Seán Padraic Birnie
LightNews LightNews
banner
seanbirnie.bsky.social
Seán Padraic Birnie
@seanbirnie.bsky.social
2.5K followers 1.8K following 2.9K posts
Writer: I Would Haunt You if I Could. Stories in Fictionable, Cōnfingō, Best British Short Stories, Interzone, Black Static, The Dark, ergot.

seanbirnie.com
undertowpublications.com/shop/i-would-haunt-you-if-i-could
linktr.ee/seanbirnie
Posts Replies Media Videos
seanbirnie.bsky.social
Read and rather enjoyed Ray Russell's 'Sanguinarius' yesterday, a story based on the historical Elizabeth Báthory, and found myself thinking of the networks of patronage and ruling class solidarity at play in the Epstein scandal(s). I now want this edition.
The front cover of the Banta, paperback of Unholy Trinity, by Ray Russell. A man in a cape and top hat holds a possibly human head, a woman with long black hair posed behind him with her hands raised and open.
November 20, 2025 at 11:17 AM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
No fucking shit, Shabana.
Screen shot of some related Guardian headlines: Asylum — Asylum seekers' jewellery could be seized to pay for processing costs, says Home Office minister Immigration — Shabana Mahmood warns Labour MPs 'dark forces are stirring up anger' over migration Explained — What changes to the UK asylum system are being proposed by Labour?
November 17, 2025 at 11:48 AM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
Felt personally attacked by this one.
A screenshot of a the bus ticket app for Brigjton buses. It says how long until the ticket expires, has a big QR code at the top, and the word ‘write’ beneath it.
November 14, 2025 at 8:37 AM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
Suitably horrific bus ticket.
A screenshot of a the bus ticket app for Brigjton buses. It says how long until the ticket expires, has a big QR code at the top, and the word ‘demon’ beneath it.
November 14, 2025 at 8:35 AM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
Watched Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s CURE last night for the first and not the last time. Fabulously atmospheric, insidiously creepy, and coldly, beautifully shot. Loved it.
A poster for the movie Cure: close up of the protagonist’s face, the flame of a lighter reflected in his eye, the title of the film at the bottom.
October 18, 2025 at 11:44 AM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
Making v slow progress but I’m getting there with this head-to-tail double short story zine. Currently waiting for the second test to arrive with the patience I am famed for.
A test print of my short story zine ‘Digging & Flume’ on a cutting mat, next to a sealable plastic card bag with a piece of A4 purplish-blue card folded inside it, to protect the zine. The fit is too tight and when I was in the shop I also forgot that the zine is actually longer than A6.
October 13, 2025 at 2:21 PM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
'They recently started talking on LinkedIn.' LOL
"For the past three months, 28-year-old social worker Holly from Kent has been navigating a “situationship” with a co-worker. Though they knew each other from the office, they initially started speaking via LinkedIn. Now, they see each other sporadically – “I wouldn’t call them dates,” Holly deadpans – but speak often via WhatsApp. “I mainly use AI because I tend to write really long messages,” she says, “so I’ll put them into ChatGPT and say, ‘Please make this softer and more clear’, or, ‘I need to sound harsher here so he understands I’m upset.’” She doesn’t feel that it’s misleading – “I’m not trying to manipulate anyone,” she says."
October 12, 2025 at 9:49 AM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
Good god this is grim. Quite a remarkable condensing of various contemporary ideological salients. A mutilation of language, meaning, the possibility of human relation as such. Nick is too dim to realise how evil it all is.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
A screenshot of a paragraph from the linked Guardian article, which read: "The majority of Chatfishers say they would never dream of letting AI do all of their talking. Most are like 38-year-old Londoner Nick, who sees it as a tool to help foster stronger connections with app matches. He works in tech and lives with his girlfriend; they’re in an open relationship and both date other people casually. He sometimes uses ChatGPT in his conversations on the dating apps Feeld and Bumble. “If I’m using a dating app,” he says, “I want to start a conversation that feels meaningful from the beginning so I can hook the other person in – but also I don’t want to spend too much time on it. Equally, while I want it to be ‘meaningful’, I don’t necessarily want to get super heavy and emotional straight away – it feels like quite a balancing act.” ChatGPT, he says, helps him tread that fine line: offering enough charm to spark a connection, without the investment of time or emotional labour that might otherwise feel wasted if the match fizzles out after a handful of messages."
