Vicky MacKenzie
@vickymackenzie.bsky.social
Writer, cat lady, John Ruskin obsessive, wrote a novel about medieval mystics. Aspiring anchoress. https://victoriamackenzie.net/
Substack: https://victoriamackenzie.substack.com/
Substack: https://victoriamackenzie.substack.com/
Pinned
For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy on My Little Pain by Victoria MacKenzie review – a pocket epic
This electrifying debut compares the spiritual adventures of Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich
www.theguardian.com
And as always a thousand thank yous to @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social who wrote this astounding and thoughtful review of my book when it first came out, and sent it out into the world with a bang! 😍
www.theguardian.com/books/2023/j...
www.theguardian.com/books/2023/j...
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
Our Hay Festival Book of the Year 2025 is... A Room Above a Shop by Anthony Shapland.
A tender and resonant love story, the novel was one of the most talked about books at Hay Festival 2025.
Dive in! www.hayfestival.org/book-of-the-...
A tender and resonant love story, the novel was one of the most talked about books at Hay Festival 2025.
Dive in! www.hayfestival.org/book-of-the-...
November 29, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Our Hay Festival Book of the Year 2025 is... A Room Above a Shop by Anthony Shapland.
A tender and resonant love story, the novel was one of the most talked about books at Hay Festival 2025.
Dive in! www.hayfestival.org/book-of-the-...
A tender and resonant love story, the novel was one of the most talked about books at Hay Festival 2025.
Dive in! www.hayfestival.org/book-of-the-...
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
One of the greatest to ever do it.
Tom Stoppard, playwright of dazzling wit and playful erudition, dies aged 88
A theatrical sensation since the 1960s, whose dramas included Arcadia, The Real Thing and Leopoldstadt, Stoppard also had huge success as a screenwriter
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 5:24 PM
One of the greatest to ever do it.
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
“Ross is not just writing about a specific place or feature, but the people associated with it. It’s a gallimaufry of encounters.”
I’m delighted that Upon A White Horse has been included in @scotsman.com’s Books of 2025.
I’m delighted that Upon A White Horse has been included in @scotsman.com’s Books of 2025.
November 29, 2025 at 9:58 AM
“Ross is not just writing about a specific place or feature, but the people associated with it. It’s a gallimaufry of encounters.”
I’m delighted that Upon A White Horse has been included in @scotsman.com’s Books of 2025.
I’m delighted that Upon A White Horse has been included in @scotsman.com’s Books of 2025.
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you've seen.
David Bowie
Alabama 3
The Sisters of Mercy
Public Service Broadcasting
The Jesus and Mary Chain
#MusicSky
David Bowie
Alabama 3
The Sisters of Mercy
Public Service Broadcasting
The Jesus and Mary Chain
#MusicSky
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you've seen.
Björk
Massive Attack
The Unthanks
Echo & the Bunnymen
The Cure
#MusicSky
Björk
Massive Attack
The Unthanks
Echo & the Bunnymen
The Cure
#MusicSky
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you've seen.
Pulp
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
American Music Club
Super Furry Animals
Chalk
Pulp
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
American Music Club
Super Furry Animals
Chalk
November 28, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you've seen.
David Bowie
Alabama 3
The Sisters of Mercy
Public Service Broadcasting
The Jesus and Mary Chain
#MusicSky
David Bowie
Alabama 3
The Sisters of Mercy
Public Service Broadcasting
The Jesus and Mary Chain
#MusicSky
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
From the archive for Alberto Moravia, #BornOnThisDay in 1907, my thoughts on AGOSTINO (tr. Michael F. Moore).
One of my favourite novellas about the loss of innocence. Spare, insightful and beautifully written - a rediscovered gem for #NovNov25 #BOTD 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/a...
One of my favourite novellas about the loss of innocence. Spare, insightful and beautifully written - a rediscovered gem for #NovNov25 #BOTD 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/a...
