James Machin
@jfmachin.bsky.social
Editor, proof reader, writer, researcher etc.
Recent books:
The Strange Stories of John Buchan (British Library Publishing, 2025)
The Stark Munro Letters by Arthur Conan Doyle (Edinburgh University Press, 2024)
Recent books:
The Strange Stories of John Buchan (British Library Publishing, 2025)
The Stark Munro Letters by Arthur Conan Doyle (Edinburgh University Press, 2024)
Reposted by James Machin
“Buchan’s tales of trust and treachery, public duty and private doubt, still have questions to ask – and answers we might not entirely expect”
THE BOTTLE IMP tracks the many paths of one of Scotland’s most surprising storytellers in his 150th year
💙📚
1/8
www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2025/12/the-...
THE BOTTLE IMP tracks the many paths of one of Scotland’s most surprising storytellers in his 150th year
💙📚
1/8
www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2025/12/the-...
The Reign of Saturn - The Bottle Imp
The life of John Buchan reads like one of his adventure stories: as a storyteller and statesman, intelligence officer and international thinker, he roamed both continents and careers alike, leaping fr...
www.thebottleimp.org.uk
December 5, 2025 at 4:51 PM
“Buchan’s tales of trust and treachery, public duty and private doubt, still have questions to ask – and answers we might not entirely expect”
THE BOTTLE IMP tracks the many paths of one of Scotland’s most surprising storytellers in his 150th year
💙📚
1/8
www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2025/12/the-...
THE BOTTLE IMP tracks the many paths of one of Scotland’s most surprising storytellers in his 150th year
💙📚
1/8
www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2025/12/the-...
Reposted by James Machin
“Identifying the supernatural as a consistent theme of Buchan’s fiction… reinforces Buchan’s status as a pre-eminent exponent of the supernatural tale and helps us to understand his wider oeuvre”
@jfmachin.bsky.social on Buchan as a writer of the weird
2/8
www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2025/12/john...
@jfmachin.bsky.social on Buchan as a writer of the weird
2/8
www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2025/12/john...
John Buchan and the Supernatural - The Bottle Imp
When writing the introduction to the recent collection of John Buchan’s ‘strange stories’ for the British Library, I was hesitant in making my argument that Buchan should rightfully be considered alon...
www.thebottleimp.org.uk
December 5, 2025 at 4:51 PM
“Identifying the supernatural as a consistent theme of Buchan’s fiction… reinforces Buchan’s status as a pre-eminent exponent of the supernatural tale and helps us to understand his wider oeuvre”
@jfmachin.bsky.social on Buchan as a writer of the weird
2/8
www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2025/12/john...
@jfmachin.bsky.social on Buchan as a writer of the weird
2/8
www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2025/12/john...
Reposted by James Machin
The excellent @birminghamdispatch.bsky.social (which has done such great reporting on the flag epidemic over the last few months) delivers the goods again today with this deep dive into the Midlands mythology of Penda's Fen.
Penda’s Fen reinvents Mercia for the modern age
How an experimental British 1970s television play pioneered a folk horror revival
www.birminghamdispatch.co.uk
November 22, 2025 at 10:13 AM
The excellent @birminghamdispatch.bsky.social (which has done such great reporting on the flag epidemic over the last few months) delivers the goods again today with this deep dive into the Midlands mythology of Penda's Fen.
Really pleased to have an essay in the new issue of Gothic Studies -- it's a special edition on Algernon Blackwood. It's also OPEN ACCESS so free for anyone to enter its region of singular loneliness and desolation. Many thanks to Henry Bartholomew for inviting me on board and putting it together.
Publication day! My special issue on Algernon Blackwood and the Gothic is officially out: www.euppublishing.com/toc/gothic/c...
My heartfelt thanks to all the contributors. So much in here - will cover in future posts. The issue positions B as a major force in C20th British Gothic.
My heartfelt thanks to all the contributors. So much in here - will cover in future posts. The issue positions B as a major force in C20th British Gothic.
Edinburgh University Press Journals - Table of Contents - gothic: Vol 27, No 3
www.euppublishing.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Really pleased to have an essay in the new issue of Gothic Studies -- it's a special edition on Algernon Blackwood. It's also OPEN ACCESS so free for anyone to enter its region of singular loneliness and desolation. Many thanks to Henry Bartholomew for inviting me on board and putting it together.
Reposted by James Machin
22% off ILLUSIONS OF PRESENCE over on that globalist shopping website.
Illusions of Presence: Lost Christmas Ghost Stories: 21 (British Library Gilded Nightmares): Amazon.co.uk: Johnny Mains: 9780712355933: Books
Buy Illusions of Presence: Lost Christmas Ghost Stories: 21 (British Library Gilded Nightmares) 1 by Johnny Mains (ISBN: 9780712355933) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery ...
www.amazon.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 6:10 PM
22% off ILLUSIONS OF PRESENCE over on that globalist shopping website.
