Three years of Manufacturing Serendipity - Part I
Welcome to issue seventy one of Manufacturing Serendipity friends!
I’ve now been sending out this newsletter for three years, and to mark the occasion I’m once again doing a retrospective thinger. I did the same thing for year one (you can read my thoughts from back then, here and here); and also for year two (which you can read here and here).
As before, I’ve gone back and re-read all of this year’s newsletters and picked out the best bits. However, as you might have guessed from the post title that would have made for a hellishly long email, and so I’m sending part one now, and part two will be sent out in a fortnight.
But before we get into all that, a little shameless self-promotion…
** Ideation for Digital PR: Live Workshop Series **
I’ll be running a new cohort of my Ideation for Digital PR course (a four-week live workshop series delivered over Zoom), in January 2024.
Each week, there will be a 90 minute session where I'll guide attendees step-by-step through the ideation process I personally use. I’ll suggest a range of exercises attendees might like to complete between sessions; plus they’ll be plenty of time for Q&A each week.
Super Early Bird tickets are just £120* and tickets are on sale now :)
Full course details can be found here & you can book your spot here. Tickets are selling pretty fast so if you’d like to attend, get a wriggle on my loves.
*Super Early Bird tickets are limited, regular ticket price £240. Prices quoted exclude Eventbrite fees.
Ok, grab yourself a suitable beverage, and let’s do this retrospective thinger:
My Favourite Finds of the Year (Part One)
Advice (& work-related stuff)
Bill Keaggy: How to find Attention, Mindfulness, and Creativity in the Ordinary
On happiness, & the value of NOT having the things you DON’T WANT
Articles & Interviews
Art
Best Headline
Language
In 2022, the language of Twitter is the language of a hot, anxious girl
‘Gaslighting’ is Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2022
In 1987 the makers of Boggle quietly changed their letter cubes…
Science, Nature, & various studies
Tweets & Web thingers
Fiction & Poetry
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes - a triumphant reframing of the myth of Perseus and Medusa, you’ll never see Perseus in the same light again.
Go On by Tania Hershman - Hershman explores what it’s like to be a woman moving happily on her own through the world via a variety of narrative threads — a woman walks through a graveyard talking to the dead; school girls grapple with what anger is and what it might be; a group of scientists leave a baby in the forest; and “fake mothers” can be hired for £50 per hour.
Fruiting Bodies by Kathryn Harlan, an anthropologist gambles in a magical world; mushrooms spontaneously grow from a woman’s body; and a girl and her father travel the US searching for a mythical beast in this gorgeously eerie collection of short stories about people on the precipice of change.
Parallel Hells by Leon Craig - In this collection of short stories you’ll find a golem who discovers its powers far exceed its Creator’s expectations; an ancient creature who feasts on the shame of modern-day Londoners; and an Oxford student who discovers a tome to help her outwit her academic rivals.
Acting Class by Nick Drnaso - in this graphic novel, a group of lonely and vulnerable strangers sign up for an acting class run by a charismatic, controlling, and seemingly unqualified character called John Smith. As the novel progresses, the line between reality and the acting classes themselves becomes increasingly blurred. What’s real and what isn’t? Why are these characters so willing not only to trust this John Smith, but to believe he is going to change their lives for the better?
Delphi by Clare Pollard - It is 2020, and in a time more turbulent than any of us could have ever imagined, a woman is attempting to write a book about prophecy in the ancient world. A darkly comic gem.
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis - this autofictional novel (his first in thirteen years), sees a teenage Bret and his uber-privileged friends cruise around 1980s LA while a serial killer stalks the city. I felt like it was kind of bloated and would have benefitted from serious editing; but if you liked American Psycho, you’ll likely enjoy this too.
Space Invaders by Nona Fernández (translated by Natasha Wimmer) - a group of friends look back on their experiences during Pinochet’s dictatorship, in 1980s Chile. Told via a series of memories, dreams, and visions, this novella is a compelling depiction of childhood in dark times, and its lasting impact.
Subsong, by Holly Corfield Carr — a collection of “poems, field notes, and songs for being alone”.
Old Babes in the Wood by Margaret Atwood - Atwood’s ninth short story collection is made up of three sections: “Tig and Nell,” “My Evil Mother,” and “Nell and Tig.” The first and last sections (“Tig and Nell”, “Nell and Tig”), are a series of interconnected stories of the life of this couple, which lead up to Tig’s death and Nell’s life alone. The middle section, “My Evil Mother” is a bit of a mishmash — a snail’s soul fuses with that of a customer service representative; Atwood interviews George Orwell via a psychic medium, and Hypatia of Alexandria tells a modern audience about her murder via clamshell.
