Author | Lightnews

Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚 @nicolabigwood.uk · 3d

Have it noted on the style sheet so the proofreader doesn’t query it too!

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Reposted by Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚

Brian Bilston @brianbilston.bsky.social · 14d

It’s Bookshop Day so here’s a poem in celebration of all those amazing bookshops out there.

Never Judge a Bookshop by its Cover

It may call itself a bookshop, but don’t be fooled by that.
There may be books in the window, on the tables and shelves,
but really, it’s a travel agent selling all-immersive holidays,
weekend breaks, first-class tickets to other worlds,

with a low carbon footprint. It’s a pharmacy as well,
dispensing medicines, pick-me-ups, balms: if symptoms persist,
please consult your local bookseller; it’s a tailor’s, offering
a made-to-measure service to achieve the perfect fit;

and a hardware store, with a range of empowering tools
to fix you up, recharge your batteries, switch on lightbulbs.
Its walls are lined with treasure as precious as any jeweller’s,
and twice as bright. Spines shine gold, silver, sapphire, emerald;

there are diamonds amongst them. It’s a garden centre,
a place where ideas get planted and a thousand stories bloom,
and a greengrocer, selling fresh, locally-sourced produce,
as vital as your five-a-day and more readily consumed.

It’s a multiscreen cinema. Peek behind the curtain
of each jacket and you’ll find a movie waiting silently to begin.
A stationer’s supplying notepads, reams of paper,
with the words conveniently filled in

to save you both the time and bother. A wholefood store
and a fast-food joint. A cosy haven from the cold.
A friendly, family restaurant: Today’s special will revive
a flagging spirit and restore a lagging soul.

It’s a tourist information centre equipped with maps
and helpful guides to steer us on our way.
A busy square in which a whole town gathers
or just a place to hold the world at bay

for a few untroubled stolen minutes. It’s itself,
and yet it’s something larger, a universe so vast
you could spend ten thousand lifetimes there –
it may call itself a bookshop, but don’t be fooled by that.

Brian Bilston

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Reposted by Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚

Big Bearded Spookteller @bigbeardybooks.bsky.social · 16d

Thursdays are for Translators!

If you're a translator why not tell us a little bit about yourself, what projects you've on the go, what you've written, any events in the near future, or just drop your bio and links and follow and support each other

#TranslatorThursday #BookSky 💙📚

alt text please

an icon showing a circular translation from one language to another

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Reposted by Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚

Adam Sharp @adamcsharp.bsky.social · 17d

As today is World Octopus Day I’ll again mention that a Spanish equivalent to “like a fish out of water” is como un pulpo en un garaje. It means “like an octopus in a garage.”

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Reposted by Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚

Rachel Ward @racheltranslates.bsky.social · 18d

Hi to new followers, via the translators starter pack and the ETN discussion! #amtranslating #literarytranslation and #booksky are useful for finding likeminded people too... Let's keep the chat going :)

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Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚 @nicolabigwood.uk · 19d

New week, same project, same earworm 😊

🎶 ‘… What if none of the Pickwick triplets did it? Who’d have had a menacing motive and hid it?’ 🎶

#AmCopyediting #MurderMystery

Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚 @nicolabigwood.uk · 22d

When you’re #copyediting a locked-room murder mystery and your brain insists on keep singing at you ‘Which of the Pickwick triplets did it, who of the crew would commit this crime…’ 🎶

#OMITB #Earworm #FriYay

a man walking past a sign that says savoy on it

Alt: Steve Martin as Charles-Haden Savage in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ walking jauntily in front of bassinets on a small, makeshift stage, in a scene where he has to sing a patter song.

media.tenor.com

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Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚 @nicolabigwood.uk · 22d

When you’re #copyediting a locked-room murder mystery and your brain insists on keep singing at you ‘Which of the Pickwick triplets did it, who of the crew would commit this crime…’ 🎶

#OMITB #Earworm #FriYay

a man walking past a sign that says savoy on it

Alt: Steve Martin as Charles-Haden Savage in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ walking jauntily in front of bassinets on a small, makeshift stage, in a scene where he has to sing a patter song.

media.tenor.com

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Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚 @nicolabigwood.uk · Sep 23

Delighted to see a title I proofread on this shortlist! 🤩

(Alt text for shared image: cover art for 4 books – Anima by Kapka Kassabova, Dust and Pomegranates by Victoria Whitworth, One Ukrainian Summer by Viv Groskop, One Woman Walks Europe by Ursula Martin – and headshots of the authors.)