Reposted by James Machin
Reposted by James Machin
Publication day! My special issue on Algernon Blackwood and the Gothic is officially out: www.euppublishing.com/toc/gothic/c...
My heartfelt thanks to all the contributors. So much in here - will cover in future posts. The issue positions B as a major force in C20th British Gothic.
My heartfelt thanks to all the contributors. So much in here - will cover in future posts. The issue positions B as a major force in C20th British Gothic.
Edinburgh University Press Journals - Table of Contents - gothic: Vol 27, No 3
www.euppublishing.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Publication day! My special issue on Algernon Blackwood and the Gothic is officially out: www.euppublishing.com/toc/gothic/c...
My heartfelt thanks to all the contributors. So much in here - will cover in future posts. The issue positions B as a major force in C20th British Gothic.
My heartfelt thanks to all the contributors. So much in here - will cover in future posts. The issue positions B as a major force in C20th British Gothic.
Frankenstein (2025)
open.substack.com/pub/jamesmac...
open.substack.com/pub/jamesmac...
Frankenstein (2025)
A monster movie without a monster
open.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Frankenstein (2025)
open.substack.com/pub/jamesmac...
open.substack.com/pub/jamesmac...
This Thursday evening will be discussing Conan Doyle's Tales of the Supernatural with the estimable Edward Parnell -- details in link ... thelasttuesdaysociety.org/event/arthur...
Arthur Conan Doyle’s Tales of the Supernatural - by James Machin - Zoom - The Last Tuesday Society
The creator of the arch-rationalist Sherlock Holmes also had a fascination with the supernatural, which found expression in his eerie tales.
thelasttuesdaysociety.org
November 4, 2025 at 10:03 AM
This Thursday evening will be discussing Conan Doyle's Tales of the Supernatural with the estimable Edward Parnell -- details in link ... thelasttuesdaysociety.org/event/arthur...
Learnt recently that AI "tells" now include em dashes. As a long-term em dash enthusiast and advocate, this feels weirdly personal and cannot stand.
October 23, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Learnt recently that AI "tells" now include em dashes. As a long-term em dash enthusiast and advocate, this feels weirdly personal and cannot stand.
Reposted by James Machin
Today's $2.99 Kindle deal is not to be missed! Karl Edward Wagner's IN A LONELY PLACE (1983) is one of the best modern horror collections, featuring some of this master storyteller's best work. Grab it at a bargain price today online on Kindle worldwide! www.amazon.com/Lonely-Place...
October 10, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Today's $2.99 Kindle deal is not to be missed! Karl Edward Wagner's IN A LONELY PLACE (1983) is one of the best modern horror collections, featuring some of this master storyteller's best work. Grab it at a bargain price today online on Kindle worldwide! www.amazon.com/Lonely-Place...
Reposted by James Machin
Happy birthday John Buchan, writer of famous spy-thriller The Thirty-Nine Steps and lesser known stories of weird fiction...
The Strange Stories of John Buchan is a collection of his most intriguing and obscure spooky tales 👻.
shop.bl.uk/products/the-strange-stories-of-john-buchan
The Strange Stories of John Buchan is a collection of his most intriguing and obscure spooky tales 👻.
shop.bl.uk/products/the-strange-stories-of-john-buchan
The Strange Stories of John Buchan
Celebrate the 150th birthday of Scottish author John Buchan with this playful collection of his most intriguing strange stories. Curated by weird fiction expert James Machin, this volume brings togeth...
shop.bl.uk
September 26, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Happy birthday John Buchan, writer of famous spy-thriller The Thirty-Nine Steps and lesser known stories of weird fiction...
The Strange Stories of John Buchan is a collection of his most intriguing and obscure spooky tales 👻.
shop.bl.uk/products/the-strange-stories-of-john-buchan
The Strange Stories of John Buchan is a collection of his most intriguing and obscure spooky tales 👻.
shop.bl.uk/products/the-strange-stories-of-john-buchan
Reposted by James Machin
John Buchan Fact of the Day (261/365) The story 'The Shut Door' was first published in The Boys' All-Round Book of Stories, Sports and Hobbies in 1926. It is included in The Strange Stories of John Buchan, ed. by James Machin [The British Library, 2025] #JBFactOfTheDay #JohnBuchan #books #booksky 💙📚
September 18, 2025 at 2:42 PM
John Buchan Fact of the Day (261/365) The story 'The Shut Door' was first published in The Boys' All-Round Book of Stories, Sports and Hobbies in 1926. It is included in The Strange Stories of John Buchan, ed. by James Machin [The British Library, 2025] #JBFactOfTheDay #JohnBuchan #books #booksky 💙📚
Reposted by James Machin
ILLUSIONS OF PRESENCE has a cover!!