Agostino by Alberto Moravia (tr. Michael F. Moore)
First published in the mid-1940s, Alberto Moravia’s novella, Agostino, is a striking portrayal of young boy’s loss of innocence over the course of a seemingly idyllic summer. Thirteen-year-old Agos…
jacquiwine.wordpress.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:52 AM
From the archive for Alberto Moravia, #BornOnThisDay in 1907, my thoughts on AGOSTINO (tr. Michael F. Moore).
One of my favourite novellas about the loss of innocence. Spare, insightful and beautifully written - a rediscovered gem for #NovNov25 #BOTD 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/a...
One of my favourite novellas about the loss of innocence. Spare, insightful and beautifully written - a rediscovered gem for #NovNov25 #BOTD 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2015/06/09/a...
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
We launched our Crowdfunder an hour ago - and we've already sailed past £10,000.
Extraordinary.
Hope is here.
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/hopeishere
Extraordinary.
Hope is here.
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/hopeishere
Hope is here: help us deliver it
Raise £100,000 to turn our incredible momentum into election wins. Will you help us beat reform in May?
www.crowdfunder.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 9:04 AM
We launched our Crowdfunder an hour ago - and we've already sailed past £10,000.
Extraordinary.
Hope is here.
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/hopeishere
Extraordinary.
Hope is here.
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/hopeishere
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
“Assassination is the extreme form of censorship”. This George Bernard Shaw maxim ran through my mind as I walked around the Banned Books Museum in Tallinn, writes Vitali Vitaliev.
Second life: A modern museum of banned books reminds me of my old Soviet life
Tallinn’s small museum of censorship is well worth a visit
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 9:20 AM
“Assassination is the extreme form of censorship”. This George Bernard Shaw maxim ran through my mind as I walked around the Banned Books Museum in Tallinn, writes Vitali Vitaliev.
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
We are delighted to announce that the winner of the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation 2025 is ‘And the Walls Became the World All Around’ by Johanna Ekström and Sigrid Rausing, translated from Swedish (Sweden) by Sigrid Rausing and published by @grantabooks.bsky.social !
November 27, 2025 at 7:54 PM
We are delighted to announce that the winner of the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation 2025 is ‘And the Walls Became the World All Around’ by Johanna Ekström and Sigrid Rausing, translated from Swedish (Sweden) by Sigrid Rausing and published by @grantabooks.bsky.social !
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
New on the blog today, my thoughts on JUST A LITTLE DINNER by Cécile Tlili (tr. Katherine Gregor).
An intriguing chamber piece in which two couples dine together in a Paris apartment. Tensions abound, dynamics shift & life-changing decisions soon follow. 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/11/27/j...
An intriguing chamber piece in which two couples dine together in a Paris apartment. Tensions abound, dynamics shift & life-changing decisions soon follow. 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/11/27/j...
Just a Little Dinner by Cécile Tlili (tr. Katherine Gregor)
Established in 2023, Foundry Editions are still relatively new on the UK publishing scene, but I’ve already noticed their books in several outlets in London, largely due to the striking blue-and-wh…
jacquiwine.wordpress.com
November 27, 2025 at 7:16 AM
New on the blog today, my thoughts on JUST A LITTLE DINNER by Cécile Tlili (tr. Katherine Gregor).
An intriguing chamber piece in which two couples dine together in a Paris apartment. Tensions abound, dynamics shift & life-changing decisions soon follow. 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/11/27/j...
An intriguing chamber piece in which two couples dine together in a Paris apartment. Tensions abound, dynamics shift & life-changing decisions soon follow. 💙📚
jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2025/11/27/j...
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
There's a lot of good things worth bidding for here, in the #creativesforsudan auction, please take a look and help fundraising for people escaping genocide in El-Fasher. @yassmin.bsky.social, via @sdnsolidarity.bsky.social
app.galabid.com/creatives4su...
app.galabid.com/creatives4su...
November 27, 2025 at 12:15 PM
There's a lot of good things worth bidding for here, in the #creativesforsudan auction, please take a look and help fundraising for people escaping genocide in El-Fasher. @yassmin.bsky.social, via @sdnsolidarity.bsky.social
app.galabid.com/creatives4su...
app.galabid.com/creatives4su...
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
THE CREATIVES4SUDAN AUCTION IS NOW LIVE!!!!
