Dr Selena Wisnom
@lswisnom.bsky.social
Lecturer in the Heritage of the Middle East at the University of Leicester. Researching ancient Mesopotamia. Playwright, poet, and Babylonian liver diviner.
https://www.selenawisnom.com
https://leicester.academia.edu/SelenaWisnom
https://www.selenawisnom.com
https://leicester.academia.edu/SelenaWisnom
Delighted to be chosen as one of the Telegraph's best books of 2025!
See the complete list here: www.telegraph.co.uk/books/author...
See the complete list here: www.telegraph.co.uk/books/author...
The greatest books of 2025
Our critics review hundreds of books a year. Here are their favourites from 2025, from fiction and crime to memoir and history
www.telegraph.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Delighted to be chosen as one of the Telegraph's best books of 2025!
See the complete list here: www.telegraph.co.uk/books/author...
See the complete list here: www.telegraph.co.uk/books/author...
Wrote about rituals involved in arranging a wedding in ancient Mesopotamia. Find out more in BBC History Magazine December issue!
www.historyextra.com/magazine/nex...
www.historyextra.com/magazine/nex...
Coming up in the December 2025 issue of BBC History Magazine
www.historyextra.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Wrote about rituals involved in arranging a wedding in ancient Mesopotamia. Find out more in BBC History Magazine December issue!
www.historyextra.com/magazine/nex...
www.historyextra.com/magazine/nex...
Ancient HMRC/IRS sends a letter saying pay your taxes immediately or there will be consequences
www.popularmechanics.com/science/arch...
www.popularmechanics.com/science/arch...
Archaeologists Found an Ancient Tablet Inscribed With an Ominous Royal Threat
Death and taxes have always been inevitable, even in the ancient world.
www.popularmechanics.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Ancient HMRC/IRS sends a letter saying pay your taxes immediately or there will be consequences
www.popularmechanics.com/science/arch...
www.popularmechanics.com/science/arch...
If you want to read more about ancient academics check out my book ‘The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History’
www.penguin.co.uk/books/443027...
www.penguin.co.uk/books/443027...
The Library of Ancient Wisdom
When a team of Victorian archaeologists dug into a grassy hill in Iraq, they chanced upon one of the oldest and greatest stores of knowledge ever seen: the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, s...
www.penguin.co.uk
November 4, 2025 at 9:47 AM
If you want to read more about ancient academics check out my book ‘The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History’
www.penguin.co.uk/books/443027...
www.penguin.co.uk/books/443027...
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
November 3, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
Reposted by Dr Selena Wisnom
VAMPIRES AREN’T REAL, RIGHT? …RIGHT?
To celebrate Halloween, we’re thrilled to share a special interview with historian John Blair about his riveting new book, Killing the Dead: Vampire Epidemics from Mesopotamia to the New World. open.substack.com/pub/histfest...
To celebrate Halloween, we’re thrilled to share a special interview with historian John Blair about his riveting new book, Killing the Dead: Vampire Epidemics from Mesopotamia to the New World. open.substack.com/pub/histfest...
October 31, 2025 at 4:00 PM
VAMPIRES AREN’T REAL, RIGHT? …RIGHT?
To celebrate Halloween, we’re thrilled to share a special interview with historian John Blair about his riveting new book, Killing the Dead: Vampire Epidemics from Mesopotamia to the New World. open.substack.com/pub/histfest...
To celebrate Halloween, we’re thrilled to share a special interview with historian John Blair about his riveting new book, Killing the Dead: Vampire Epidemics from Mesopotamia to the New World. open.substack.com/pub/histfest...
I'm heading to the Wells Festival of Literature today - excited to talk about The Library of Ancient Wisdom again!
Tickets are available here: wellsfestivalofliterature.org.uk/events/2025-...
Tickets are available here: wellsfestivalofliterature.org.uk/events/2025-...
