Brian Willems
@brianwillems.bsky.social
Author of Sham Ruins: A User's Guide (2022), Henry, Henry: A Novella (2017), and others. Debut novel The Surving Cells forthcoming from Les Fugitives. https://www.lesfugitives.com/2025/brian-willems-the-surviving-cells
Reposted by Brian Willems
'Winterson’s verbal exuberance is both playful and deadly serious; she has the intensity of someone who is demolishing you at chess while maintaining that it’s only a game.'
Suzi Feay: A riff on One Thousand and One Nights
Suzi Feay: A riff on One Thousand and One Nights
Twenty-first-century genie
www.the-tls.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:22 AM
'Winterson’s verbal exuberance is both playful and deadly serious; she has the intensity of someone who is demolishing you at chess while maintaining that it’s only a game.'
Suzi Feay: A riff on One Thousand and One Nights
Suzi Feay: A riff on One Thousand and One Nights
Reposted by Brian Willems
‘If the more demotic, more commercial world of Mid-Century Modern has a London home, it is in the South-East of the city, the once industrial inner suburbs of the low-density, largely Tubeless boroughs of Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark and Lambeth.’
Owen Hatherley:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Owen Hatherley:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Owen Hatherley · South London Modern
In the late 1960s, the critic Bevis Hillier invented the term ‘Art Deco’ for the commercial architecture of the...
www.lrb.co.uk
October 22, 2025 at 7:30 AM
‘If the more demotic, more commercial world of Mid-Century Modern has a London home, it is in the South-East of the city, the once industrial inner suburbs of the low-density, largely Tubeless boroughs of Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark and Lambeth.’
Owen Hatherley:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Owen Hatherley:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Brian Willems
Two days to go! Here's a webpage with all the essential info for your visit to #smallpublishersfair25 at Conway Hall, London, this Fri & Sat (24 & 25 Oct, 11am-7pm): programme, new titles, map, venue info, directions (table plan available tomorrow)
smallpublishersfair.co.uk/get-the-most...
smallpublishersfair.co.uk/get-the-most...
October 22, 2025 at 7:58 AM
Two days to go! Here's a webpage with all the essential info for your visit to #smallpublishersfair25 at Conway Hall, London, this Fri & Sat (24 & 25 Oct, 11am-7pm): programme, new titles, map, venue info, directions (table plan available tomorrow)
smallpublishersfair.co.uk/get-the-most...
smallpublishersfair.co.uk/get-the-most...
Reposted by Brian Willems
For National Translation Month, check out this list of 7 new queer books from around the globe. At Book Riot:
7 New Queer Books in Translation Out in 2025
September is National Translation Month, which is a good time to spotlight some of the queer books in translation out in 2025!
bookriot.com
September 24, 2025 at 2:02 PM
For National Translation Month, check out this list of 7 new queer books from around the globe. At Book Riot:
Reposted by Brian Willems
'FALSE WAR is a rich and capacious novel that has much to say about our contemporary moment.' Arin Keeble reviews FALSE WAR by Carlos Manuel Álvarez, tr. Natasha Wimmer, for @theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...
False War by Carlos Manuel Álvarez review – a new vision of migration
A novel of interlocking stories captures the ordinary lives and interior worlds of Cuban exiles seeking sanctuary in Miami
www.theguardian.com
August 26, 2025 at 2:05 PM
'FALSE WAR is a rich and capacious novel that has much to say about our contemporary moment.' Arin Keeble reviews FALSE WAR by Carlos Manuel Álvarez, tr. Natasha Wimmer, for @theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...
Reposted by Brian Willems
Michèle Roberts on filling the pages through life’s vicissitudes
Hall of mirrors
www.the-tls.com
August 7, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Michèle Roberts on filling the pages through life’s vicissitudes
Reposted by Brian Willems
Just in case anyone wants a reminder of how Trump helped create the situation he's now using as justification to bomb Iran. abcnews.go.com/Politics/ira...
What was in the Iran nuclear deal and why did Trump withdraw the US from it?
Known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, the deal followed two years of negotiations during the Obama administration.
abcnews.go.com
June 22, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Just in case anyone wants a reminder of how Trump helped create the situation he's now using as justification to bomb Iran. abcnews.go.com/Politics/ira...
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“Early one morning, Jake Weir went to town to see about a mixture of grains for his horses. When he returned to his farm and went into the house, he saw a stranger sitting at his table.” Read a short story by Louise Erdrich.
“Love of My Days,” by Louise Erdrich
She knew who the man was, knew a bullet furrow when she saw one.
www.newyorker.com
June 3, 2025 at 12:45 AM
“Early one morning, Jake Weir went to town to see about a mixture of grains for his horses. When he returned to his farm and went into the house, he saw a stranger sitting at his table.” Read a short story by Louise Erdrich.
