Lucy Mercer
@lucymercer.bsky.social
writer, Emblem (Prototype) & Afterlife forthcoming from Fitzcarraldo;🕯️
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
We do not have to consume the shitty cake or crime plots baked for us by corporate entertainment, or live off tragically meagre cultural crumbs. Small presses show us there is so much more out there...
👏👏👏
👏👏👏
Wrote about books for the Year in Review for Art Review @artreview.bsky.social
On corporate publishing, small presses & the many excellent books that were published in this otherwise cursed year 2025
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
On corporate publishing, small presses & the many excellent books that were published in this otherwise cursed year 2025
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
Shitty Cakes, Endless Crime
The year in reading: In 2025, small presses in the UK stood up against a dominant culture of dumbing down and selling out
artreview.com
December 19, 2025 at 6:08 PM
We do not have to consume the shitty cake or crime plots baked for us by corporate entertainment, or live off tragically meagre cultural crumbs. Small presses show us there is so much more out there...
👏👏👏
👏👏👏
from @marc-fischer.bsky.social (Public Collectors) excellent pamphlet Who Shares The Restroom Code With ICE Agents?
December 20, 2025 at 5:06 PM
from @marc-fischer.bsky.social (Public Collectors) excellent pamphlet Who Shares The Restroom Code With ICE Agents?
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
'One extraordinary literary event this year was when small presses and writers helped to successfully pressure the government to waive biometric checks that were blocking students trapped in Gaza from taking up their scholarships at UK universities'.
Great piece, plus excellent list of TBRs...
Great piece, plus excellent list of TBRs...
Wrote about books for the Year in Review for Art Review @artreview.bsky.social
On corporate publishing, small presses & the many excellent books that were published in this otherwise cursed year 2025
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
On corporate publishing, small presses & the many excellent books that were published in this otherwise cursed year 2025
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
Shitty Cakes, Endless Crime
The year in reading: In 2025, small presses in the UK stood up against a dominant culture of dumbing down and selling out
artreview.com
December 19, 2025 at 7:27 PM
'One extraordinary literary event this year was when small presses and writers helped to successfully pressure the government to waive biometric checks that were blocking students trapped in Gaza from taking up their scholarships at UK universities'.
Great piece, plus excellent list of TBRs...
Great piece, plus excellent list of TBRs...
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
Public Collectors mentioned! cc @marc-fischer.bsky.social
Wrote about books for the Year in Review for Art Review @artreview.bsky.social
On corporate publishing, small presses & the many excellent books that were published in this otherwise cursed year 2025
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
On corporate publishing, small presses & the many excellent books that were published in this otherwise cursed year 2025
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
Shitty Cakes, Endless Crime
The year in reading: In 2025, small presses in the UK stood up against a dominant culture of dumbing down and selling out
artreview.com
December 19, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Public Collectors mentioned! cc @marc-fischer.bsky.social
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
Absolutely agreed with this. I think that we need to be bolder about pointing out that much adult 'culture' seems actually to be written for children. Plus this article introduced me to many great small press titles which I now want to read ......
Wrote about books for the Year in Review for Art Review @artreview.bsky.social
On corporate publishing, small presses & the many excellent books that were published in this otherwise cursed year 2025
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
On corporate publishing, small presses & the many excellent books that were published in this otherwise cursed year 2025
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
Shitty Cakes, Endless Crime
The year in reading: In 2025, small presses in the UK stood up against a dominant culture of dumbing down and selling out
artreview.com
December 19, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Absolutely agreed with this. I think that we need to be bolder about pointing out that much adult 'culture' seems actually to be written for children. Plus this article introduced me to many great small press titles which I now want to read ......
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
Sharing some end of year lists, like this one from @lucymercer.bsky.social -- I will be looking up some of these to find out more. #books
Wrote about books for the Year in Review for Art Review @artreview.bsky.social
On corporate publishing, small presses & the many excellent books that were published in this otherwise cursed year 2025
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
On corporate publishing, small presses & the many excellent books that were published in this otherwise cursed year 2025
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
Shitty Cakes, Endless Crime
The year in reading: In 2025, small presses in the UK stood up against a dominant culture of dumbing down and selling out
artreview.com
December 19, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Sharing some end of year lists, like this one from @lucymercer.bsky.social -- I will be looking up some of these to find out more. #books
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
An excellent read about excellent reads & the excellence of reading actively, acutely & awarely. Indie presses as in pressing for change, for an end to genocide, for liberation.
Wrote about books for the Year in Review for Art Review @artreview.bsky.social
On corporate publishing, small presses & the many excellent books that were published in this otherwise cursed year 2025
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
On corporate publishing, small presses & the many excellent books that were published in this otherwise cursed year 2025
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
Shitty Cakes, Endless Crime
The year in reading: In 2025, small presses in the UK stood up against a dominant culture of dumbing down and selling out
artreview.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:51 PM
An excellent read about excellent reads & the excellence of reading actively, acutely & awarely. Indie presses as in pressing for change, for an end to genocide, for liberation.