October 12, 2025 at 9:47 AM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
This morning’s office. Lovely and warm in the sun, cold in the shade. The memory of Storm Amy a strong breeze that has so far failed to wake the baby. Seagulls patrolling the site like officious ticket inspectors.
A park bench with a Kobo displaying The Best Weird Fiction front cover, a paperback copy of Fritz Leiber’s Night Monsters, a pair of sunglasses, and a coffee cup; behind which a buggy is parked with its sun shade down.
October 5, 2025 at 10:03 AM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
Article from the Onion, the headline over a picture of a bald white guy looking serious reads: Heartbreaking: The Worst Person You Know Just Made A Great Point Beneath, the body text reads: A heartbreaking story is currently unfolding that's sure to have devastating ramifications for years to come. Just moments ago, without any warning, the worst person you know just made a great point. This is absolutely crushing news, and it's unclear if recovery will ever be possible.
September 12, 2025 at 8:14 PM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
'No pious unity...'
The conclusion to above-quoted essay: "The sociopaths trying to create a Septemberlebnis around their toytown martyr are the same people who idolised Kyle Rittenhouse and wanted the ‘insurrection’ to succeed. And most of the bourgeois politicians virtue-signalling and extolling non-partisan unity against political violence are vicious cynics up to their necks in Palestinian blood. The idea of earnestly standing shoulder to shoulder with such people, of a truce with Trump of all people over political violence, is, I trust, absurd and repellent to every sensible person in the world. No pious unity with bloodthirsty reaction, no suspension of political hostility, no phoney peace to create the interval in which they can ready whatever atrocities they think they can get away with. Keep your hate pure."
September 12, 2025 at 9:27 AM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
Richard Seymour:

www.patreon.com/posts/note-o...
Screenshot of the opening to Richard Seymour's Patreon article 'Note on a killing': May I ask you, as Alexander Cockburn used to ask interns, _is your hate pure?_ If you fumble the question — what do you mean by hate, hate is a very strong word, isn’t it kind of like racism, it might provoke violence, we must reject the politics of hate — then I know you aren’t serious. Because you, and I’m talking to the Americans here, are going to need your reserves of sober, militant, purified hate for what’s coming.
September 12, 2025 at 9:25 AM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
Took ages because I am slow, but I finally have a test print.
The first page of the story 'Digging', beginning on the righthand page of the first spread. The title in lower case Futura is placed above the body text, which is in Sabon. The first spread of 'Digging'.
August 29, 2025 at 6:19 PM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
Made a thing.
The front cover of the zine FLUME & DIGGING by me, a 111x181mm booklet. The cover is dark blue with a watercolour texture applied; author name and first story title 'flume' in Futura on the bottom right. Above it, a white circle dominates the top two thirds, with the watercolour texture overlaid. The blank inside cover and first page of the zine from the image before. The circle remains in place but is now black; the title 'flume' remains in place but is now black, and my name has been removed. The first page of the story 'Flume', beginning on the righthand page of the first spread. The title in lower case Futura is placed above the body text, which is in Sabon. The other front cover of the zine DIGGING & FLUME by me, a 111x181mm booklet. Turn 'Flume' over and you get 'Digging'. The cover is yellow with a watercolour texture applied; author name and first story title 'digging' in Futura on the bottom right. Above it, a white black dominates the top two thirds, with the watercolour texture overlaid.
August 29, 2025 at 6:16 PM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
A photo of a passage from Jack Klausner's short story 'We Didn't Always Used to Be Like this', from WEIRD HORROR #11: 'A landlord who refused to fix the kitchen's leaking flat roof, a brown stain spreading across the ceiling like a filthy cloud. The drawers are kept locked and only I have the key. I keep driving. It starts to rain. The suburbs, now, a little more space between the houses. All of it new-build estates, knotted rabbit-warren streets and closes, rises and cul-de-sacs, where every house looks the same. So easy to lose yourself inside. We lived here, once, I think—a starter home, cheaply built, walls like cardboard—we must have, but where is the memory, the actual memory, rather than a vague feeling? And beyond all of this, after a while: the older suburbs, the grand 1930s detached houses, imposing behind their generous front gardens, their manicured lawns, their BMWs and Audis and Jaguars lying idle on gravel or blockwork driveways, fringed with clipped hydrangeas and pruned privet hedges, all watched over by dormer loft conversions and fresh paint and wooden shutter-blinds and there, finally, its windows dim, its gravel driveway wide and empty like an open, hungry mouth: our house. 'We didn't always live here, I think.'