THE CREATIVES4SUDAN AUCTION IS NOW LIVE!!!!
THE CREATIVES4SUDAN AUCTION IS NOW LIVE!!!!
app.galabid.com/creatives4su...
THE CREATIVES4SUDAN AUCTION IS NOW LIVE!!!!
THE CREATIVES4SUDAN AUCTION IS NOW LIVE!!!!
app.galabid.com/creatives4su...
November 24, 2025 at 7:06 PM
THE CREATIVES4SUDAN AUCTION IS NOW LIVE!!!!
THE CREATIVES4SUDAN AUCTION IS NOW LIVE!!!!
THE CREATIVES4SUDAN AUCTION IS NOW LIVE!!!!
app.galabid.com/creatives4su...
THE CREATIVES4SUDAN AUCTION IS NOW LIVE!!!!
THE CREATIVES4SUDAN AUCTION IS NOW LIVE!!!!
app.galabid.com/creatives4su...
👀 New life goal just dropped.
November 27, 2025 at 3:09 PM
👀 New life goal just dropped.
Love seeing this story doing the rounds again! 🎄🍗😍
The most stressed out I've ever been about Christmas was when I was 16 and I got my first ever job, working at M&S in Dundrum. As soon as I started I kept hearing these myths about the Christmas Eve Waste Sale, where all the food that wasn't sold on the 24th was marked down 90%.
November 27, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Love seeing this story doing the rounds again! 🎄🍗😍
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
I am delighted to be on the Gordon Burn longlist because number one, I am a Gordon Burn nut, and number two the books I have already read on this list are brilliant. Thank you so much.
November 27, 2025 at 1:08 PM
I am delighted to be on the Gordon Burn longlist because number one, I am a Gordon Burn nut, and number two the books I have already read on this list are brilliant. Thank you so much.
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
If you’re a Maeve Brennan fan, Molly Hennigan has edited this excellent collection of essays about her work. Happy to have a piece in here alongside Roddy Doyle, Belinda McKeon, Darren Anderson, Niamh Campbell. Out in February. Pre-order www.newisland.ie/shop/p/an-as... @newislandbooks.bsky.social
November 27, 2025 at 1:34 PM
If you’re a Maeve Brennan fan, Molly Hennigan has edited this excellent collection of essays about her work. Happy to have a piece in here alongside Roddy Doyle, Belinda McKeon, Darren Anderson, Niamh Campbell. Out in February. Pre-order www.newisland.ie/shop/p/an-as... @newislandbooks.bsky.social
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
Book news! Delighted to share the cover of my next book. Out 10/02/26 @renardpress.com
Read about it here: renardpress.com/books/all-th... It’s a short novel, creeping, unsettling and a book of taboo and that’s for sure. 📚💙
Read about it here: renardpress.com/books/all-th... It’s a short novel, creeping, unsettling and a book of taboo and that’s for sure. 📚💙
November 26, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Book news! Delighted to share the cover of my next book. Out 10/02/26 @renardpress.com
Read about it here: renardpress.com/books/all-th... It’s a short novel, creeping, unsettling and a book of taboo and that’s for sure. 📚💙
Read about it here: renardpress.com/books/all-th... It’s a short novel, creeping, unsettling and a book of taboo and that’s for sure. 📚💙
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
It's brilliant and everyone should read @vickymackenzie.bsky.social book . Perfect xmas present!
November 27, 2025 at 9:52 AM
It's brilliant and everyone should read @vickymackenzie.bsky.social book . Perfect xmas present!
I take back what I muttered earlier to myself, that there's nothing good on the internet these days...
For "reasons" we've been thinking about the Lloyds Bank Turd: the biggest fossilized human poo ever found (it's from Viking York).
It's 8" long and 2" wide. We asked AI what else is that size...
"A large cucumber, a deck of card or a thick smartphone", apparently. 😬
It's 8" long and 2" wide. We asked AI what else is that size...
"A large cucumber, a deck of card or a thick smartphone", apparently. 😬
November 27, 2025 at 9:55 AM
I take back what I muttered earlier to myself, that there's nothing good on the internet these days...
