Ali Shaw

Author of The Trees, The Girl with Glass Feet and The Man Who Rained. Also likes drawing monsters etcetera. Not a realist.

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

@DavidMann18 @BloomsburyBooks Woooooaah! That looks incredible! And painstaking in more than one way. Thanks for sharing it with me.

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

Thinking of becoming one of these when I grow up.

[Wonder of Science @wonderofscience]

A spectacular sight 1225m (4019 ft) beneath the waves off Baja California as EVNautilus encounter the amazing Halitrephes maasi jelly.

[Curtis Brown Creative @cbcreative]

Join a group of 15 writers taught by renowned author-tutors @Ali_Shaw and #LauraBarnett.

Attend weekly writing workshops and teaching sessions in London. This six-month Writing Your Novel course begins 7 Sept.

Apply by 31 Jul: https://t.co/lfw8K4H7hn

[Sunrise Movement 🌅 @sunrisemvmt]

The far right is tearing apart our democracy and the future of US politics is grim. This could be our last chance to pass any federal climate policy for some time.

Every step we make towards decarbonizing our economy will save lives.

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

This new bill looks like a piece of good news after what has felt like a barrage of bad. Hope it gets through.

[Al Gore @algore]

The Inflation Reduction Act has the potential to be a historic turning point. It represents the single largest investment in climate solutions & environmental justice in US history. Decades of tireless work by climate advocates across the country led to this moment. 1/3

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

This passage from that interview brought a little tear to my eye.

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

I read quite a bit by James Lovelock while I was writing The Trees. Very sad to hear of his passing.

[New Scientist @newscientist]

James Lovelock, who created the Gaia hypothesis, has died on his 103rd birthday. One of the most influential scientists of our time, he worked for the British government during the second world war and later for NASA on the Mars Viking mission. https://t.co/mje1HzKDAd

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

I spoke to the lovely folk at @cbcreative about how to incorporate fantastical elements into your writing, how to address the climate in your fiction, and a few other things besides.

I'm teaching on their Writing Your Novel course from September, and I can't wait to get started.

[Curtis Brown Creative @cbcreative]

'It is the writer’s duty to care, to stay engaged, to absorb all they can about the big and small of life...'

Award-winning author @Ali_Shaw on what inspires him, how he incorporates fantastical elements into fiction and his advice for aspiring authors.
https://t.co/xWZmdvNHbh

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

@Wyres67 @YorkshireCarly Thanks for the kind words @Wyres67. And good luck with that reading pile @YorkshireCarly!

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

@SammyIsVibing Very true. I think part of the trick - at the risk of extending this metaphor much too far - is to try to find a way to let the bug do half the work.

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

Story ideas are like bugs under a slab of stone. So long as you can work out how to lift it up, there they are a-wriggling.

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

Last Monday I had a chat with the amazing @susanW1F about trying out new story ideas, wherein I was all, 'Hm, well, dunno, maybe I should slog away at old ideas forever.'

Nevertheless, on her advice, I jotted a few down.

This Monday I am obsessed with about 4 new story ideas.

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

A really good look to knight Gavin Williamson while dithering on implementing sanctions. Very strong sense of priorities there.

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

@flaming_nora They both went as the deer-fox Twig, from the Hilda comics. So although I couldn't convince them to advertise my stuff, they were at least doing an animal mash-up.

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

Ahh, the unique paranoia of #WorldBookDay, when you take your kids to school in fancy dress, dreading that you've got the date wrong every step along the way.

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

@SammyIsVibing I'm so sorry that you've had to deal with that firsthand, in regards to your own health. It sounds to me like you've been incredibly brave about it. Thank you for sharing with me, it really means a lot.

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

@SammyIsVibing Wow, thanks Sammy. You must have picked it up quite soon after it came out. I'm delighted that it's meant so much to you, and for so long. That idea that to accept and manage the struggle is not the same as to admit defeat is such a core part of TGWGF's story. 1/2

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

Got my kids' bedtime reading good to go. What a thing it is, to have filled so many growing minds with so many beautiful words and pictures. #ShirleyHughes

[Ali Shaw @Ali_Shaw]

I don't know what to say about Ukraine except to echo how appalling it all is, but I've found threads like this one incredibly moving. Odessa sounds so beautiful and soulful.

[Sofiya Alexandra @TheSofiya]

As someone born & raised in Odessa for roughly 1/3 of my life, who spent the other 2/3 in America, I know that most people don’t know much about Ukraine - which I get, I have many blind spots, so I thought I’d tweet some little basic things in case it helps make it real 🧵