Selena Wisnom - The Library of Ancient Wisdom: Mesopotamia and the Making of History | Wells Festival of Literature
wellsfestivalofliterature.org.uk
October 21, 2025 at 2:24 PM
I'm heading to the Wells Festival of Literature today - excited to talk about The Library of Ancient Wisdom again!
Tickets are available here: wellsfestivalofliterature.org.uk/events/2025-...
Tickets are available here: wellsfestivalofliterature.org.uk/events/2025-...
I've just found out which Babylonian god people prayed to to get up early in the morning - Ninurta!
'To do business at the quay where traffic rushes swiftly by,
You, O unrivalled king of the world, rouse at daybreak him who else would not rise.'
From www.ebl.lmu.de/corpus/L/3/1...
'To do business at the quay where traffic rushes swiftly by,
You, O unrivalled king of the world, rouse at daybreak him who else would not rise.'
From www.ebl.lmu.de/corpus/L/3/1...
electronic Babylonian Library
The electronic Babylonian Library (eBL) Project brings together ancient Near Eastern specialists and data scientists to revolutionize the way in which the literature of Iraq in the first millennium BC...
www.ebl.lmu.de
October 8, 2025 at 8:48 AM
I've just found out which Babylonian god people prayed to to get up early in the morning - Ninurta!
'To do business at the quay where traffic rushes swiftly by,
You, O unrivalled king of the world, rouse at daybreak him who else would not rise.'
From www.ebl.lmu.de/corpus/L/3/1...
'To do business at the quay where traffic rushes swiftly by,
You, O unrivalled king of the world, rouse at daybreak him who else would not rise.'
From www.ebl.lmu.de/corpus/L/3/1...
Exciting event alert: P21 Gallery and The Enheduanna Society are hosting a Performance Evening on 25th October in London. Badia Obaid, June Peters and Tara Jaff will perform Mesopotamian poetry and a modern retelling of the story of priestess and poet Enheduanna.
September 30, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Exciting event alert: P21 Gallery and The Enheduanna Society are hosting a Performance Evening on 25th October in London. Badia Obaid, June Peters and Tara Jaff will perform Mesopotamian poetry and a modern retelling of the story of priestess and poet Enheduanna.
My poem 'Kabuki Costume' is featured on Poetry Worth Hearing - thank you, Kathleen McPhilemy!
You can read it online here:
poetryworthhearing.biz/post/poetry-...
You can listen to the whole episode here:
You can read it online here:
poetryworthhearing.biz/post/poetry-...
You can listen to the whole episode here:
Poetry Worth Hearing: Episode 35
The 35th episode of Poetry Worth Hearing had as its prompt 'making up'. As ever, I hoped poets would interpret this as widely as they needed to and suggested a triplet of ideas as starting points: mak...
poetryworthhearing.biz
September 30, 2025 at 2:14 PM
My poem 'Kabuki Costume' is featured on Poetry Worth Hearing - thank you, Kathleen McPhilemy!
You can read it online here:
poetryworthhearing.biz/post/poetry-...
You can listen to the whole episode here:
You can read it online here:
poetryworthhearing.biz/post/poetry-...
You can listen to the whole episode here:
A review of Library of Ancient Wisdom and Between Two Rivers by Moudhy Al-Rashid in The Times Literary Supplement - thank you @lsmwilson.bsky.social for kind words!
September 12, 2025 at 2:54 PM
A review of Library of Ancient Wisdom and Between Two Rivers by Moudhy Al-Rashid in The Times Literary Supplement - thank you @lsmwilson.bsky.social for kind words!
Thrilled to be taking part in the Overboard! @classicsforall.bsky.social reverse balloon debate discussing which arch villain from the ancient world deserves to be chucked out rather than saved
25th September, London or online - tickets:
classicsforall.org.uk/news-and-eve...
25th September, London or online - tickets:
classicsforall.org.uk/news-and-eve...