Reposted by Brian Willems
NYC: Wednesday, June, 4 at 7PM at join @twolinespress.bsky.social for the MENDING BODIES book tour with author Hon Lai Chu and translator @jacqlyy.bsky.social with writer/translator Bonnie Chau. More at: www.yuandmebooks.com/products/boo...
June 3, 2025 at 2:00 AM
NYC: Wednesday, June, 4 at 7PM at join @twolinespress.bsky.social for the MENDING BODIES book tour with author Hon Lai Chu and translator @jacqlyy.bsky.social with writer/translator Bonnie Chau. More at: www.yuandmebooks.com/products/boo...
Reposted by Brian Willems
🔹Wednesday, 4 June🔹 Kate Briggs and Jen Calleja will be in conversation about the Art and Politics of Literary Translation. In partnership with @prototypepubs.bsky.social and CAPONEU @brightonuni.bsky.social. Sign up here to join in person: forms.office.com/pages/respon...
May 27, 2025 at 1:02 PM
🔹Wednesday, 4 June🔹 Kate Briggs and Jen Calleja will be in conversation about the Art and Politics of Literary Translation. In partnership with @prototypepubs.bsky.social and CAPONEU @brightonuni.bsky.social. Sign up here to join in person: forms.office.com/pages/respon...
Reposted by Brian Willems
I wrote about the politics & aesthetics of the floral in recent exhibitions (Inka Essenhigh, Sharon Core) & two of my favourite books like Ordinary Notes @dauntbookspub.bsky.social by Christina Sharpe (@hystericalblkns.bsky.social) & more by Jamaica Kincaid for Elephant
elephant.art/bring-me-flo...
elephant.art/bring-me-flo...
May 21, 2025 at 8:27 AM
I wrote about the politics & aesthetics of the floral in recent exhibitions (Inka Essenhigh, Sharon Core) & two of my favourite books like Ordinary Notes @dauntbookspub.bsky.social by Christina Sharpe (@hystericalblkns.bsky.social) & more by Jamaica Kincaid for Elephant
elephant.art/bring-me-flo...
elephant.art/bring-me-flo...
Reposted by Brian Willems
‘Alexis Wright’s work is a living, breathing testament to oral storytelling … Storytelling here is resistance – complex, unfiltered, and utterly compelling.’
Adam Wyeth reviews Tracker by Alexis Wright for @irishtimes.com ✨
Adam Wyeth reviews Tracker by Alexis Wright for @irishtimes.com ✨
Tracker by Alexis Wright; Pig by Matilde Pratesi; Taking Manhattan by Russell Shorto
A compelling read, one that comes up short and a scholarly, engaging history
www.irishtimes.com
May 8, 2025 at 4:22 PM
‘Alexis Wright’s work is a living, breathing testament to oral storytelling … Storytelling here is resistance – complex, unfiltered, and utterly compelling.’
Adam Wyeth reviews Tracker by Alexis Wright for @irishtimes.com ✨
Adam Wyeth reviews Tracker by Alexis Wright for @irishtimes.com ✨
Reposted by Brian Willems
‘From the sprinkle of snow across a sidewalk to the scatter of crumbs on a tablecloth, each metaphor in this collection unfolds like a mural, deliciously rich in colour, texture and tone.’
Jade Cuttle on Éireann Lorsung, for The Observer: httpsobserver.co.uk/culture/books/article/poetry-...
Jade Cuttle on Éireann Lorsung, for The Observer: httpsobserver.co.uk/culture/books/article/poetry-...
Poetry book of the month: Mind your language
Éireann Lorsung’s vibrant debut delights in the slipperiness of the world and the words we use to capture it
observer.co.uk
May 7, 2025 at 11:30 AM
‘From the sprinkle of snow across a sidewalk to the scatter of crumbs on a tablecloth, each metaphor in this collection unfolds like a mural, deliciously rich in colour, texture and tone.’
Jade Cuttle on Éireann Lorsung, for The Observer: httpsobserver.co.uk/culture/books/article/poetry-...
Jade Cuttle on Éireann Lorsung, for The Observer: httpsobserver.co.uk/culture/books/article/poetry-...
Reposted by Brian Willems
Last week, we lost the poet, activist, and scholar Joshua Clover. Those who want to pay homage might donate to their local bail fund.
The Many Lives of Joshua Clover (1962–2025)
How the militant, poet, political theorist, organizer, and giver of gifts refused to die.
www.thenation.com
May 6, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Last week, we lost the poet, activist, and scholar Joshua Clover. Those who want to pay homage might donate to their local bail fund.
