Thank you! 😂 Been meaning to get in touch, but it's been off-the-scale hectic... 🤣
Autistic Geordie illustrator and classicist. Assoc Lecturer at The Open University. National Teaching Fellow. Working class/first gen/book addict.
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Thank you! 😂 Been meaning to get in touch, but it's been off-the-scale hectic... 🤣
Given the news about Melvyn Bragg stepping down from In Our Time, now might be a good time to share this list (thanks to Paul Cartledge for the reminder!) keenerclassics.wordpress.com/classics-in-...
SOOOOOO proud of you! 🎉
I’ve been away from social media for a while - I’ve been lurking instead of actually posting! But I’m back now & looking forward to building my network on here. Quite a bit has changed recently & I’m thrilled to say that I’ve been awarded funding from the OOC DTP for the remainder of my #PhD.
The listicle I’ve written for @workingclassicists.bsky.social is up! Give it a read and be sure to support the amazing work they’re doing within the community 😊 www.workingclassicists.com/zine/introdu...
My piece for the Sing, O Muse Art Zine :] Coming out in October! Make sure to keep an eye out for that!! Circe #odyssey
People do work for you. You pay them money. Sounds strangely uncontroversial.
A treat to start September! My Women's Prize-shortlisted novel about the Trojan War, A Thousand Ships, is just £3.99 on Audible. Read by the author... 🌊 This was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of them all... 👉 www.audible.co.uk/pd/A-Thousan...
Finally finished my illustration for @singomusezine.bsky.social - can't wait to see the full spooky edition released in October, featuring a whole bunch of amazing artists! 🎃 Here's a sneak peek...
SEPTEMBER SPECIAL! Back to work today, but with the happy news that THE ROADS TO ROME is only 99p on Kindle all month so you can get away from it all in virtual fashion and enjoy the ancient routes. www.amazon.co.uk/Roads-Rome-H...
a little spoiler of my piece for @singomusezine.bsky.social zine👁️🌾
For those of you who have followed the many adventures of John and his husband, this is absolutely gutting news. What a wonderful guy - a complete joy. I don't even know what to say ...
This is so very sad.
Great news! 🎉
NEW EPISODE!!! This week on You’re Dead To Me is a very funny romp through the extraordinary military career of Hannibal of Carthage, the man who came close to bringing Rome to its knees Our guests are the hilarious Darren Harriott and the brilliant ancient historian @josephinequinn.bsky.social
Oh, that's rather nice!
Thank you - on both counts!
In the world post-PhD I've been doing various writing projects, some of which are about to see the light of day. Top of the list is Magic in Roman Britain, with Amberley. www.amberley-books.com/current-mont...
Thank you!
Yesss!! And thank you!
Thanks!
Thank you! 💖
Thanks!
Thank you! I feel old but smug!
Thank you! There was in fact Rainbow Cake.
Today was my birthday, and I worked right through it - but I managed to reach the end of a project that I've been working on for a year! 🥳
I'm also #autistic and a #historian (working mainly on Ancient Greek and Roman stuff) and a teacher with an interest in accessibility. I like illustrating books, when I have time, and I'm currently building an app for parents of autistic kids (out in September!). fraut.co.uk
Starting a podcast ("Instant Classics") with Charlotte Higgins at the end of August. One thing we'll be doing (there are plenty others) is reading & discussing the Odyssey over several months. Here's why we chose that tinyurl.com/kfds9tkr
oooh... I've never seen one of the phone cases in real life! 😍 Hope he brings a smile and makes life just a bit less yucky!
Sending hugs. This year is 20 years post-PhD for me, and I'm in a similar situation. Don't be embarrassed - just keep on being brilliant! 💖
Please remember the neurodivergent kids getting GCSE results that do not make them feel good about themselves. The results they get today do not have to be a defining moment in their life. #GCSEresults #School #SENreform #SEND #EHCP #ActuallyAutistic #autism #ADHD #AuDHD
A new episode of the Classics Podcast just dropped! I'm answering questions what the ancient Egyptians ate and how they married, syncretism in the ancient world, and historical figures I'd *really* like to meet 👇 #AncientBlueSky #Egyptology #Classics open.spotify.com/episode/3PEl...