Overboard! 2025
🗓️25.09.25 📍Linklaters, London EC2Y 8HQ 🎟️ £20 (£15 concessions, £10 livestream) When Poseidon sends a tempest to stir up the Aegean, four titans of the ancient world find themselves stuck on a rapidl...
classicsforall.org.uk
September 10, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Thrilled to be taking part in the Overboard! @classicsforall.bsky.social reverse balloon debate discussing which arch villain from the ancient world deserves to be chucked out rather than saved
25th September, London or online - tickets:
classicsforall.org.uk/news-and-eve...
25th September, London or online - tickets:
classicsforall.org.uk/news-and-eve...
The label doth protest too much, methinks
August 28, 2025 at 6:08 PM
The label doth protest too much, methinks
Had a great time at Ancients history podcast! Thank you for inviting me, Tristan Hughes - it is always fun to talk about Ashurbanipal, his dynasty, library and more!
You can give it a listen here:
shows.acast.com/the-ancients...
You can give it a listen here:
shows.acast.com/the-ancients...
The Ancients
A podcast for all ancient history fans! The Ancients is dedicated to discussing our distant past. Featuring interviews with historians and archaeologists, each episode covers a specific theme from ant...
shows.acast.com
August 22, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Had a great time at Ancients history podcast! Thank you for inviting me, Tristan Hughes - it is always fun to talk about Ashurbanipal, his dynasty, library and more!
You can give it a listen here:
shows.acast.com/the-ancients...
You can give it a listen here:
shows.acast.com/the-ancients...
Another amazing episode of Curator's Corner @BritishMuseum! Very informative and beautifully shot - Ashurbanipla's lion hunt scenes are presented in such incredible detail!
www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...
www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...
Why this Assyrian king hunted exactly eighteen lions | Curator’s Corner S10 Ep5
YouTube video by The British Museum
www.youtube.com
August 22, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Another amazing episode of Curator's Corner @BritishMuseum! Very informative and beautifully shot - Ashurbanipla's lion hunt scenes are presented in such incredible detail!
www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...
www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...
Reposted by Dr Selena Wisnom
In the bookshop this morning:
PARENTS: “Okay, we’re leaving now.”
CHILD: *pulls another book from the shelf and sits down *
CHILD: “Then I guess this is goodbye.”
PARENTS: “Okay, we’re leaving now.”
CHILD: *pulls another book from the shelf and sits down *
CHILD: “Then I guess this is goodbye.”
August 21, 2025 at 10:59 AM
In the bookshop this morning:
PARENTS: “Okay, we’re leaving now.”
CHILD: *pulls another book from the shelf and sits down *
CHILD: “Then I guess this is goodbye.”
PARENTS: “Okay, we’re leaving now.”
CHILD: *pulls another book from the shelf and sits down *
CHILD: “Then I guess this is goodbye.”
Reposted by Dr Selena Wisnom
Imagine Excel but 5000 years ago…
Early tablets like this one were used for administrative purposes to record the storage and distribution of goods, animals and people.
This tablet comes from Jemdet Nasr, the remains of an ancient site in southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq).
📝 AN1926.583
Early tablets like this one were used for administrative purposes to record the storage and distribution of goods, animals and people.
This tablet comes from Jemdet Nasr, the remains of an ancient site in southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq).
📝 AN1926.583
August 18, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Imagine Excel but 5000 years ago…
Early tablets like this one were used for administrative purposes to record the storage and distribution of goods, animals and people.
This tablet comes from Jemdet Nasr, the remains of an ancient site in southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq).
📝 AN1926.583
Early tablets like this one were used for administrative purposes to record the storage and distribution of goods, animals and people.
This tablet comes from Jemdet Nasr, the remains of an ancient site in southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq).
📝 AN1926.583
A new Sumerian myth discovered: archaeology.org/news/2025/07...
News - Newly Deciphered Cuneiform Tablet Contains Unknown Sumerian Myth - Archaeology Magazine
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS—A riveting lost Sumerian myth was recently rediscovered thanks to University of Chicago Sumerologist […]
archaeology.org
August 3, 2025 at 8:01 AM
A new Sumerian myth discovered: archaeology.org/news/2025/07...
