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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 9h

Our Pick of the Day is part 2 of Beanzie’s story. It’s John Fante territory, Bukowski, but set in England. There’s booze, there’s women, there’s failure, there’s mushrooms.

www.abctales.com/story/beanzi...

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Drew Gummerson @drewgum.bsky.social · 3d

The writing life.

Nothing happens forever & then last week a new story published, Collateral, I did an interview (appearing soon) and 2 reviews for Saltburn. @renardpress.com

The latest below. Thanks @dlgladwin.bsky.social for this. It’s lovely.

David Gladwin @dlgladwin.bsky.social · 4d

A review for Drew.

@drewgum.bsky.social

www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

David Gladwin's review of Saltburn

5/5: As the author points out at the start, this is not the actual Saltburn but a counterfactual, transmogrified version with features, like the nuclear power station, found elsewhere. And others, lik...

www.goodreads.com

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 3d

I've been keeping this quiet, but I can now share that my poem 'Arboreal' won First Prize in the Whispering Wisdom Poetry Competition! 💙

Arboreal - by Bex Hainsworth
It was my first time taking the bus to school
and the 662 was late. Half-carried into the aisle,
I was a squat shrub, crowded by a canopy
of strangers. My sapling arms reached up
for the swinging vines of the grab handles,
but I stumbled as the bus rounded a corner.
Sunlight was swallowed by anoraks, blazers.
And then I felt the elderly woman beside me
shift the soft branch of her arm around my waist.
The sequins on her mossy cardigan shimmered,
both of us undergrowth, but her roots were deep
in the floor, her walking stick like a tree stake.
She anchored us, bud and trunk. It was the safety
I’ve been searching for, all my life.

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 2d

I completely missed two poems of mine being published by the incomparable Columbia Journal in the spring.

You can read 'Mary Visits a Magdalene Laundry' and 'Diary of Shem's Wife' here:
www.columbiajournal.org/articles/two...

Two Poems By Bex Hainsworth — Columbia Journal

Nuns rattle keys in locks with cloven hands, clop down corridors, dark as wailing mouths. The long dormitories stink of exorcism, of mould crusting like old blood, of smoke from a bonfire of birth ...

www.columbiajournal.org

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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 1d

Rich, sharp, complex, sensuous, read this wonderful piece from www.abctales.com/story/veracl... Clark, which is Pick of the Day! Please do share if you can.

Vintage illustration of whole orange and half of a cut orange.

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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 2d

Today's Pick of the Day is D Marie's Colony, a #poetic snapshot of formic life (and death). It's both vivid and unusual. Do please share on your social media if you can.
www.abctales.com/story/d-mari...

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Mark Burrow @markburrow.bsky.social · 2d

Thanks to @abctales.bsky.social for giving Pick of the Day to my short story, Push a Pedal #writingcommunity

ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 3d

Some brilliant writing from Mark Burrow today - a nerve-racking tale of the grind. Enjoy!

www.abctales.com/story/mark-b...

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Rachel Deering @racheldeering.bsky.social · 2d

ABCtales is a brilliant, friendly writing site. Take a look and also give them a follow. There’s a Pick of the Day from writing on the site every day - great poems and stories. @abctales.bsky.social

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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 3d

Some brilliant writing from Mark Burrow today - a nerve-racking tale of the grind. Enjoy!

www.abctales.com/story/mark-b...

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philwhiteland @philwhiteland.bsky.social · 3d

Sunday comes around quickly, as does Monday - but we won't talk about that. Instead, brighten up your Monday Eve with the latest episode from Gwladys and Aefelthrith in which Aefelthrith takes steps (reluctantly) and Dolly makes plans.
www.abctales.com/story/philwh...

@abctales.bsky.social

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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 3d

Story and Poem of the Month for September, now LIVE on ABCTales:

www.abctales.com/blog/insertp...

Story and Poem of the Month | ABCtales

Story and Poem of the Month for September

www.abctales.com

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 5d

It's October! 🍂

If you're looking for an autumnal read, Circulaire, my new pamphlet, features cosy cooking, bonfires, and benevolent hauntings 🎃

You can grab your copy from @writtenoffbooks.bsky.social here: tinyurl.com/4cw3e27r 🧡

Or drop a comment for a signed copy (£10 via PayPal) ☕️

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Angela T. Carr @angelatcarrpoetry.bsky.social · 4d

Over 160 calls for literary competitions & submissions including poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, art, photography, & more - contests, literary journals, residencies, bursaries etc - open or with deadlines in October 2025. Please share & best of luck!
www.thisiswordbox.com/wordbox-blog...