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
Excited to be bringing my Feisty Females to #Grantham #Museum this afternoon 😊 Why not come along? share.google/7SImlLcU9dcY... #Lincolnshire #writing #history #hisfic
November 27, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Excited to be bringing my Feisty Females to #Grantham #Museum this afternoon 😊 Why not come along? share.google/7SImlLcU9dcY... #Lincolnshire #writing #history #hisfic
Radio 4 is currently repeating this wonderful episode of In Our Time
BBC Radio 4 - Margery Kempe and English Mysticism share.google/9liBWxkcH4pC...
BBC Radio 4 - Margery Kempe and English Mysticism share.google/9liBWxkcH4pC...
BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, Margery Kempe and English Mysticism
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Margery Kempe, the medieval English mystic.
share.google
November 27, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Radio 4 is currently repeating this wonderful episode of In Our Time
BBC Radio 4 - Margery Kempe and English Mysticism share.google/9liBWxkcH4pC...
BBC Radio 4 - Margery Kempe and English Mysticism share.google/9liBWxkcH4pC...
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
What’s coming up on Notes from the Margin this winter? All this and a 20% discount on annual subscriptions. For one week only.
open.substack.com/pub/wendypra...
open.substack.com/pub/wendypra...
Winter at Notes from the Margin
20% Discount on an Annual Subscription for new subscribers! What's in store for paid subscribers in December, January and February.
open.substack.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:14 AM
What’s coming up on Notes from the Margin this winter? All this and a 20% discount on annual subscriptions. For one week only.
open.substack.com/pub/wendypra...
open.substack.com/pub/wendypra...
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
I spoke to my deep passion of bogs and peatlands in this TEDx talk. Will you join me in becoming a bog champion? m.youtube.com/watch?v=mWt9...
Bogs are real superheroes, cast as villains | Dr. Merritt Turetsky | TEDxBoulder
YouTube video by TEDx Talks
m.youtube.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:27 PM
I spoke to my deep passion of bogs and peatlands in this TEDx talk. Will you join me in becoming a bog champion? m.youtube.com/watch?v=mWt9...
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
Support this publisher!
When the NEA asked us to promise not to publish trans, nonbinary, or gender fluid authors, we told them to kick rocks. (Actually, formally, with a unanimous vote by the Board of Directors, we told them to kick rocks.) So the NEA rescinded our funding.
November 26, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Support this publisher!
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
"The Festive Big Green Book Swap" is back!
Let me know the kind of stuff you like reading.
I'll match you up with someone with similar tastes.
I'll post you both a book I think you'll like (+ choc & tea)!
Read, chat & eat choc!
Just £15
DETAILS HERE!
biggreenbookshop.com/index.php
Let me know the kind of stuff you like reading.
I'll match you up with someone with similar tastes.
I'll post you both a book I think you'll like (+ choc & tea)!
Read, chat & eat choc!
Just £15
DETAILS HERE!
biggreenbookshop.com/index.php
November 1, 2025 at 12:56 PM
"The Festive Big Green Book Swap" is back!
Let me know the kind of stuff you like reading.
I'll match you up with someone with similar tastes.
I'll post you both a book I think you'll like (+ choc & tea)!
Read, chat & eat choc!
Just £15
DETAILS HERE!
biggreenbookshop.com/index.php
Let me know the kind of stuff you like reading.
I'll match you up with someone with similar tastes.
I'll post you both a book I think you'll like (+ choc & tea)!
Read, chat & eat choc!
Just £15
DETAILS HERE!
biggreenbookshop.com/index.php
Reposted by Vicky MacKenzie
If you know someone struggling with their hearing, Paul Farley's poetic journey will help in understanding what they're going through. I hope there's a transcript for people who can't really hear audio & haven't made the transition to super phone-streaming hearing aids.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Illuminated - Hearing Aids - BBC Sounds
Poet Paul Farley faces up to the fact that it’s time to address his hearing loss.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 9:12 AM
If you know someone struggling with their hearing, Paul Farley's poetic journey will help in understanding what they're going through. I hope there's a transcript for people who can't really hear audio & haven't made the transition to super phone-streaming hearing aids.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...