Wrote about books for the Year in Review for Art Review @artreview.bsky.social
On corporate publishing, small presses & the many excellent books that were published in this otherwise cursed year 2025
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
On corporate publishing, small presses & the many excellent books that were published in this otherwise cursed year 2025
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
Shitty Cakes, Endless Crime
The year in reading: In 2025, small presses in the UK stood up against a dominant culture of dumbing down and selling out
artreview.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Wrote about books for the Year in Review for Art Review @artreview.bsky.social
On corporate publishing, small presses & the many excellent books that were published in this otherwise cursed year 2025
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
On corporate publishing, small presses & the many excellent books that were published in this otherwise cursed year 2025
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
Lovely to get a mention in Lucy Mercer’s year in review (despite my book publishing next month). This is a really interesting and expansive article, discussing issues as well as books and publishing.
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
Shitty Cakes, Endless Crime
The year in reading: In 2025, small presses in the UK stood up against a dominant culture of dumbing down and selling out
artreview.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Lovely to get a mention in Lucy Mercer’s year in review (despite my book publishing next month). This is a really interesting and expansive article, discussing issues as well as books and publishing.
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
artreview.com/shitty-cakes...
Listening to Martin Jarvis reading David Copperfield for hours has been one of the joys of my year if not life tbh, 10/10 highly recommend
December 16, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Listening to Martin Jarvis reading David Copperfield for hours has been one of the joys of my year if not life tbh, 10/10 highly recommend
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
"Small-press publishers are the spirit that animates our literature. ... They are vital for the literary ecosystem in that they take risks on books that larger publishers would not..."
#booksky #literature #reading #AI #smallpress via @thebookseller.com @lucymercer.bsky.social
#booksky #literature #reading #AI #smallpress via @thebookseller.com @lucymercer.bsky.social
Don’t invest in AI, invest in the future of the book
Why the publishing industry must back small presses, rather than LLMs.
www.thebookseller.com
December 13, 2025 at 5:46 PM
"Small-press publishers are the spirit that animates our literature. ... They are vital for the literary ecosystem in that they take risks on books that larger publishers would not..."
#booksky #literature #reading #AI #smallpress via @thebookseller.com @lucymercer.bsky.social
#booksky #literature #reading #AI #smallpress via @thebookseller.com @lucymercer.bsky.social
two of our very best; Rachael Allen interviews Alice Oswald for Paris Review 💖
www.theparisreview.org/interviews/8...
www.theparisreview.org/interviews/8...
Alice Oswald, The Art of Poetry No. 119
“You come at poetry with the momentum of having failed. It’s only when other communication is absolutely impossible that a poem has to exist.”
www.theparisreview.org
December 9, 2025 at 10:38 PM
two of our very best; Rachael Allen interviews Alice Oswald for Paris Review 💖
www.theparisreview.org/interviews/8...
www.theparisreview.org/interviews/8...
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
Emily Dickinson's herbarium – a forgotten treasure at the intersection of poetry and science www.themarginalian.org/2017/05/23/e...
Emily Dickinson’s Herbarium: A Forgotten Treasure at the Intersection of Science and Poetry
An elegy for time and the mortality of beauty, composed with passionate patience and a sensuous cadence.
www.themarginalian.org
December 8, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Emily Dickinson's herbarium – a forgotten treasure at the intersection of poetry and science www.themarginalian.org/2017/05/23/e...
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
Up now on @literaryhub.bsky.social; an in-depth interview with small press publishers on what they do and how they do it, how they differ from commercial publishing in content & form, on funding, their impact on literary communities, & some excellent book recommends🎄
lithub.com/life-giving-...
lithub.com/life-giving-...
Life-Giving, Imaginative and Underfunded: Small Press Publishers in Crisis
A recent letter co-written and signed by small press publishers has highlighted the significant pressures they face, threatening them with closure and potentially damaging the literary ecosystem ir…
lithub.com
December 4, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Up now on @literaryhub.bsky.social; an in-depth interview with small press publishers on what they do and how they do it, how they differ from commercial publishing in content & form, on funding, their impact on literary communities, & some excellent book recommends🎄
lithub.com/life-giving-...
lithub.com/life-giving-...
interesting that reactionary tropes to consolidate class hegemony (scarcity mentality ~ you can’t do or have a thing / the divisive you vs ‘them’/ you are not part of ‘it’) are reproduced as rationale here, under the logic of anti-‘elitism’/liberalism; when the small press project is the opposite;
December 5, 2025 at 8:50 AM
interesting that reactionary tropes to consolidate class hegemony (scarcity mentality ~ you can’t do or have a thing / the divisive you vs ‘them’/ you are not part of ‘it’) are reproduced as rationale here, under the logic of anti-‘elitism’/liberalism; when the small press project is the opposite;
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
Excellent round-up of small press leaders on the current crisis, interviewed by @lucymercer.bsky.social @twoseriousladies.bsky.social in @literaryhub.bsky.social, including my publisher @tiltedaxispress.bsky.social
lithub.com/life-giving-...
lithub.com/life-giving-...