The Society of Authors @societyofauthors.bsky.social · Sep 23

The shortlist for the Ilse Schwepcke Prize has now been announced.

Congratulations to Kapka Kassabova, Ursula Martin, Viv Groskop (@vivgroskop) and Victoria Whitworth,

It is an annual award, administered by the SoA, for women’s travel writing in the English language.

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Reposted by Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚

Adam Sharp @adamcsharp.bsky.social · Sep 21

In Swedish, a word for what you eat to bridge the gap between meals (or while waiting for the main course to cook) is stödmacka. It means "support sandwich."

A similar word in Norwegian is ventepølse, or "waiting sausage."

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Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚 @nicolabigwood.uk · Sep 20

Can’t believe it’s time for @the-ciep.bsky.social’s annual conference already! I’m attending virtually, but circumstances mean I won’t be able to make many sessions, unfortunately, so I won’t be live posting this time. Looking forward to catching up with online chatter & the recordings! 🙌
#CIEP2025

Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚 @nicolabigwood.uk · Sep 16

I learned from previous years not to get too booked up around the #CIEP conference, and I was doing well at keeping a few days clear for a breather – until a publisher had to push back some project dates… 🙈😄 Thank heavens for the recordings! 🙌

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Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚 @nicolabigwood.uk · Sep 2

I’ll have to look into it and see how I do! (I’ve also yet to try socks!) I admit, I’ve knitted quite a few scarves 😄 But also a cardigan and a couple of jumpers. I’m slowly doing a blanket for winter with some lovely soft, fluffy yarn 😊

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Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚 @nicolabigwood.uk · Sep 2

Nice! Love variegated yarn 😊 Do you prefer knitting or crochet? I’ve never tried crochet but keep wondering if I should (especially when I come across a nice pattern I can’t do because it’s not for knitting! 😄).

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Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚 @nicolabigwood.uk · Aug 29

Watching the trees dance.

#StetWalk

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Reposted by Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚

Translators Aloud @translatorsaloud.bsky.social · Aug 22

With the brilliance of #WITMonth in August and #WorldKidLitMonth in September, this time of year is a surfeit of riches for literature in translation! We've got dedicated playlists for #WIT + #kidlit + so much more--do check us out!
www.youtube.com/@Translators...

Translators Aloud

TRANSLATORS ALOUD: THE VOICE OF TRANSLATED LITERATURE A place for translators to read their own work; a positive space for sharing great literature, read aloud by the translators themselves. Submiss...

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚

Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · Aug 26

My latest cartoon for @newscientist.com

Panel 1:
A figure wheels a large suitcase. It is labelled with a huge X.
X: number of books taken on my summer holiday this year.

Panel 2:
The figures sits in a deckchair reading. A pile of books is labelled with a Y.
Y: number of books I did not get round to reading.

Panel 3:
The figures works out an equation on a whiteboard. It reads X-Y =Z
Z: number of books I should take with me next year.

Panel 4
Caption: And yet, one year later…
The figures wheels the suitcase once again. It is once again marked with a huge X

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Reposted by Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚

Gareth L. Powell @garethlpowell.bsky.social · Aug 18

Hardbacks are books.
Paperbacks are books.
eBooks are books.
Audio books are books.

The delivery mechanism doesn't matter. What matters is the enjoyment of story.

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Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚 @nicolabigwood.uk · Jul 21

What has it got in its headphonses, precious? 🎧 Listening to Andy Serkis’ amazing narration of the Lord of the Rings books – now on Return of the King 👑

#AmReading #BookSky 💙📚🪐

a man with long hair is holding a ring in his hands and eating it .

Alt: Andy Serkis as Sméagol in the film of Return of the King, holding the One Ring in both hands and mouthing the word ‘Precious’.

media.tenor.com

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Reposted by Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚

Brian Bilston @brianbilston.bsky.social · Jul 20

Here’s a new poem called ‘Wild Weekend’.

Wild Weekend

Sunday – and the squirrels are lazing in their branches,
the sheep are congregating for morning service,
and the bears are sleeping off their sore heads.