Yep - why do the straightforward thing when the complicated thing is right there?? 😂
Perfect!
Check up on your un/under/precariously employed colleagues. We are not okay. The market is garbage and there is just no hope at all.
'not just two blokes' 👏👏👏
Today, 9am BST on BBC Radio 4! The brilliant Roman love poet Catullus is the poster boy for teen angst. He feels everything intensely, from the stealing of his favourite napkin to the death of his lover's pet sparrow… My guests are his biographer, Dr @daisydunn.bsky.social, and Prof Llewelyn Morgan!
A new Bad Ancient article is now out. This one has been a while in the making! www.badancient.com/claims/roman...
Each year, we publish lists of books, journal articles, and chapters published by historians working off the tenure track. It's never too early to start collecting, so if you or someone you know has something with a 2025 publication date to submit, have at it!
- overcame travel nerves to go abroad for a few days with the kids - looking forward to planning my birthday (plans may include books, cake and peace and quiet)
My new piece on Postman Pat: Special Delivery Service, and the neoliberalisation of Britain’s postal service. A little 🧵 on how this theme plays out in the show… #skystorians 🗃️ #polisky #socsky
This looks exciting!
Accountability skeet: I am now on holiday for a whole week. If you catch me answering emails or doing work, please yell at me!
Sooo much fun - you're a fabulous quizmaster! And thanks to the amazing Heather too! 💖
Wonderful news - congratulations! 🎉
Reminder - I still have ember cards. If you'd like one, let me know.
I've set up a ko-fi account to try and fund a little bit of my gold research. If (... and i really do mean if!) you felt able to send me the occasional 'coffee' that would be hugely appreciated. 😊 ko-fi.com/tess317409
Generative AI changes what things mean because it focuses on words, not the meaning. It adds words, changes meaning, and makes "plain language" that is not accessible. We know, because we tested it. Generative AI has no place in plain language. autisticadvocacy.org/2025/07/asan...
YOU ARE ODYSSEUS – pre-orders open! | Greek Myth Comix greekmythcomix.com/2025/07/30/y...
A great reminder that Pasts Imperfect has been quietly doing important work for years now!
Free ebook! (co-edited by my brother-in-law) 🎉
🧿 You Are Odysseus 👁️ - proof copy is here! Don’t let her size put you off - she’s interactive, baby! You choose the sections you read - or just dip in now and again… and again… More info and a peek inside: laurajenkinsonbrown.co.uk/2025/07/22/y...
Sooo excited that it's REAL! 🎉
A big thank-you to @joewatstein.bsky.social for pulling this together!
They're so pretty - you have many talents!
Thanks, lovely people! 💖
Thank you!
So pleased to have an article out (open access) this week about designing for autistic students! 🎉 Do take a look, if you're a teacher interested in accessibility... The relaxed tutorial project: designing synchronous online tutorials for autistic students www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Count me in!
Do follow Mhairi if you don't already - she's a star, and absolutely deserves this award! 🥳
Brilliant - it was such a lovely project to work on! 💖
My ember cards have just arrived - with a huge thanks to @corabeth.bsky.social for the design. If you would like one, please drop me a DM and the best postal address.
I've been keeping a secret from you all for the past couple of weeks (and it's almost killed me off)...but today is the day I can tell you... @theclassicslibrary.bsky.social @corabeth.bsky.social @chrissieplastow.bsky.social @emmabridges.bsky.social @e-jgraham.bsky.social youtu.be/OddzMEXIkLI?...
Hooray! SOOOOOO well deserved!
Colosseum (Flavian Amphiteatre) summer day and twilight 🏟️🌞🏺🌙 recolour of an illustration from last year #art #ancientbluesky
This year is 20 years post-PhD for me, and no luck with local jobs in all that time.
And all that hair already! 😍
Congratulations! She's gorgeous!
The advantage of having friends who are MUCH more talented than you are yourself... A fantastic Bookplate drawn for me a while back by @corabeth.bsky.social - A sphinx, some coins, some ancient texts, and some decidedly appropriate Latin given my online content! Just ran off a few more copies!
Too kind! 😂 Lovely to see it still in circulation!