August 23, 2025 at 3:07 PM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
No discussion of Streeting is complete without Dawn Foster’s immortal précis.
Screenshot of a tweet from the late, great Dawn Foster, which reads: ‘I knew Wes when I was a student and he was the NUS president - always been a right wing lickspittle cunt’ Dated Jan 3, 2021.
August 19, 2025 at 9:46 AM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
No cheating, post the last pic of your pet
Ruben the collie beside some roses in the messy side return of our messy yarden, a yellow ball in his mouth.
August 16, 2025 at 4:05 PM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
Glad I noticed the '(optional)' because the only thing I could find at the time was this, taken a few years back when me and my colleagues were testing the studios at work before the start of term.
A studio portrait of me in a maroon-ish check short sleeve shirt. I'm staring straight at the camera, head held slightly too high up, eyes slightly too wide. I look odd.
August 16, 2025 at 9:23 AM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
This afternoon’s office isn’t so bad.
Laptop on a pub garden table, a pint of lager next to it. It’s sunny. The people cropped out are too loud and annoying but I like their dogs. Oh fuck some kids just arrived.
August 15, 2025 at 3:57 PM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
www.marxists.org/archive/trot...

Quite a postscript, this.
The second paragraph of Trotsky's postscript to the linked essay. It reads: 'The more impotent the police regime of the Nazi is in the field of national economy, the more it is forced to transfer its efforts to the field of foreign policy. This corresponds fully to the inner dynamics of German capitalism, aggressive through and through. The sudden turn of the Nazi leaders to peaceful declarations could deceive only utter simpletons. What other method remains at Hitler’s disposal to transfer the responsibility for internal distresses to external enemies and to accumulate under the press of the dictatorship the explosive force of nationalism? This part of the program, outlined openly even prior to the Nazis” assumption of power, is now being fulfilled with iron logic before the eyes of the world. The date of the new European catastrophe will be determined by the time necessary for the arming of Germany. It is not a question of months, but neither is it a question of decades. It will be but a few years before Europe is again plunged into a war, unless Hitler is forestalled in time by the inner forces of Germany. 'November 2, 1933'
August 14, 2025 at 6:11 PM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
Two more, portraits occasioned by the failure of the flash sync
A monochrome close-up photograph of a face in quarter profile, eyes shut. The image was drastically underexposed, necessitating an exposure increase of four or five stops in post, resulting in an extremely noisy, quite abstract portrait. A monochrome photograph of a seated male subject in profile, eyes shut. The image was drastically underexposed, necessitating an exposure increase of four or five stops in post, resulting in an extremely noisy, quite abstract portrait. Less noisy than the one before, though.
August 10, 2025 at 2:34 PM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
Two pictures from the archives.
a large format monorail camera on a heavy tripod, lit with studio lights against a black colorama backdrop. An X-rite Color Checker Classic has been placed upside down in front of the camera. a large format monorail camera on a heavy tripod, lit with studio lights against a black colorama backdrop.
August 10, 2025 at 11:27 AM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
Craft knife, pencil, rubber, square and marked up bit of pine on a worktop. Final trivet with glorious chamfered edges on my dining table.
July 31, 2025 at 8:00 PM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
Shutting down an empty dark room on your own never not spooky.
A view of a dark room under a red safe light, from a position at the end of two long sinks. In the sinks are trays with developer, which is covered with a second tray, stop, and fix. At the far end a clock reads 17:05, the numbers illuminated with red light.
July 30, 2025 at 4:27 PM
seanbirnie.bsky.social
A trip to the ‘Genius Bar’ enlivened by this. Quite a powerful atmosphere - defiance and grief.
July 26, 2025 at 11:38 AM