James Aitcheson

Sworn Sword is 🔟 today! Where did that time go? Thanks to all my devoted readers and to everyone else who has supported me in my writing career so far. Here's hoping the next 10 years will be just as exciting!🥳📚🎂

As Artemis II reignites global fascination with human spaceflight, I explore why space still captivates us — and why understanding its cultural and human impact is more important than ever. space-park.co.uk/2026/04/for-al… Part of the @SpaceParkLeic Perspectives series.

I don't think this will ever get old - walking past the @spacecentre and seeing the rockets 🚀🚀 on my way to work at @SpaceParkLeic!

🖋The Literary Consultancy is HIRING for a Writing Services Assistant. Contract: Fixed-term (12 months) Hours: Full time* (*or 4 days per week) Location: Remote Salary: £26k p/a Deadline: 9am March 16th Full job description and details on how to apply! literaryconsultancy.co.uk/about-tlc/jobs/

@JaneJohnsonBakr @uniofleicester @SpaceParkLeic It's going to be a lot of fun!

@JamesAitcheson @uniofleicester @SpaceParkLeic That sounds amazing.

I'm excited to announce that this week I've started a new role as Research Associate in Humanity and Space @uniofleicester @SpaceParkLeic! I'll be researching early medieval astronomy and modern space literature. 🚀✨🛰️🪐

£1m in new @ahrcpress funding will support doctoral students at @SpaceParkLeic exploring Humanity & Space. Nine interdisciplinary PhD projects combining research excellence with professional training for future careers across the space sector. 🔗 space-park.co.uk/2026/02/1-mill…

Huge thanks to Sara Cameron McBean, Claire Rocha and everyone else at the Scottish Arts Trust involved in running the Edinburgh Writing Awards and putting the book together. I'm looking forward to reading all of the other winning and shortlisted stories! #edinburghwritingawards

Thrilled to have received my copy of Heartsick and Other Stories, the anthology in which my story 'Human, Probably' appears! Order your copy here: scottishartstrust.org/heartsick #edinburghwritingawards

I'm excited that my flash non-fiction story, 'Human, Probably', has been published in Heartsick and Other Stories, the latest Edinburgh Anthology from the Scottish Arts Trust! scottishartstrust.org/heartsick #edinburghwritingawards

Historian Tom Licence takes issue with one of the most egregious historical liberties in #KingAndConqueror... bit.ly/47sSXcE 🗝️ This article is free to read

Though its meaning may have shifted over the centuries since its #AngloSaxon origins, ‘middle earth’ is far from fantasy. ⌛️ Last chance to read the new Out of the Margins for free buff.ly/OqyqHzy

This is the new CEO of Applications at OpenAI writing about creativity. IMO this is a gross misunderstanding of what it means to be creative. The fact that our skill sets limit our ability to express our creativity is not some problem to be solved. Creativity *is* your skill set. It is the result of learning, it is expertise acquired by doing. Prompting a model is not creativity - it is a commission. There is a world of difference. openai.com/index/ai-as-th…

It's the feast of St Swithun, 9th-century Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester. Since the Middle Ages, his day has been linked to weather-lore: it's said that in mid-July weather patterns shift, and if it rains on St Swithun's Day it will rain for 40 days. aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2017/07/that-t…

I'm thrilled to have my career story featured on the new Graduate Destinations page of @CamHistory's website! hist.cam.ac.uk/graduate-desti… My career in historical novel-writing and academia wouldn't have been possible without the research skills and methods I picked up at Cambridge.

@cassidycroci That's brilliant news! Congrats!

Excited to announce that my first book chapter 'Frá Birni er nær allt stórmenni komit á Íslandi: A Social Network Analysis of Bjǫrn buna’s Descendants in Landnámabók (The Book of Settlements)' has been published in Social Network Analysis and Medieval History!

We are deeply disappointed that the Data Bill will not include the necessary provisions to keep creators' works safe from being used without their knowledge or permission by AI companies, despite clear and unified calls from across the creative industries. (1/3)

I'm excited to be back at @EmmaCambridge to lead another day of academic writing one-to-one consultations!

Thanks to all our wonderful contributors who made the 17th Annual Midlands Viking Symposium such a success on Saturday! For a full account you can read presenter Francesca Squitieri's reflections on the day here: bodiesandbeing.com/2025/05/20/ref…

A collaborative first study of its kind, from Nottingham and Leicester academics, sheds light on pregnancy in the Viking Age. @UoNCSVA @UoNEnglish @uniofleicester Read more 🔽 ow.ly/PIeL50VRG6L