Reposted by Brian Willems
‘The staccato prose, the weird punctuation and Debré’s reliance on endless lists wears you down. The provocation stops being shocking and leads nowhere.’
Em Hogan on Constant Debré’s autofiction: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Em Hogan on Constant Debré’s autofiction: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Em Hogan · Rolex and Ladurée: Constance Debré’s Bravado
Playboy was published in France in 2018 and was seized on by critics, and the public, as a powerful challenge to...
www.lrb.co.uk
April 18, 2025 at 8:19 PM
‘The staccato prose, the weird punctuation and Debré’s reliance on endless lists wears you down. The provocation stops being shocking and leads nowhere.’
Em Hogan on Constant Debré’s autofiction: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Em Hogan on Constant Debré’s autofiction: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
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Homebodiez, our 11th album, is OUT NOW.
Listen/purchase it here: microfilm.bandcamp.com/album/homebo... and for purchase & streaming everywhere.
Help us spread the word! Repost this post! Thx. Enjoy!
#newmusic #newalbum #electronicmusic #dancemusic #musicsky #synthpop #electropop #synthsky #music
Listen/purchase it here: microfilm.bandcamp.com/album/homebo... and for purchase & streaming everywhere.
Help us spread the word! Repost this post! Thx. Enjoy!
#newmusic #newalbum #electronicmusic #dancemusic #musicsky #synthpop #electropop #synthsky #music
Homebodiez, by Microfilm
11 track album
microfilm.bandcamp.com
March 28, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Homebodiez, our 11th album, is OUT NOW.
Listen/purchase it here: microfilm.bandcamp.com/album/homebo... and for purchase & streaming everywhere.
Help us spread the word! Repost this post! Thx. Enjoy!
#newmusic #newalbum #electronicmusic #dancemusic #musicsky #synthpop #electropop #synthsky #music
Listen/purchase it here: microfilm.bandcamp.com/album/homebo... and for purchase & streaming everywhere.
Help us spread the word! Repost this post! Thx. Enjoy!
#newmusic #newalbum #electronicmusic #dancemusic #musicsky #synthpop #electropop #synthsky #music
Reposted by Brian Willems
'I’ve returned to the addictive power of fiction… Our fascination with myth-making seems to be a human malady.'
Ahead of the publication of Call Me Ishmaelle on Thursday (20th), Xiaolu Guo talks to Anthony Cummins.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...
Ahead of the publication of Call Me Ishmaelle on Thursday (20th), Xiaolu Guo talks to Anthony Cummins.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...
Xiaolu Guo: ‘Write less, in order to write stronger’
The author and film-maker on why she was inspired to reimagine Moby-Dick in her new novel, her love of Coleridge and returning to the ‘addictive power of fiction’
www.theguardian.com
March 17, 2025 at 11:15 AM
'I’ve returned to the addictive power of fiction… Our fascination with myth-making seems to be a human malady.'
Ahead of the publication of Call Me Ishmaelle on Thursday (20th), Xiaolu Guo talks to Anthony Cummins.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...
Ahead of the publication of Call Me Ishmaelle on Thursday (20th), Xiaolu Guo talks to Anthony Cummins.
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...
Reposted by Brian Willems
Last call for this: The Republic of Consciousness 2025 shortlist readings at Deptford Lounge 6.45pm tonight. I'll be there with fellow judges Alice Jolly & @houmanbarekat.bsky.social & writers, translators & publishers inc Les Fugitives, Peninsula, CB Editions, Divided & @bullaunpress.bsky.social
March 13, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Last call for this: The Republic of Consciousness 2025 shortlist readings at Deptford Lounge 6.45pm tonight. I'll be there with fellow judges Alice Jolly & @houmanbarekat.bsky.social & writers, translators & publishers inc Les Fugitives, Peninsula, CB Editions, Divided & @bullaunpress.bsky.social
Reposted by Brian Willems
One of the novels of the year. Get some tix for this and i'll see you there 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Happy publication day to Naomi Booth and RAW CONTENT - a beautiful and unflinching novel about motherhood that explores the overwhelming love and unbridled fear that comes with looking after a baby. Don’t miss our event with Naomi on Thurs 3 April when she’ll be in conversation with Terri White.
🎫👇🏻
🎫👇🏻
March 13, 2025 at 3:42 PM
One of the novels of the year. Get some tix for this and i'll see you there 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Reposted by Brian Willems
‘[Brown] has a sharp, unrelenting eye for the tangled dynamics that simmer underneath the surface of social interactions.’