Fulvia: The Woman Who Broke All the Rules in Ancient Rome is currently an Amazon Kindle monthly deal, priced at 99p as opposed to £20 for the newly published hardback. Why don't you give it a try and brace yourself for one of the most dynamic women of the Roman Republic (and Empire, frankly)?
I still haven't read it, although I've been meaning to for years!
#FolkloreThursday - Aelian (De natura animalium 13.6) records the story of a giant octopus at Dicaearchia, which crawled up a sewer to raid the cargo of some Iberian merchants, smashing into earthenware jars of pickled fish! Image: National Archaeological Museum, Naples (120177)
Just spotted this in time - will get nominating!
Slowly finding my way back into social media after a burnout break - sorry to everyone I've been ignoring! 💖
Today we said goodbye to Cleo, who's been running my life - and wrecking my printer, and making me work standing up - for the last 17 years. She will be missed. 💔
📊 East Ham is ranked as the top constituency for opportunity, with Newcastle Upon Tyne Central and West lowest. They have very similar levels of free school meal eligibility (37% and 35% respectively) but the difference in prospects for social mobility between the two is stark.
🎙️🌟Gladiator II with Alexandra Sills 🌟🎙️ With a view to the historical record and popular culture, we chat with Alexandra Sills @belovedofoizys.bsky.social about Gladiator II. Sills’ research focuses on the representation of gladiators and this is a conversation not to be missed 🥳 #AncientBluesky🏺
Thanks to JCT for publishing our article about the Relaxed Tutorial Project at The Open University!
Fabulous! Hope you had an amazing day!
I'm so pleased for you, dear Bettina! You're going to have such a brilliant time! 💐
Wow - that's impressive work!
Thanks Karl! I might contact you at some point for feedback, if you'd consider that...
I'm working for free, and I'm exhausted! But soon I'll have something ready to show, and I hope it will make a difference to autism understanding and acceptance in the UK. 'Awareness' is a start - but 'understanding' is what we need to aim for. 💖
Today is World Autism Awareness Day, in Autism Awareness Week, which is in Autism Awareness Month. Spare a thought today for all the autistic people who really hate April! But in the spirit of awareness... I've been quiet on social media lately because I've been working on a Big Autism Project...
Sending love to autistic people as we wade through another 'Autism Awareness Month'. For many years, we've had organisations run it as a 'bewareness month', and promote the dreadful puzzle pieces & the colour blue. They also often support ways to enforce normalisation of autistic people/
Fulvia: The Woman Who Broke All the Rules in Ancient Rome is the @hatchards.bsky.social Non-fiction Book of the Month (this is not an April Fool)! This is the first time one of my books has been supported like this, thank you Hatchard's ❤️https://www.hatchards.co.uk/highlights/books-of-the-month
An excellent start to the morning.
A beautiful piece. Thank you! 🌼
This is great to see!
Our visiting fellowship competition is open! And this year we have launched a pilot scheme for a Remote Inclusivity Fellowship - aimed at tackling inequalities in academia - alongside our in person fellowships. 🌈 1/6 viewsproject.wordpress.com/2025/03/30/v...
Huge congratulations to Liz AND daughter - how brilliant is this?! 🥳
Oh, how wonderful! Congratulations! 🎉 Looks like you had a brilliant day!
I say it a lot - but Open University students really are the loveliest people!
Hope it goes well!
#Classicists, join us next Wednesday for the termly LSF online #Classics Lecture on #Cicero’s Letters by Dr Hannah Cornwell. @joliheroics.bsky.social @classicsacademy.bsky.social @workingclassicists.bsky.social @theclassicslibrary.bsky.social Register here www.ticketsource.co.uk/classics-lou...
On Saturday 29th March at 5pm GMT/1pm EDT, Eirene Allen will be online to talk about her book "The Epic Women of Homer." Join the mailing list here before Friday at 6pm GMT: www.subscribepage.com/greekorlatin... You'll receive a fun quiz & be added to my mailing list. #Ancientbluesky 📚🏺
Oh, so sorry! Please give him a hug from me. It's so tough on everyone when it gets to that point. 💔
We'll get there together! 😊