Action Man by Chris Field The Never Been Pissed Award Jim welcomed the gathered family. “I invited you tonight to hear first hand. With mum’s passing I’m finally leaving.” “What?” they chorused. “You can’t be serious?” “There’s a buyer, so […]
January First Nick Lachmund New Years Absolution Award The pain hits me first and the flashbacks follow. Disjointed memories from last night flood my head. I keep my eyes closed as I try to piece them together. It […]
Redemption Olinda Braganza My Neighbour TL:DR Award Darling Sinara, How have you been? I know that it is a long time since I even called or messaged you. But, since I still have your address and don’t have the […]
Natus Nihilum Darajabi Nnamani The Death and Public Speaking Award ‘Suicidal bunch’ He inspected his flock, a complex assembly of middle-age men with burned-out faces, depressed teenage boys and girls with withering hopes for a better future, some elderly […]
‘Snapshot Strangler’ Bryana Thomas The Murder Internationale Award Watching the light fade from their eyes was my favourite part. The first time I experienced it was when I had the life of my cheating fiancé in my hands. The […]
A Congo Conspiracy Darajabi Nnamani The Murder Internationale Award Humanitarian aid for Dekese came from all over the world and in many shapes. Water, food, clothes and medical supply. Nobody thought twice about distributing his unclaimed luggage containing what […]
JJ C.R. Gardner Major Contest 2018: The Hate & Coat Award Tim@atwistoflemon.com ‘Why are they holding my funeral here? It was well known I wanted the service at Saint Aurelian’s! Where’s Death? Why have I got you instead of […]
A Change In Circumstance C.R. Gardner The Insufficient Credit Award Annabelle massaged the neck and shoulders of her client in a circular motion, moving into long strokes as she spread the jasmine scented oil down the smooth back and […]
Adaption is survival
MEMORANDUM ReLynn Vaughn The Dry July Award From the Office of the Minister of Health July 14, 2017 MEMORANDUM Preliminary studies suggest that early underage use of magic, unauthorized and outside of licensed magic education facilities, is a leading cause […]
Post Content: Include: Story name Author name Award name And the complete text of your story. If you don’t include these four elements your story won’t be considered. You can also include an image with your submission as per the […]
All The Dead Lovers Cam Dang Hotel Diaspora Award My uncle often told stories about the oceans and the boats, about men who charged gold for a cup of water and women who smeared their faces with charcoal at […]
Alexandria, 400 AD. A clash of faiths has erupted. The old Gods, still popular with the Roman nobility, have lost favour among the unwashed masses. Rejecting their overlords, people turn to the monotheistic teachings of a dead Judean carpenter they […]
Life is, more or less, always a kind of game.
Nine lives and nihilism in this feline existential crisis.
Subscribing via PayPal offers the same rewards as via Patreon, but might be useful for people who don’t want to sign up to Patreon or just prefer using PayPal. Prices are slightly different to acoount for differences between USD & […]
Needle In The Hay is an ongoing writing contest that gives authors the freedom to pursue their writing path.
Write a journal entry of your day, journal your day backwards. Start with sitting down at your desk and work backwards from there. Some things to consider: What does it feel like to live in reverse How are your perceptions […]
The setting for this story is aboard a colony ship of thousands sent to inhabit a new world. Write about it from the point of view of a cook, food handler, or someone in the ‘hospitality’ industry. Write about the […]
Four stories made it to the short list for the COMFORTABLY ANON Contest, and they ran the gamut from weird comedy and dystopian to realist and gritty sci fi. There can only be one winner, but let’s hear from one […]
A mind is a terrible thing to wipe…
This month saw the release of Grimdark Magazine #1. Here’s my awesome review! SHADOW HUNTER Adrian Tchaikovsky’s opening story takes deep into the Insect Kinden world of Shadows off the Apt. Gaved, a freelance, fire conjuring Wasp teams up with […]
Here it is. A tentacular spectacle of a short list. Fish food for your wordy brain. An ocean of sentences and paragraphs to take you deep into the… Excuse me. The award called for brevity. A minimalist’s dream.
Congratulations to the twelve authors who made the short list for this award. We received over thirty entries, all of which were of a very high standard. If you didn’t make the short list, and would like feedback on your […]
Letter writing is the only device for combining solitude with good company. ~Lord Byron We’re in good company this week. Letters to modern comics, classic authors, distinguished scientists and… someone you might know 🙂 Six hand written (or typed) letters […]
This week’s award asked authors to use Marius De Zayas’ portrait of photographer Alfred Stieglitz as the inspiration for a story in the genre of Magical Realism. Seven’s a lucky number, a magical number even. That’s how many stories we […]
try to avoid standing in the light of the fridge, it’s blue, unflattering when I think of food I think of feasting serious feasting long wooden tables laden with dishes dishes piled high with pastries, fruit, […]
We got fish and chips on the beach and Camilla was there because she didn’t want me to be the only one having fish and chips with the boy she cheated on her boyfriend with. Freddy. That was the […]
You consider me a prude. Yes, I do have a fear of contamination. You will insist that it is a fear of contact, intimacy, eruption, and I will insist that it is not. How well paired we are. I rehearse […]