Marina Benjamin
@marinabenjamin
Writer. Editor at Aeon. Midlife trilogy (Middlepause, Insomnia, A Little Give) &c. Essays in Granta, Aeon, Paris Review. New work cooking. Rep Rebecca Carter
A very exciting delivery form @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social thank you @clarebot.bsky.social - I was on retreat with Mary Ruefle in the late 90s and she was as mischievous and wayward as you might imagine
Almost to the day, The Middlepause is 10 years old. Of all my books I'm happiest that this one is out there still doing business, since it had important business to traffic.
This wonderful novel, published in March, was hardly reviewed. It is a marvel. Wild, moving, funny, profound. Another example of how small presses can outrun the big 5, taking risks and finding work of real worth.
Frank Lloyd Wright was an artist, teacher, iconoclast, utilitarian, democrat, adulterer, cult-like leader, wayward in life and thought. This essay is so good I'm posting it again. aeon.co/essays/frank...
The Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize. What you need to know.
It's a funny feeling seeing a longlist that you've carefully poured over with your fellow judges @stuhennigan.bsky.social @susannacrossman.bsky.social - both of them discerning and serious about Indie fiction. You feel a tenderness towards each book. Every one on this list was a brilliant read.
This handsome volume arrived by post today. Congratulations @juliahbell.bsky.social - I think this may be destined to become a classic.
Went to Daunts to stock up my shelves for December. Came home with treasures by Katie Kitamura @laurenelkin.bsky.social @alicejolly.bsky.social
Untold Narratives does amazing work helping writers who are censored at home find outlets in the English-language press. Excited to dive into this one.
Very excited to get my hands on an early copy of @gavinmevans.bsky.social latest book.
Partying with @samanthaellis.bsky.social and Bidisha Mamata Thank you for the photos @rsliterature.bsky.social.
Honoured to be among the @rsliterature.bsky.social 2025 cohort of new Fellows. Signing the book with George Eliot's pen was a highlight. And the after party wasn't bad either.
Amazon is such a distorting mirror. I had no idea I'd written a management book 🤣🤣
Amid recent discussion of gender bias in publishing, here's a neat corrective. A high power meeting in NY to discuss the state of the industry —— a room full of white men. I wonder, does this particular group of humans scorn the commissioning and promoting of other men?
Devastating to see @reformuk.bsky.social gain so much ground in UK council elections. The politics of hate normalised by Trump is ugly, divisive, atavistic and anti-progress. AS a first generation Brit it feels like a return to the 70s.
Loved this book so much. Would have liked to have seen it on #WomensPrize longlist.
If you're a Jay Griffiths fan already, I don't need to tell you to read this. But if you haven't read Jay there is a treat in store for you. Wild and carnal as ever, How Animals Heal Us is a total joyride.
I'm delighted to get this proof of @afrifa.bsky.social new book Wolf Moon, a journey into the nocturnal landscape of her life and mind. Alert to the dangers of joys of darkness.
This gorgeous book by @samanthaellis.bsky.social arrived to brighten my day. I've read it already and it is that rare thing: a joyful book about loss; tender and profound, propulsive and eye-opening. Read it over Easter. If you can wait....
Spent the last 2 hrs weeding and watering. One half of my garden seems to weathered the winter, but the pther half looks dead. Advise welcome.😱
Self-administered hair cut. Throwback to 2020. I've taken a load off the weight, but now my back's itchy.
From Carole Cadwalladr's substack. Enlarge to see just how much illegal chicanery the Trump administration has set in motion in less than a month.
Visiting with my brilliant friend (and colleague) Ali Hawken. Bridging the London-Melbourne chasm. Also guested at Melbourne and Sydney Jewish Book Weeks. 5 weeks ago now, but such a memorable trip to Oz.
I'm not a fan of love stories by and large but this one, oh my days. Autumnal love, with a 20 year history. You don't need, or get, the backstory, just the tender evidence of cumulative togetherness. Juliette Binoche (below) in The Taste of Things.