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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · 18h

Drawn to their sad songs
rolling across the yard like leaves,
I lingered in soft eyes, gazes
never wavering from his window...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: "Grieving Horses" by Julie H. Fonte.

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/grieving-hor...

Grieving Horses by Julie H. Fonte – The Milk House

"The last thing I expected / turning into the gravel drive / were four red manes bowing / over a split rail fence..." Julia H. Fonte

www.themilkhouse.org

Reposted by The Milk House

Jamie Guiney @jamesgwriter.bsky.social · 7d

Reading more submissions this evening for the 2025 #BestinRuralWriting Contest.
Found another few pieces that I just love! 🤩
@themilkhouse.bsky.social
#Judging #Fiction #NonFiction

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Reposted by The Milk House

Jamie Guiney @jamesgwriter.bsky.social · 8d

Reading submissions.
First one I picked up was AWESOME!
#Reading

The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · 23d

The 2025 #BestinRuralWriting Contest is now closed. Thanks for another incredible turnout of submissions.

Good luck to all who have entered! The shortlist announcement is expected for late October/early November.

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · 14d

"Yet there it was,
transferred to my palm like one of those
crazy decalcomanias she adorns herself with..."

This week on #TheMilkHouse: "Dead Owl and Other Poems" by J.R. Solonche.

Read them here: www.themilkhouse.org/dead-owl-and...

Dead Owl and Other Poems by J. R. Solonche – The Milk House

Yet there it was, / transferred to my palm like one of those / crazy decalcomanias she adorns herself with..."Dead Owl and Other Poems"

www.themilkhouse.org

The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · 21d

What he feels, he acts upon;
What determines truth describes consequence....

This week on #TheMilkHouse: "The Sugars of Existence by Benjamin Green.

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/the-sugars-o...

The Sugars of Existence by Benjamin Green – The Milk House

"What he feels, he acts upon; / What determines truth describes consequence...." The Sugars of Existence by Benjamin Green.

www.themilkhouse.org

The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · 23d

The 2025 #BestinRuralWriting Contest is now closed. Thanks for another incredible turnout of submissions.

Good luck to all who have entered! The shortlist announcement is expected for late October/early November.

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · 28d

This week on #TheMilkHouse: A young woman has some tough choices on a farm left in her care.

Read "Flystrike" by Pearl Benjamin, #shortlisted for the 2024 Best in Rural Writing Contest.

www.themilkhouse.org/flystrike-by...

Flystrike by Pearl Benjamin – The Milk House

A young woman is forced into action on a farm. Enjoy "Flystrike" by Pearl Benjamin, shortlisted in the 2024 Best in Rural Writing contest.

www.themilkhouse.org

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · Sep 9

Less than a week to go!

The deadline for the 2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest is Monday, September 15th (midnight GMT).

Get your entries in! Judge @jamesgwriter.bsky.social is looking forward to them!

themilkhouse.org/contest

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · Aug 21

"I’ve been here for decades among all sorts of hardwoods,
eight evergreen species, innumerable shrubs,
not on the Main. But in truth, I was born in the suburbs..."

This week on #TheMilkHouse: the poem "Education" by Sydney Lea.

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/education-by...

Education by Sidney Lea – The Milk House

"Old times, but not so old that as darkness slunk in / the man had to hold his metal lantern..." Education by Sydney Lea

www.themilkhouse.org

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · Aug 14

This week on #TheMilkHouse:

A character might have found an opening for a new life in "Agata and the Mice" by Peyton Ellas, shortlisted in the 2024 #BestinRuralWriting Contest.

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/agata-and-th...

Agata and the Mice by Peyton Ellas – The Milk House

A woman looks for a new start in "Agata and the Mice" by Peyton Ellas, shortlisted in the 2024 Best in Rural Writing Contest.

www.themilkhouse.org

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · Aug 8

The #RuralLitBookClub is meeting online this Sunday, August 10th, 6pm GMT/1pm EST to discuss #ThisIsHappiness by Niall Williams.

Come along for a fun chat!

www.themilkhouse.org/rural-lit-bo...

Rural Lit Book Club: This is Happiness by Niall Williams – The Milk House

Some discussion questions to consider for the Rural Literature Book Club on This is Happiness by Niall Williams.

www.themilkhouse.org

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · Aug 7

This week on #TheMilkHouse: An old man gets a chance at another adventure, in Dennis McFadden's short story "The Escapee's Lover."

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/the-escapees...

The Escapee’s Lover by Dennis McFadden – The Milk House

An old man gets another taste of life, as well as insight into someone else's, in Dennis McFadden's short story "The Escapee's Lover."

www.themilkhouse.org

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · Aug 6

A big thanks to @agriland.bsky.social for featuring a story on the 2025 #BestinRuralWriting contest, co-sponsored with @dailyyonder.bsky.social!