Really happy with how this one has turned out, it's going to be *THE* book to get this Christmas!!
Links to order below! Please share this one far and wide!
#christmasghoststories #santasshinyshiny
Really happy with how this one has turned out, it's going to be *THE* book to get this Christmas!!
Links to order below! Please share this one far and wide!
#christmasghoststories #santasshinyshiny
August 19, 2025 at 5:03 PM
ILLUSIONS OF PRESENCE has a cover!!
Really happy with how this one has turned out, it's going to be *THE* book to get this Christmas!!
Links to order below! Please share this one far and wide!
#christmasghoststories #santasshinyshiny
Really happy with how this one has turned out, it's going to be *THE* book to get this Christmas!!
Links to order below! Please share this one far and wide!
#christmasghoststories #santasshinyshiny
Reposted by James Machin
Journey through forbidden mountain paths, ancient woodlands and collapsing coastlines at the far edges of Britain's wilderness with The Wayfarer's Weird: Wild Tales of Uncanny Rambles...
shop.bl.uk/products/the-wayfarers-weird-wild-tales-of-uncanny-rambles
shop.bl.uk/products/the-wayfarers-weird-wild-tales-of-uncanny-rambles
August 21, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Journey through forbidden mountain paths, ancient woodlands and collapsing coastlines at the far edges of Britain's wilderness with The Wayfarer's Weird: Wild Tales of Uncanny Rambles...
shop.bl.uk/products/the-wayfarers-weird-wild-tales-of-uncanny-rambles
shop.bl.uk/products/the-wayfarers-weird-wild-tales-of-uncanny-rambles
Reposted by James Machin
pls RT, modernists - CFP now out for 'Weird Modernisms', the collaborative conference between @modernistudies.bsky.social and @moderniststudies.bsky.social !
July 2026, Loughborough University.
www.moderniststudies.org/conference/M...
July 2026, Loughborough University.
www.moderniststudies.org/conference/M...
August 18, 2025 at 12:32 PM
pls RT, modernists - CFP now out for 'Weird Modernisms', the collaborative conference between @modernistudies.bsky.social and @moderniststudies.bsky.social !
July 2026, Loughborough University.
www.moderniststudies.org/conference/M...
July 2026, Loughborough University.
www.moderniststudies.org/conference/M...
Reposted by James Machin
Please help me share the CFP for this Literature Compass Special Issue dedicated to the work of Simon J James and covering key Victorian and Edwardian writers like H. G. Wells, George Gissing, Dickens, Wilde, George Du Maurier, and Conan-Doyle on behalf of Hadas Elber-Aviram.
August 6, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Please help me share the CFP for this Literature Compass Special Issue dedicated to the work of Simon J James and covering key Victorian and Edwardian writers like H. G. Wells, George Gissing, Dickens, Wilde, George Du Maurier, and Conan-Doyle on behalf of Hadas Elber-Aviram.
Reposted by James Machin
The fantastic @bbcworldbookclub.bsky.social is recording a show on Arthur Conan Doyle on 20 August with Harriet Gilbert, @valmcdermid.bsky.social and our very own @drmjones.bsky.social. Tickets are required but free! Come along if you can!
BBC World Book Club: Arthur Conan Doyle
20 Aug, Toppings Booksellers, Edinburgh: free, ticketed
Harriet Gilbert, @valmcdermid.bsky.social & @drmjones.bsky.social – co-host of @doingsofdoyle.com – discuss Conan Doyle’s influence on crime & detective fiction
💙📚
www.toppingbooks.co.uk/events/edinb...
20 Aug, Toppings Booksellers, Edinburgh: free, ticketed
Harriet Gilbert, @valmcdermid.bsky.social & @drmjones.bsky.social – co-host of @doingsofdoyle.com – discuss Conan Doyle’s influence on crime & detective fiction
💙📚
www.toppingbooks.co.uk/events/edinb...
BBC World Book Club: Arthur Conan Doyle at Topping & Company Booksellers of Edinburgh
www.toppingbooks.co.uk
August 6, 2025 at 2:54 PM
The fantastic @bbcworldbookclub.bsky.social is recording a show on Arthur Conan Doyle on 20 August with Harriet Gilbert, @valmcdermid.bsky.social and our very own @drmjones.bsky.social. Tickets are required but free! Come along if you can!