Life-Giving, Imaginative and Underfunded: Small Press Publishers in Crisis
A recent letter co-written and signed by small press publishers has highlighted the significant pressures they face, threatening them with closure and potentially damaging the literary ecosystem ir…
lithub.com
December 4, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Excellent round-up of small press leaders on the current crisis, interviewed by @lucymercer.bsky.social @twoseriousladies.bsky.social in @literaryhub.bsky.social, including my publisher @tiltedaxispress.bsky.social
lithub.com/life-giving-...
lithub.com/life-giving-...
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
Absolute must read!
Small press publishers in the UK discuss the challenge and necessity of independent publishing: “I feel a growing sense of urgency to raise awareness of the practical realities, and to be transparent about the fight for survival that many of us are facing.”
Life-Giving, Imaginative and Underfunded: Small Press Publishers in Crisis
A recent letter co-written and signed by small press publishers has highlighted the significant pressures they face, threatening them with closure and potentially damaging the literary ecosystem ir…
buff.ly
December 4, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Absolute must read!
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
Small press publishers in the UK discuss the challenge and necessity of independent publishing: “I feel a growing sense of urgency to raise awareness of the practical realities, and to be transparent about the fight for survival that many of us are facing.”
Life-Giving, Imaginative and Underfunded: Small Press Publishers in Crisis
A recent letter co-written and signed by small press publishers has highlighted the significant pressures they face, threatening them with closure and potentially damaging the literary ecosystem ir…
buff.ly
December 4, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Small press publishers in the UK discuss the challenge and necessity of independent publishing: “I feel a growing sense of urgency to raise awareness of the practical realities, and to be transparent about the fight for survival that many of us are facing.”
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
This entire discussion of small press publishing co-led by @lucymercer.bsky.social is so great
lithub.com/life-giving-...
lithub.com/life-giving-...
December 4, 2025 at 12:57 PM
This entire discussion of small press publishing co-led by @lucymercer.bsky.social is so great
lithub.com/life-giving-...
lithub.com/life-giving-...
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
We really need to talk more about fundraising in small press and university press publishing *as* fundraising — ie a job duty — and as a labor issue not just a revenue stream or potential constraint on the product
December 4, 2025 at 12:44 PM
We really need to talk more about fundraising in small press and university press publishing *as* fundraising — ie a job duty — and as a labor issue not just a revenue stream or potential constraint on the product
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
“The labor is unsustainable and we have to do something to break the cycle of burn out.” 😮💨
December 4, 2025 at 12:29 PM
“The labor is unsustainable and we have to do something to break the cycle of burn out.” 😮💨
Up now on @literaryhub.bsky.social; an in-depth interview with small press publishers on what they do and how they do it, how they differ from commercial publishing in content & form, on funding, their impact on literary communities, & some excellent book recommends🎄
lithub.com/life-giving-...
lithub.com/life-giving-...
Life-Giving, Imaginative and Underfunded: Small Press Publishers in Crisis
A recent letter co-written and signed by small press publishers has highlighted the significant pressures they face, threatening them with closure and potentially damaging the literary ecosystem ir…
lithub.com
December 4, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Up now on @literaryhub.bsky.social; an in-depth interview with small press publishers on what they do and how they do it, how they differ from commercial publishing in content & form, on funding, their impact on literary communities, & some excellent book recommends🎄
lithub.com/life-giving-...
lithub.com/life-giving-...
Reposted by Lucy Mercer
Bleak but important essay by Ronald Purser on AI capitulation at California State University. We need to push back against this in our own institutions.
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
December 3, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Bleak but important essay by Ronald Purser on AI capitulation at California State University. We need to push back against this in our own institutions.
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...
A cultural impact study would really help make the case to funders generally of the importance of small presses; this cd also work for an academic study #academicsky
Small presses are seeking funding for a cultural impact study demonstrating the impact of indie presses, our #FutureBook conference heard on Monday 1st December 👇 #BookSky
Indies aim for cultural impact study amid 'challenging economic backdrop', FutureBook hears
ebx.sh
December 3, 2025 at 11:08 AM
A cultural impact study would really help make the case to funders generally of the importance of small presses; this cd also work for an academic study #academicsky