Background image shows an open notebook and pen on a wooden table. The text reads: Publishing Your Work - October 2025, Poetry & Writing Submissions - Journals, Competitions, Bursaries, Residencies. www.thisiswordbox.com

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Sean McNulty @thispersona.bsky.social · 5d

Story: Truth is Written

www.abctales.com/story/sean-m...

Psychosis, subediting, and the stars.

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Ewan Lawrie, @ewanl.bsky.social · 4d

These will soon be the three books of #poetry I've had/self published. It doesn't have to be fey, although there's nothing wrong with sentimental poetry - there is even some of that in these three books. And a lot that isn't.
tinyurl.com/bdayb94c
tinyurl.com/fhd75yam
tinyurl.com/yhdrtk8c (Oct 25)

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Ewan Lawrie, @ewanl.bsky.social · 5d

#Poetry alert. Move along, nothing to see here.
www.abctales.com/.../eye-eye-...

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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 4d

Discover the beguiling arcane secrets of plant life and our connection with it.

Is it symbiotic or something more sinister?

Caldwell’s ‘The language of the leaves’ is today’s Pick of the Day.

www.abctales.com/story/caldwe...

Please share if you can.

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philwhiteland @philwhiteland.bsky.social · 7d

"...This is a fabulous change of pace, and a great way to tell the story of Gwladys, whose character just gets better and better!"
www.abctales.com/story/philwh...
@abctales.bsky.social

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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 5d

Today's Pick is the start of a tense and gripping story, skilfully moving between past and present: www.abctales.com/story/ivan-o...

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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 6d

A fine piece of writing from Mark Burrow for you today:

www.abctales.com/story/mark-b...

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ABCtales @abctales.bsky.social · 7d

Our Pick of the Day today is an excellent Octoberish poem from queen beatle. Do read and share it.
www.abctales.com/story/queen-...

Painting of a woman sleeping in a bed with white sheets and red blanket with wooden bedside table. By Carl Holsøe.

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 10d

GIVEAWAY ALERT! 💛

Circulaire is a month old today and to celebrate I'm giving away two FREE copies! ☕️

Please like, share, and drop a comment below if you want to be entered into the draw - which will happen on Thursday, National Poetry Day! ✨

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Bex Hainsworth @poetbex.bsky.social · 8d

Delighted to hear that my poem 'Moeritherium' has received a Best of the Net nomination!

Published by the wonderful @whaleroadreview.bsky.social, it was inspired by this model in the Natural History Museum 💙

Moeritherium

After walking beneath blue whale bones
and following the loops of mammoth tusks,

I linger near an unsuspecting model:
the squat, shapely form of a moeritherium.

Indirect ancestor of elephants and sea cows,
all Eocene curves with soft, painted eyes.

The grey egg of her body is dwarfed
by stockier relatives, but she seems

to float in front of me, goddess of buoyancy,
the spirit of the semi-aquatic. I admire her

womb-shaped face, her stubby trunk, which
is touch-whitened from decades of petting,

but resist the urge to reach out. I am content
with our closeness, the shared beauty

of those without descendants.

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Peter Bennett @pbennett.bsky.social · 11d

Enjoyed a great evening, in fantastic company, last night at the Bothwell Community Hub, with @gfpaterson.bsky.social and the lovely Elissa Soave.
Left feeling suitably enthused to keep on keeping on with this writing lark.😃

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Drew Gummerson @drewgum.bsky.social · 9d

And a new story by me, Collateral, over on Revolution John.

Tom Cruise, a Peruvian hairdresser, a New York cabbie, a snake called Otto.

And plenty of murder.

revolutionjohnjournal.wordpress.com/2025/09/29/s...

September 29, 2025: Fiction by Drew Gummerson

Then she said, I’d like to see the Empire State Building. I’ve seen that movie. King Kong. Fay Wray in the hands of the beast. And then she, this little Peruvian woman with perfectly blank features…

revolutionjohnjournal.wordpress.com

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