Agriland is a great news source for those in rural Ireland, and we're grateful they've given us coverage.

www.agriland.ie/farming-news...

Submissions Sought for 2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest | Agriland

It is always particularly exciting to see writing from farmers and those from rural environments...

www.agriland.ie

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · Jul 29

Thanks to @dailyyonder for sharing a piece on why the #BestinRuralWriting Contest matters and what's at stake when stories about rural life aren't told.

Get your entries in by September 15th for judge @jamesgwriter.bsky.social.

dailyyonder.com/best-in-rura...

Best in Rural Writing Contest Shows the Value of Rural Stories

The 2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest is accepting submissions until Sept. 15, 2025, offering an important platform for rural writers.

dailyyonder.com

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · Jul 24

This week on #TheMilkHouse: An old eccentric in a small town holds secrets that no one guessed.

Enjoy "Johnny's Coming!" by Gwyl Weatherford.

www.themilkhouse.org/johnnys-comi...

Johnny’s Coming! by Gwylym Ford – The Milk House

One never knows what will dig up the past, in Gwylym Ford's story "Johnny's Coming!," shortlisted for the 2024 Best in Rural Writing Contest.

www.themilkhouse.org

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · Jul 17

Two months left to enter the 2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest!

In partnership with @dailyyonder.bsky.social and judged by @jamesgwriter.bsky.social, the #writingcontest is accepting fiction and nonfiction under 7,000 words.

Deadline: September 15th

To enter: themilkhouse.org/contest

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · Jul 10

The landscape changed, the game unfurled,
a post-impressionistic dance,
as bird and hare and hound performed
in blurring April ambience...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: "The Seventh Whistler" by @northernjim.bsky.social)

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/the-seventh-...

The Seventh Whistler by Jonathan Humble – The Milk House

"The landscape changed, the game unfurled, / a post-impressionistic dance..." read "The Seventh Whistler" by Jonathan Humble.

www.themilkhouse.org

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · Jun 26

This week on #TheMilkHouse:

A teenage boy has to learn when to hold on and when to let go, in Elizabeth Rosen's #shortstory "A Body in Motion."

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/a-body-in-mo...

A Body In Motion by Elizabeth Rosen – The Milk House

In the short story "A Body in Motion" by Elizabeth Rosen, a teenager has the hard choice of when to hang on and when to let go.

www.themilkhouse.org

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · Jun 16

The Milk House is excited to announce the 3rd annual #BestinRuralWriting Contest, judged by @jamesgwriter.bsky.social.

Fiction and nonfiction.

Deadline: Sept 15th, 2025.

Prize pool: $700.

Finalists published in the 2026 Best in Rural Writing print anthology.

To enter: themilkhouse.org/contest

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · Jun 12

This week on #TheMilkHouse: a chance encounter with an usual ally helps a man reconsider what's in front of him.

Read the short story "Side of the Road" by Simon A. Smith: www.themilkhouse.org/side-of-the-...

Side of the Road by Simon A. Smith – The Milk House

In Simon A. Smith's short story "Side of the Road," a stray dog helps a man find the answers he needs in his marriage.

www.themilkhouse.org

The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · Jun 10

On #TheMilkHouse: Bill Conlogue considers his father's life through the fieldwork he did, in his essay "Haying Seasons," shortlisted for the 2024 #BestinRuralWriting contest.

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/haying-seaso...

Haying seasons by Bill Conlogue – The Milk House

Read the essay "Haying Seasons" by Bill Conlogue, shortlisted for the 2024 Best in Rural Writing Contest by judge Dr. Chea Parton.

www.themilkhouse.org

The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · May 29

This week on #TheMilkHouse:

In the short story "Cloud of Locusts" by Michael Loyd Gray, one character faces the fragility of being a farmer in the modern world.

Read "Cloud of Locusts" here.

www.themilkhouse.org/cloud-of-loc...

Cloud of Locusts by Michael Loyd Gray – The Milk House

The fragility of making a life as a farmer is felt by everyone in the family, in Michael Loyd Gray's short story "Cloud of Locusts."

www.themilkhouse.org

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · May 22

You massacred those oysters
when we were girls,
wrenched them from the river mud...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: "Oyster World" by Cayla Garman.

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/oyster-world...

Oyster World by Cayla Garman – The Milk House

"...hoping I could grow your mind / past the limits of our watershed,..." Oyster World by Cayla Garman

www.themilkhouse.org

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · May 16

@billinberkeley.bsky.social

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The Milk House @themilkhouse.bsky.social · May 16

This week on #TheMilkHouse:

The past and the present collapse in Bill Smoot's moving story "What We've Lost," sharing an experience faced by many who grew up on a farm.

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/what-weve-lo...

What We've Lost by Bill Smoot – The Milk House

The past and the presence collapse in an all-too-familiar experience faced by those from a farm. Read "What We've Lost" by Bill Smoot.

www.themilkhouse.org

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