Had a great time at BBC 6 Radio Music @cerysmatthews.bsky.social thank you for having me!
You can listen to our conversation here:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
You can listen to our conversation here:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 6 Music - Cerys Matthews, Yoshika Colwell live from Maida Vale and Selena Wisnom
Cerys welcomes singer-songwriter Yoshika Colwell to perform live from Maida Vale.
www.bbc.co.uk
August 1, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Had a great time at BBC 6 Radio Music @cerysmatthews.bsky.social thank you for having me!
You can listen to our conversation here:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
You can listen to our conversation here:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
Excerpts from my new book, Library of Ancient Wisdom, will be read during @cerysmatthews.bsky.social upcoming Sunday show at BBC Radio 6! Join in from 10:00 am if you can: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...
BBC Radio 6 Music - Cerys Matthews
Eclectic music from blues to beats with poetry and live sessions.
www.bbc.co.uk
August 1, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Excerpts from my new book, Library of Ancient Wisdom, will be read during @cerysmatthews.bsky.social upcoming Sunday show at BBC Radio 6! Join in from 10:00 am if you can: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...
I'm pleased to announce the launch of my new website! If you'd like to see what events I have lined up for the next few months or easily access my past projects and media appearances, please visit: www.selenawisnom.com
Selena Wisnom
Dr Selena Wisnom is the Lecturer in the Heritage of the Middle East at the Univeristy of Leicester. Her research centres on the heritage of ancient Iraq, specifically the languages, literature, and in...
www.selenawisnom.com
July 25, 2025 at 1:56 PM
I'm pleased to announce the launch of my new website! If you'd like to see what events I have lined up for the next few months or easily access my past projects and media appearances, please visit: www.selenawisnom.com
Excited to be joining Cerys Matthews at BBC 6 Radio this Sunday, 27th July, at noon. I'll talk about the Library of Ancient Wisdom and the songs that remind me of great times at the British Museum's tablet room! Join in if you can!
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 6 Music - Cerys Matthews, Yoshika Colwell live from Maida Vale and Selena Wisnom
Cerys welcomes singer-songwriter Yoshika Colwell to perform live from Maida Vale.
www.bbc.co.uk
July 24, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Excited to be joining Cerys Matthews at BBC 6 Radio this Sunday, 27th July, at noon. I'll talk about the Library of Ancient Wisdom and the songs that remind me of great times at the British Museum's tablet room! Join in if you can!
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
At the Idler festival last week, I did a live liver divination - needless to say, I had a great time! Thank you,
@idlerat.bsky.social for inviting me, and thank you to the fantastic audience for your insightful questions.
@idlerat.bsky.social for inviting me, and thank you to the fantastic audience for your insightful questions.
July 22, 2025 at 6:03 PM
At the Idler festival last week, I did a live liver divination - needless to say, I had a great time! Thank you,
@idlerat.bsky.social for inviting me, and thank you to the fantastic audience for your insightful questions.
@idlerat.bsky.social for inviting me, and thank you to the fantastic audience for your insightful questions.
Super impressed with the illustrations for the @chalkefestival.bsky.social talks! Thank you for having me and for the great conversation!
June 27, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Super impressed with the illustrations for the @chalkefestival.bsky.social talks! Thank you for having me and for the great conversation!
Heading off to the amazing @chalkefestival.bsky.social! Talks, living history, debate, performance – all set in the beautiful Wiltshire countryside. This Thursday, I will be discussing all things Mesopotamia with Becky Wragg Sykes - so excited!
www.chalkefestival.com/tickets/
www.chalkefestival.com/tickets/
Tickets - Chalke History Festival
www.chalkefestival.com
June 24, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Heading off to the amazing @chalkefestival.bsky.social! Talks, living history, debate, performance – all set in the beautiful Wiltshire countryside. This Thursday, I will be discussing all things Mesopotamia with Becky Wragg Sykes - so excited!
www.chalkefestival.com/tickets/
www.chalkefestival.com/tickets/