Since opening up for anyone to join in 2024, Bluesky has exploded with users from around the world, becoming a new home for journalists, comedians, and sports writers who are looking for somewhere to swap news and jokes about what is happening in the moment. Along with the breaking news activity on the site, it has become a home for creatives and artists, people who rely on other users to click through to read their work, buy their art, or support their journalism. Unlike other popular sites, Bluesky doesn’t try to trap users into spending more time on their site alone—it encourages writers to share links to their stories and artists to share other places to find their work.

If you’re an avid reader and you’re looking to get started on Bluesky, here are five accounts we’d recommend following to start. #booksky is still getting started (following in the footsteps of #booktok and #bookstagram), and these accounts are worth following.

1. Merriam-Webster (for humorous insights into words and etymological trends)

Merriam-Webster will keep you up-to-date on the words of the moment, often aligning their daily definitions with what is going on in the news. Follow them for insights that will make you laugh, and jokes that will make you learn.

Follow them at @merriam-webster.com on Bluesky: noun | a reference source containing words alphabetically arranged along with information about their forms, pronunciations, functions, and etymologies

2. Author Kelly Link (for book recommendations and general gumption)

Kelly Link, author of many delightful short stories and the novel The Book of Love, is active on Bluesky. She’s also a bookseller, running Book Moon Books in Easthampton, MA. If you’re looking for your next favorite book, she gives out book recommendations on Bluesky. As she says in her bio, if you give her two writers you love and what you’re in the mood for, she’ll let you know what she recommends!

Follow her at @kellylink.bsky.social on Bluesky. (Her profile is limited so you’ll need to sign up to see her profile and posts.)

3. Taco Bell Quarterly (for lit mag lols)

Spice up your feed with the latest from Taco Bell Quarterly, a lit mag unlike any other. Keep apprised of their latest poems and pieces, plus stay entertained when they pull classics out of the vault.

Follow them at @tacobellquarterly.org‬ on Bluesky: Taco Bell Quarterly is a Literary Magazine more prestigious than the New Yorker and Paris Review. Unaffiliated with Daddy Taco. We publish the boundaries of cease and desist. tacobellquarterly.org

4. The Bookseller (for news from the book world and the people who work there)

The Bookseller brings you the latest headlines from the book world, a great follow for seeing which books are finding new readers and which publishers are buying new books, especially in the UK publishing scene.

Follow them at @thebookseller.com on Bluesky: At the heart of the book trade since 1858📚 News, charts, previews and more, online & in print. Buyer's Guides, conferences & The British Book Awards (Nibbies)✨

5. Penny Magic (for what we’re up to)

If you’re on Bluesky, we’d love to connect with you! Bluesky is just one way you can keep up with us. It’s where we’ll let you know about our latest blog posts, archived short stories, and upcoming projects.