The sloths are taking things slow, the hippos are wallowing,
the cats are curling up on the newspaper in front of the television.
The alpacas will spend the day in their fluffies.

Not everyone is taking it easy. The deer are up already
for a walk around the park. The ducks are planning a trip
across the lake. The salmon have gone wild swimming.

The snails are pottering about the garden, while the crows
scan its aisles for materials and a spot of DIY. The pigeons have split
up: some are hanging around the shopping centre,

others intend to spend the afternoon at the Test match.
The lions are having an old friend over for dinner, the camels
are baking, the spiders are browsing their webs, and the humans…

the humans are wondering where the weekend has gone
as they stave off the prospect of another beastly Monday,
questioning the natural order of things.

Brian Bilston

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Reposted by Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚

Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · Jul 20

My cartoon for this week’s @theguardian.com books.

Two figures approach the Baggage Reclaim area of an airport.

One says “We wouldn't need to put things in the hold if you brought fewer books on holiday.”

Arriving on the carousel, amongst the bags and suitcases is a very large, well-stocked bookcase.

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Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚 @nicolabigwood.uk · Jul 13

There was a lot of swullocking going on at the Highland Games yesterday.

Susie Dent @susiedent.com · Jul 12

Word of the day is ‘swullocking’, from 19th-century East Anglian dialect: sultry, sweltering, and sudiferous (sweat-inducing).

Reposted by Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚

Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · Jul 7

‘Useful phrases for the murder mystery writer abroad’ (my cartoon for this week’s Guardian Books)

Title:
Useful phrases for the murder mystery writer abroad

An eight-panel cartoon showing a writer in a series of situations in a foreign country.

Panel 1: looking at historic buildings saying
"Kia bela vilaĝo!" which is translated below as "What a lovely village!"

Panel 2: in a pretty garden asking the gardener "Ĉu ĉi tiuj estas venenaj" meaning "Are any of these plants poisonous?

Panel 3: in a bar asking the server “Kie oni povas aĉeti pafilon?" meaning "
Can one purchase a firearm nearby?"

Panel 4: on a beach asking a fisherman "Ĉu la tajdo povus forporti kadavron?" meaning "Could the tide carry a dead body away?"

Panel 5: approached by a police officer and saying "Saluton, oficiro." which is translated below as "Hello officer."

Panel 6: being marched to the police station protesting "Okazis miskompreno!" meaning "There has been a misunderstanding!"

Panel 7: in the interrogation room the officer holds up a moleskine notebook, the writer explains "La murdo en mia notlibro estas fikcia." meaning "The murder planned in my notebook is fictional."

Panel 8: locked in a cell asking "Mi ŝatus telefoni al la Brita konsulejo." which means "I would like to telephone the British consulate."

Note: The foreign language used by the writer in the cartoon is Esperanto. It has not been proofread by an Esperanto speaker so there may be errors.

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Reposted by Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚

Joel Morris @gralefrit.bsky.social · Jul 7

Yeah. Good luck putting Asterix through AI. Translators for books are skilled workers. It’s not the same as understanding a holiday menu.

So Mayer @suchmayer.bsky.social · Jul 7

Writers! Note that AI translation (under the guise of "global access") is being seen/used as the weak point to get AI into publishing (possible bc Eng lang publishing is weak on translation). Stand with translators & for more human translation, fairly paid!

The Bookseller @thebookseller.com · Jul 7

The founders of independent publisher Bloodhound Books have launched a new AI fiction translation service, Globescribe.ai 👇 #BookSky

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Reposted by Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚

Comma Press @commapress.bsky.social · Jun 30

PUBLISHING INSIGHTS DAY TICKET SALES ENDING SOON! 🎟️🔥

Sign up so you don't miss out on 👇

🎨Cover Design w/ David Pearson

📚Starting a Press w/ @flyonthewallpress.bsky.social

🔊 Industry talks from @dauntbookspub.bsky.social, @northodoxpress.bsky.social & more!

🎟️ eventbrite.co.uk/e/publishing...

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Nicola Bigwood | Proofreader, Copyeditor, former Translator ✍️📚 @nicolabigwood.uk · Jul 1

Oh, you finished them! Well done! They look good 😊

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