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johnmitchinson.bsky.social
Writer, publisher, co-host of Backlisted, co-founder of Unbound.
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“No good deed goes unpunished but no bad one is entirely without merit.” New @backlisted.bsky.social episode on Elia Kazan’s memoirs, with guest John Lahr joining me, @johnmitchinson.bsky.social and @birchos.bsky.social. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/234...

New episode up now. A Life by Elia Kazan, with guest John Lahr joining @johnmitchinson.bsky.social @iammilliam.bsky.social and @birchos.bsky.social. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/234...

In which we welcome one of @backlisted.bsky.social's heroes, the writer and critic, John Lahr. Join me, @iammilliam.bsky.social, and Nicky Birch as we explore the huge (in every sense) A Life by Elia Kazan, a book as gutsy, bruising & brilliant as the man himself. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/234...

This evening at 6.30pm. We talked about Base Notes on the Winter Reading episode of @backlisted.bsky.social. @johnmitchinson.bsky.social and I both love the book so it's a pleasure to find out more about it from Adelle herself. A few tickets left: bit.ly/3Q3RNu8

🌹💝 ARE YOU A ROMANCE HEROINE??? 💝🌹 @alicefraser.bsky.social reveals all at the launch of @unbounders.bsky.social #APassionforPassion at London's Bill Murray comedy club. Alice shares the stage with producer @podchris.bsky.social and co-host @zaltzcricket.bsky.social. @johnmitchinson.bsky.social

Laura Thompson’s discussion of memoir and biography with @johnmitchinson.bsky.social is also available to watch on YouTube. Jean Rhys, Elizabeth Jane Howard, P.D. James and more! youtu.be/mI2k6l-NH9U?...

Somewhat terrifyingly we filmed the Biography and Memoir @backlisted.bsky.social special. If you fancy watching two people amusing one another while discussing Nancy Mitford, Roger Lewis, Elizabeth Jane Howard, P.D. James and - say what? - Jean Rhys, then this is for you. youtu.be/mI2k6l-NH9U?...

It's possible that some of you BlueSky cats don't know that @backlisted.bsky.social has its own bookshop on @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social where you can buy all the books mentioned on each epsiode. Buying there helps support the Backlisted and indie bookshops = win-win. uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlis...

This is going to be a cracker (craic-er even). The cost of a pint and half of Guinness in a London pub. Join us by signing up below...

A five-books-in-one @backlisted.bsky.social special in which I interview biographer and memoirist Laura Thompson about her favourite biographies and memoirs. Books by Nancy Mitford, Roger Lewis, Elizabeth Jane Howard, P.D. James and Jean Rhys. Peak Backlisted. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/233...

A burst of summer in Feb's gloom: re-run of a live @backlisted.bsky.social recording from 2019 featuring Max Porter, @unamccormack.bsky.social, @iammilliam.bsky.social & Nicky bringing Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban to roaring life. New intro by me. A classic. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/232

An episode with my blazingly smart ex-colleagues @christofi.bsky.social and @arifa.bsky.social and podcasting and publishing crush / current colleague @johnmitchinson.bsky.social and also Fyodor, hard to fall in love with, impossible to forget.

Reading a few things at once, but tonight I read the first utterly glorious, funny, and loony chapter of Tom Cox’s Villager, published by Unbound @unbounders.bsky.social (so I must have ordered this from the library because of @johnmitchinson.bsky.social or @iammilliam.bsky.social). It’s so good!

Today's Backlisted (@backlisted.bsky.social) is a re-run classic episode from 2021 featuring the founding text of dystopian fiction with writers Arifa Akbar, Alex Christofi, @iammilliam.bsky.social and me, plus a new intro from Nicky. "Enjoy" www.backlisted.fm/episodes/231...

My brilliant volunteers just discovered that @themerl.bsky.social used to provide a regular mystery object to ‘The British Farmer’, the journal of the NFU. Here’s one from 1956.

The apologists for Musk's Nazi salute have strong Gerard Houllier 'He was pretending to eat grass, he does it all the time in training' vibes.

Remembering TERRY JONES - who left us 5yrs ago today.

🔴 EDITORIAL: Trump's Return – Keeping the Subtle Flame of Integrity Lit "In the next few years of Trump's America it will be easy to fall into doom loops & rage. By paying attention to our complex & contradictory humanness we can keep our integrity in chaos & disruption" @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social

One of the things about "superintelligence" paranoia is that in the real world, allowing that the span of human intelligence is more narrow in practice than we imagine it to be (it is simultaneously as wide as we can imagine and as narrow as a bunch of organisms with similar brains would be)...

Listen to this podcast and imagine our elation… So pleased to get this recognition for Mark. “Sensationally good”! And the company he’s in. Lovely.

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these readers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." Welcome to the @backlisted.bsky.social Winter Reading special - 10 book recommendations to kick off our 10th anniversary year... backlisted.fm/episodes/230

These are the books, old and new, I most enjoyed reading in 2024, or those I judged to be the best, or both. Might do a thread. NB. I go into a few in more depth on the next episode of Backlisted, our ’Winter Reading’ special. @backlisted.bsky.social

Poet #KatrinaPorteous joined @patrickgalbraith.bsky.social and @backlisted.bsky.social hosts @johnmitchinson.bsky.social and Andy Miller for a lively discussion about Voices of the Old Sea (1984) by Norman Lewis. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/228...

🔴 The Upside Down: Mummers The Word In this free preview of his monthly column for the Byline Times print edition, @johnmitchinson.bsky.social explores why so many Christmas rituals boil down to fun and money...

The Upside Down: Mummers The Word In his monthly column, John Mitchinson explores why so many Christmas rituals boil down to fun and money @johnmitchinson.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social #Folklore #ChristmasTraditions #MummersPlays #FolkRevival #CulturalAnthropology

New Christmas episode up now. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, with guests Jarred McGinnis and Erica Wagner @ericawgnr.bsky.social, with @iammilliam.bsky.social @johnmitchinson.bsky.social @birchos.bsky.social. THAR SHE BLOWS!! 🎄📚 🐳 www.backlisted.fm/episodes/229

New episode up now. Voices of the Old Sea by Norman Lewis, with guests Katrina Porteous and Patrick Galbraith. open.spotify.com/episode/25UZ...

Escape the December grind with the latest @backlisted.bsky.social. We're in 1940s Spain with Norman Lewis's masterful Voices of the Old Sea. Join poet Katrina Porteous and writer/editor Patrick Galbraith (@patrickgalbraith.bsky.social), @iammilliam.bsky.social & me. open.spotify.com/episode/25UZ...

A feast of conversation, luminous bird paintings by @jimmoir1.bsky.social, puffin impressions by Nancy and fabulous compering by @johnmitchinson.bsky.social made for an unforgettable evening at the @hayfestival.bsky.social Winter Weekend. #MoreBirds @unbounders.bsky.social - another flyaway success.

Hi there bookshops, booksellers, libraries and librarians! *waves* Give us a follow and be the first to hear about opportunities for @unbounders.bsky.social author events, POS and signed bookplates for your store. #books #publishing #booksellers #indiebooks

Tonight @hayfestival.bsky.social Winter Weekend, @jimmoir1.bsky.social and Nancy will share their birding adventures of tracking down birds for Jim to paint compered @unbounders.bsky.social @johnmitchinson.bsky.social. If you can't get there, do join us online.🐦‍⬛ www.hayfestival.com/m-212-winter...