Natasha Brown speaks to Katie Rosseinsky for the Independent.
independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/natasha-brown-universality-assembly-b2711076.html
Natasha Brown speaks to Katie Rosseinsky for the Independent.
independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/natasha-brown-universality-assembly-b2711076.html
Natasha Brown on her razor-sharp satire: ‘There was absolutely a lot of cringe’
The author, who shot to prominence with her 2021 debut novel ‘Assembly’, speaks to Katie Rosseinsky about writing habits, the future, and her button-pushing new book
www.independent.co.uk
March 13, 2025 at 4:01 PM
‘[Brown] has a sharp, unrelenting eye for the tangled dynamics that simmer underneath the surface of social interactions.’
Natasha Brown speaks to Katie Rosseinsky for the Independent.
independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/natasha-brown-universality-assembly-b2711076.html
Natasha Brown speaks to Katie Rosseinsky for the Independent.
independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/natasha-brown-universality-assembly-b2711076.html
Reposted by Brian Willems
Defending pessimism; threats to democracy; reworkings of Moby-Dick; women and the Crusades; Wilde wits – and much more.
This week’s TLS is out now: www.the-tls.co.uk/issues/cu...
This week’s TLS is out now: www.the-tls.co.uk/issues/cu...
March 13, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Defending pessimism; threats to democracy; reworkings of Moby-Dick; women and the Crusades; Wilde wits – and much more.
This week’s TLS is out now: www.the-tls.co.uk/issues/cu...
This week’s TLS is out now: www.the-tls.co.uk/issues/cu...
Reposted by Brian Willems
Every superlative.
Bought my copy at the Bibliotopia festival at Jan Michalski foundation, Switzerland at the recommendation of the organizer (Tasja Dorkofikis).
The world needs this novel.
@fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social
Bought my copy at the Bibliotopia festival at Jan Michalski foundation, Switzerland at the recommendation of the organizer (Tasja Dorkofikis).
The world needs this novel.
@fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social
March 9, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Every superlative.
Bought my copy at the Bibliotopia festival at Jan Michalski foundation, Switzerland at the recommendation of the organizer (Tasja Dorkofikis).
The world needs this novel.
@fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social
Bought my copy at the Bibliotopia festival at Jan Michalski foundation, Switzerland at the recommendation of the organizer (Tasja Dorkofikis).
The world needs this novel.
@fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social
Reposted by Brian Willems
Kazuo Ishiguro was interviewed in this weekend's Guardian on the twentieth anniversary of his modern classic, Never Let Me Go: www.theguardian.com/books/2025/mar/08/ai-will-become-very-good-at-manipulating-emotions-kazuo-ishiguro-on-the-future-of-fiction-and-truth
March 10, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Kazuo Ishiguro was interviewed in this weekend's Guardian on the twentieth anniversary of his modern classic, Never Let Me Go: www.theguardian.com/books/2025/mar/08/ai-will-become-very-good-at-manipulating-emotions-kazuo-ishiguro-on-the-future-of-fiction-and-truth
Reposted by Brian Willems
Please join us in Deptford on Thursday for readings of this years Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses.
Support literary events outside city centres. @bullaunpress.bsky.social @cbeditions.bsky.social @lesfugitivespress.bsky.social @dividedpublishing
Support literary events outside city centres. @bullaunpress.bsky.social @cbeditions.bsky.social @lesfugitivespress.bsky.social @dividedpublishing
March 10, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Please join us in Deptford on Thursday for readings of this years Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses.
Support literary events outside city centres. @bullaunpress.bsky.social @cbeditions.bsky.social @lesfugitivespress.bsky.social @dividedpublishing
Support literary events outside city centres. @bullaunpress.bsky.social @cbeditions.bsky.social @lesfugitivespress.bsky.social @dividedpublishing
Reposted by Brian Willems
“I’ve been trying to find some way to engage and comment on what’s been going on in Israel and Palestine, feeling that I couldn’t really sit back as a noncombatant, ducking and covering while this was happening.” —Joe Sacco and Art Spiegelman, interviewed by Will Simpson
“I Can’t Go On, I Must Go On” | Joe Sacco, Art Spiegelman, Will Simpson
Some readers may have been surprised to find a three-page comic in our February 27 issue: a collaboration by Art Spiegelman and Joe Sacco titled “Never
buff.ly
March 10, 2025 at 11:49 AM
“I’ve been trying to find some way to engage and comment on what’s been going on in Israel and Palestine, feeling that I couldn’t really sit back as a noncombatant, ducking and covering while this was happening.” —Joe Sacco and Art Spiegelman, interviewed by Will Simpson