John-Paul Flintoff

🧵 1/9

Credit where it's due On Friday I added surveys to this website. You can now answer a few questions on a page here, and I get an email with your answers. Woohoo, I hear you say. That may not sound like much. But this is a site I run myself. It’s not a pag… https://flintoff.org/credit-where-its-due

You must read Ulysses 24 October 2026 Hello In this issue: the English teacher who told me to read Ulysses in a weekend; what people see when they look up from where they work; and a bike messenger who doesn’t stop for red lights. Drawn from a phot… https://flintoff.org/you-must-read-ulysses

Suddenly when it's too late to thank her I remember how much I owe to my teacher

Not forgetting the email exchanges One of my wishes with this blog is to provide real-time updates on what is actually going on with my work in progress. It’s tempting to forget some parts of that, as if the email exchanges etc don’t really c… https://flintoff.org/not-forgetting-the-email-exchanges

The calendar does my head in I’ve tried paper diaries, digital calendars and a hybrid. Somehow, I still managed to miss a class I was supposed to lead, with 30 people waiting for me. That experience has stayed with me. So has the frustration of be… https://flintoff.org/the-calendar-does-my-head-in

Mrs Barnes Anne Barnes taught me English in the sixth form, and she had quite an effect on me. At first I was baffled by A-level English. I couldn’t get things like Jane Austen – it all seemed so boring. I wasn’t the only boy, but most of the class were girls, an… https://flintoff.org/mrs-barnes

Chopping up books / 4 Many positive responses to my recent bookchopping confession. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Also in agreement with H that this is a good idea. – Reuben B Hi JP. Approve of chopping up huge new books! Wonder why and when we lo… https://flintoff.org/chopping-up-books-4

Specimens of paradox Just read an article with two nice specimens of paradox, both about the same person: “Elon Musk is a bullshitter who delivers” – Benedict Evans “Never underestimate the man who overestimates himself” – Howard Ahmanson Always hap… https://flintoff.org/specimens-of-paradox

Night off Sometimes at night Peanut lies still like a silver bullet, waiting for me to come to her with a dog toothbrush and dog toothpaste. She’s usually very compliant when I brush her teeth… But sometimes she runs away, perhaps going upstairs and hiding in her… https://flintoff.org/night-off

‘Why Do You Let Me Lie Here Wastefully?’ in Best British Short Stories 2026. I’ve kept to myself this year, working on my blog, so I wasn’t expecting *this*. Excited to know that more people will read the story. Overawed to be in such good company. @saltpublishing.com

Hardly even an interview Michael G was the first person I interviewed for my podcast, Voice Notes to the World. I sent him three questions by WhatsApp voice note, and he sent back three answers. When I sent him the edited episode, he apologised for th… https://flintoff.org/hardly-even-an-interview

The most indebted corporations in America right now are, at their core, computer virus companies. They think the computer viruses are their girlfriends, so they think this absolves them of guilt. Let's find out!

The reader can imagine They tell people on writing courses to “show, don’t tell”. It’s good advice, helps bring life to what might otherwise be terribly boring – but it’s not the only way to proceed. Sometimes it can be a good idea to tell, not show. … https://flintoff.org/the-reader-can-imagine

Ryan said yes After I posted about Ryan Turpin’s new book, he sent an email thanking me. Among other things, he said: Writing a book has the potential to be quite a lonely project, and a first book especially can be a real exercise in confidence-building. For … https://flintoff.org/ryan-said-yes

Without whom Hurrah! Look what just arrived in the post. Ryan’s book! I’m so pleased to see Wild Enough: The Subtle Trade-offs of Modern Living, and to note in passing the lovely paper, the elegance of the typography, the copious notes at the back, and the brilli… https://flintoff.org/without-whom

I could never do that, said my author friend 10 October 2026 Hello This is the first of the Saturday issues I promised last week. If weekly is more than you want, reply MONTHLY and I’ll send you a monthly round-up instead. In this issue: chopping … https://flintoff.org/couldnt-do-that-author

Chopping up books / 3 I finished the first segment, with great pleasure, and have now sliced off and re-covered part two: How this book-chopping started. https://flintoff.org/chopping-up-books-3

Back to the Post Office Earlier this year, I went to great lengths putting together a package of materials and sending them out to people who mostly didn’t know me, and I recorded voice messages for each person and just generally went out of my way to d… https://flintoff.org/back-to-the-post-office

Canadian writer Anne Carson wins 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature reut.rs/4zlWKmO

“The only sensible solution at this point is a moratorium on datacentres until very basic questions about how many we need, what for, where, and how pollution will be avoided are answered satisfactorily by the government” - @olliehayes.bsky.social 👏

From my notebook. My philosophy, while writing books, for the last ten years.

Sorry at what point do the government feel the need to do something about BBC funding, or are they just going to watch it be salami-sliced to extinction?

Today I am imagining a friendlier and more loving world 🧡 💚

You don't need to feel bad Years ago, I wrote a book called How to Change the World. I’m very proud of it, can’t recommend it highly enough, you should buy a copy, blah blah blah. It was published in 16 languages, I did a TEDx Talk on the subject, a… https://flintoff.org/you-dont-need-to-feel-bad

Anita Brookner’s scholarly, sharply observant commentaries on paintings by Delacroix, Ingres, Rigaud, Vigée Le Brun, David and Cézanne. On BBC iplayer for the next four weeks. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

"By using AI, tasks like essays that used to take hours can be completed in minutes!" Sure, like how if I arrive at the gym and immediately go for a shower, my workout is done in record time. And if I throw my sandwiches straight in the bin, I can finish my lunch in under 10 seconds.

Chopping up books / 2 I thought I would show how I actually covered the first part of the book that I sliced from a fat paperback yesterday. First, I cut a piece of A3 paper to produce a sheet the same size as the book, and more than long enough to wrap a… https://flintoff.org/chopping-up-books-2

Small joys, without spectacles One thing anyone can do if they wear glasses is take off the glasses and attempt to write something even if they cant really see the output, as I am doing in this instance Related: No King | A story https://flintoff.org/small-joys-without-spectacles

Chopping up books This could be genius, or a terrible crime. I read something that encouraged me to chop up fat books into slim volumes, with customised covers. As an author I felt a bit queasy about chopping up anybody’s book. But as someone who also: a… https://flintoff.org/chopping-up-books

I got logged out of WhatsApp / 2 Something else that was lost: photos of me with schoolfriends I met at C.‘s funeral. I hadn’t seen them for a long time – one of them not since before A Levels. I drove them from the crematorium, which was weird bec… https://flintoff.org/logged-out-of-whatsapp-2

I got logged out of WhatsApp And then all my media disappeared. As if I had just joined. But also weirdly I got lots of messages saying I had been added to groups – groups I joined more than ten years ago. So that was strange. Also rather sad be… https://flintoff.org/i-got-logged-out-of-whatsapp

Naomi Klein Is Spot On.......

I've heard people make claims that AI would lead to a new Renaissance, but I didn't imagine it'd happen like this:

Seeing the ever-increasing number of exploitative AI emails I & every other author seem to get now from fake editors & fake book clubs, I wonder where all this all will end. Perhaps, eventually, at a society where we distrust *everything* that comes at us online & trust only the three dimensional?

FOLLOW LIVE TONIGHT! 👇🎉 📻 Listen Here www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m... 📘 Order the Collection commapress.co.uk/books/bbc-na...