Royal Mail stopped shipping to the US. This tariff is a body blow to the business I have built over the last 13 years. (already kneecapped by Brexit) I’m scared.

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Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Aug 27

From heritage museum in Sanday, #orkney Gutter dolls (one complete with knife) and knitted herring in tiny barrels #knitting

Three dolls dressed in aprons and kerchiefs stand on a shelf behind barrels of tiny, knitted fish.

Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Aug 27

😹 We are truly doomed.

Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Aug 26

www.tines.com/platform/ai/ should we tell them?

Power your workflows with AI | Tines

Build, run, and monitor your most important workflows with secure, private AI in Tines.

www.tines.com

Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Aug 26

YES. Exactly!

Allyson Shaw @allysonshaw.bsky.social · Aug 26

I think that’s part of it-the preparation of the thing to be shared-making it tidy or dramatic-is a different process than a devotional one when it’s for social media. Maybe for some it is the same! Thanks for commenting. Merry meet!