Non-Fiction
An Inventory of Losses by Judith Schlansky (translated by Jackie Smith) - in each chapter Schlansky follows a different literary convention in order to consider something which is irretrievably lost to the world — from the island of Tuanaki, to Sappho’s poems.
Gossip from the Forest by Sara Maitland - Maitland journeys through Britain’s forests in order to uncover the cultural links between our woodlands and our fairytales.
My Life in Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler - A beautiful collection of essays from non-binary science journalist Sabrina Imbler. Each essay introduces us to one or more marvellous marine creatures interwoven with stories of their own family and coming of age.
TV, Film, & Podcasts
FIFA Uncovered (Netflix). Eye-opening, (even for someone like me, who has always considered FIFA to be hopelessly corrupt).
Wednesday (Netflix). The Addams Family spin-off I didn’t realise I needed in my life.
Eat the Rich: The GameStop Saga (Netflix). The David versus Goliath battle that roiled Wall Street — to the moon!
Wendell & Wild (Netflix) - a glorious stop-motion animation about an orphan named Kat who tangoes with otherworldly ghouls, fiendish adults, and the prison industrial complex.
Lolita Podcast by Jamie Loftus - the Nabokov literary classic has sparked infinite discussion in the 65 years since its release, but the cultural memory the book has left behind lives more in romance and fashion aesthetics than a cautionary tale about a deceptive predator and his young prey. Loftus wants to know how we got here, and in this series traces Lolita — the person, Dolores Haze — from her literary origin to her current status as a doomed icon.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Netflix) - this beautifully dark, stop-motion retelling of Pinocchio is incredible. I’d also recommend watching the making of documentary on Netflix too.
The Menu (Disney+) - this darkly comedic horror film doesn’t fully satisfy in the final act, but I enjoyed the ride.
See How They Run (Disney +) - a brilliantly executed Agatha Christie spoof which is perfect Sunday afternoon viewing
Can You Ever Forgive Me (Disney+) - Melissa McCarthy, Richard E Grant, and Dolly Wells are fabulous in this fascinating, touching, thoroughly brilliant film about infamous literary letter forger Lee Israel.
The Banshees of Inisherin (Disney+) - this fable-like tale of a bromance-gone-sour definitely won’t be for everyone; and whilst I’m not sure I loved it quite so much as the critics, I do think it’s worth watching.
Everything Everywhere All at Once (Amazon Prime) - hopes and dreams; otherness and belonging; hot dog fingers; racacoonie; rocks — this multiverse rollercoaster is an absolute delight, and I loved it.
An Irish Goodbye, BBC iPlayer - an Oscar-winning short comedy about two brothers coming to terms with the death of their mother.
Undone (Seasons One & Two), Amazon Prime - this animated tale of time travel and generational trauma somehow manages to be hilariously funny, moving, and sad all at once. So good!
Beef, Netflix - Steven Yeun and Ali Wong star in this incredibly slick 10-part series about two strangers who are drawn into an ever-escalating, all-encompassing feud.
Stuff I’ve made, done, or tried out
I wrote 2022: 100 Good Things - a love letter to future me.
Jess Peace and I recorded an episode of Crawling Mondays with Aleyda Solis. It was a delight, and you can watch the episode here.
I had a bash at macramé, and took a bunch of photos of frozen spider’s webs.
I attended The Art of Imperfect Action - an online masterclass from Oliver Burkeman, which prompts me to write something about Doing the *Big Things*.
I take photos of a fairytale tree that might grant wishes, but will also haunt your dreams, and visit the orchid display at Kew Gardens which is filled with ballgown-bedecked beauties and carnivorous-looking lovelies.
I disappear down an AI chatbot rabbit hole.
I had an incredible time emcee-ing WTS Fest London.
I begin journaling my good shit (a practice which I’ve continued to do for the whole of this year).
I attended Oliver Burkeman’s Designing Your System for Creativity course (over Zoom), which made me realise I don’t have a time management problem, I have an emotion management problem.
I attended an Arvon writing course which was absolutely amazing.
I had a lovely time talking to Jerrel Arkes about Digital PR stuff for TheInbound4cast. You can listen to the episode here.
That’s all from me for now, I’ll send out part two of this thing in a fortnight :)
Thanks so much for subscribing to, and reading this newsletter. If you enjoy it, please consider sharing it, and if you would like to support me in this odd little endeavour you can buy me a coffee.
Big love,
Hannah x
PS Wanna find out more about me and my work? Head over to Worderist.com