Always a thrill to get a story into Supernatural Tales & especially cool to be in there with @theprofrog.bsky.social ...
suptales.blogspot.com?m=1
suptales.blogspot.com?m=1
August 5, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Always a thrill to get a story into Supernatural Tales & especially cool to be in there with @theprofrog.bsky.social ...
suptales.blogspot.com?m=1
suptales.blogspot.com?m=1
Reposted by James Machin
This Friday 8pm Archive of Dread month begins on the Nunkie YouTube Channel. Tune in here at 8pm (UK) and experience "The Temple" by H P Lovecraft.
youtube.com/live/DRQsB1t...
free to view, but if you'd like to support this kind of thing then you can become a patron here
patreon.com/RobertLloydParry
youtube.com/live/DRQsB1t...
free to view, but if you'd like to support this kind of thing then you can become a patron here
patreon.com/RobertLloydParry
THE ARCHIVE OF DREAD: The Temple, by H P Lovecraft
YouTube video by Nunkie Films
youtube.com
August 5, 2025 at 7:11 AM
This Friday 8pm Archive of Dread month begins on the Nunkie YouTube Channel. Tune in here at 8pm (UK) and experience "The Temple" by H P Lovecraft.
youtube.com/live/DRQsB1t...
free to view, but if you'd like to support this kind of thing then you can become a patron here
patreon.com/RobertLloydParry
youtube.com/live/DRQsB1t...
free to view, but if you'd like to support this kind of thing then you can become a patron here
patreon.com/RobertLloydParry
Reposted by James Machin
This has arrived this weekend and is up there as one of the most gorgeous things on my bookshelves
Wonderful holographic cover art, an excellent collection of spooky and strange stories by John Buchan - an underrated master of the art of the weird - selected by the brilliant @jfmachin.bsky.social
Wonderful holographic cover art, an excellent collection of spooky and strange stories by John Buchan - an underrated master of the art of the weird - selected by the brilliant @jfmachin.bsky.social
August 3, 2025 at 9:53 AM
This has arrived this weekend and is up there as one of the most gorgeous things on my bookshelves
Wonderful holographic cover art, an excellent collection of spooky and strange stories by John Buchan - an underrated master of the art of the weird - selected by the brilliant @jfmachin.bsky.social
Wonderful holographic cover art, an excellent collection of spooky and strange stories by John Buchan - an underrated master of the art of the weird - selected by the brilliant @jfmachin.bsky.social
Reposted by James Machin
Just received my contributor copies of Supernatural Tales issue 59. Proud to have a story here alongside work from James Machin, Sarah LeFanu, and others, all under a typically eerie cover image from Sam Dawson. Out soon for general purchase.
July 29, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Just received my contributor copies of Supernatural Tales issue 59. Proud to have a story here alongside work from James Machin, Sarah LeFanu, and others, all under a typically eerie cover image from Sam Dawson. Out soon for general purchase.
Reposted by James Machin
You can pre-order ShoreZone now, the first and only collection of supernatural fiction by David Rudkin, author of Penda's Fen.
This anthology includes 9 enigmatic, chilling and transporting short tales rich in atmosphere and uncanniness. Designed and illustrated by Zoë Taylor.
Photo by SF Said.
This anthology includes 9 enigmatic, chilling and transporting short tales rich in atmosphere and uncanniness. Designed and illustrated by Zoë Taylor.
Photo by SF Said.
August 1, 2025 at 11:01 AM
You can pre-order ShoreZone now, the first and only collection of supernatural fiction by David Rudkin, author of Penda's Fen.
This anthology includes 9 enigmatic, chilling and transporting short tales rich in atmosphere and uncanniness. Designed and illustrated by Zoë Taylor.
Photo by SF Said.
This anthology includes 9 enigmatic, chilling and transporting short tales rich in atmosphere and uncanniness. Designed and illustrated by Zoë Taylor.
Photo by SF Said.
Reposted by James Machin
Always great to talk to @jfmachin.bsky.social, this time about 'Stark Munro'. A very entertaining novel, but definitely something of a curate's egg. Looking forward to digging into his new anthology of Buchan's Strange Stories for @blpublishing.bsky.social which arrived yesterday.
NEW EPISODE: The Stark Munro Letters (1895), with @jfmachin.bsky.social, editor of the new Edinburgh University Press edition. Chat about: reading the book for the first time, Cullingworth-Budd, controversy and the original ending. Plus Buchan's weird tales. www.doingsofdoyle.com/2025/07/65-s...
July 31, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Always great to talk to @jfmachin.bsky.social, this time about 'Stark Munro'. A very entertaining novel, but definitely something of a curate's egg. Looking forward to digging into his new anthology of Buchan's Strange Stories for @blpublishing.bsky.social which arrived yesterday.
Reposted by James Machin
NOW ON YOUTUBE: The Stark Munro Letters (1895), with James Machin, editor of the new Edinburgh University Press edition.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=izwq...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=izwq...
July 30, 2025 at 9:02 PM
NOW ON YOUTUBE: The Stark Munro Letters (1895), with James Machin, editor of the new Edinburgh University Press edition.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=izwq...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=izwq...