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Reposted by Sarah McPherson

Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · 5d

Peacehammer 40K: Paintinge litel miniatures of gardeneres, sculptors, academics. Trimminge hedges. Makinge friendes.

Reposted by Sarah McPherson

British Fantasy Society @britfantasysoc.bsky.social · 8d

Big news from BFS members (and leaders) @shonak.bsky.social and @davidgreenwriter.bsky.social: A new independent non-profit organisation designed to help creatives thrive in publishing. Here's @divergent-paths.bsky.social

britishfantasysociety.org/divergent-pa...

The main image shows four arrows; three are pointing up, and coloured white, while the fourth is coloured yellow and pointing to the side

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Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · 19d

Still time to sign up for next Thursday's session if you want to read and discuss some fab flashes by @timcraig.bsky.social with us!
#BtesizedBookClub #FlashFiction

Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · 24d

The next block of the #BitesizedBookClub is open for bookings! We'll be meeting on the following Thursdays, 19:15-20:30 (UK time):
25 Sept - Stories by Tim Craig
23 Oct - Fairy Tale/Myth Retellings
27 Nov - Ekphrastic Stories

Link to book: theleadedwindow.blogspot.com/p/bite-sized...

#FlashFiction

Bite-sized Book Club

The Bite-sized Book Club is a monthly online book club dedicated to reading flash fiction. Everyone is welcome, whether you normally read fl...

theleadedwindow.blogspot.com

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Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · 24d

If you'd like to check out the readings from previous sessions, you can do that here: theleadedwindow.blogspot.com/p/bite-sized...

#BitesizedBookClub #FlashFiction #Reading

Bite-sized Book Club Archive

This is a list of stories we have read for Bite-sized Book Club sessions since the group started in March 2025, for reference and as a taste...

theleadedwindow.blogspot.com

Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · 24d

The next block of the #BitesizedBookClub is open for bookings! We'll be meeting on the following Thursdays, 19:15-20:30 (UK time):
25 Sept - Stories by Tim Craig
23 Oct - Fairy Tale/Myth Retellings
27 Nov - Ekphrastic Stories

Link to book: theleadedwindow.blogspot.com/p/bite-sized...

#FlashFiction

Bite-sized Book Club

The Bite-sized Book Club is a monthly online book club dedicated to reading flash fiction. Everyone is welcome, whether you normally read fl...

theleadedwindow.blogspot.com

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Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · 28d

August read (just the one!) 💙📚:
1. It Felt Like Everything by K.S. Dyal (novella-in-flash)

#books #reading #amreading #booklover #novellainflash #2025reads

The book 'It Felt Like Everything' by K.S. Dyal lying on a red satin throw. The cover is grey, with black and grey text, and has a drawing of two people's legs in the top right, one wearing a short black skirt, white socks, and black and white trainers, and the other wearing skinny-fit black trousers, black socks, and white trainers.

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Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · 28d

It could have made her too powerful for the party, but in practice everything else about that character meant she was a liability more often than she was any kind of useful 😄

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Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · 28d

Years ago in a VtM game, I played a Malkavian who (among other things) was a paranoid amnesiac, & I made her blind via the 'merits & flaws' mechanic but didn't fancy any of the merits that would balance it, so the GM (my other half) gave me L5 auspex for free, & she 'saw' in auras the whole time.

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Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · Sep 6

😍 So teeny!

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Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · Sep 6

Come and read lovely NiFs with us! 📚 (I'm in the Sunday group)

Laura Besley @laurabesley.bsky.social · Aug 29

The new block of The NIFTY Book Club is open for sign ups!
📚 Sept '25 - Jan '26
📚 Sundays 10-11.30am OR Mondays 19.30-21.00 BST/GMT
📚 Live author Q&As
📚 Worksheets in advance, meetings on zoom
📚 Full details in link below
#fiction #flashfiction #writingcommunity
www.laurabesley.com/nifty-book-c...

NIFTY Book Club | My Site

Book club for lovers of the novella-in-flash. Monthly meetings online.

www.laurabesley.com

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Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · Sep 1

I like Daysleeper a lot, but I love Nightswimming. And also Find the River.

Reposted by Sarah McPherson

Kit de Waal @kitdewaal.com · Aug 31

Free online attendance at The Fantasy Summer School 2025, organised by the University of Oxford, and Bloomsbury Publishing, that brings together the expertise of scholars, publishers working with fantasy authors.

Link here www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/oxford-blo...

Please share :)

Oxford-Bloomsbury Fantasy Summer School 2025 Online

Offering an insight into the past, present and future of the fantasy genre from leading scholars, writers and publishing team in the field.

www.eventbrite.co.uk

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Reposted by Sarah McPherson

Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · Aug 17

"Kathy, Ich am lost," Ich seyde, thogh methoughte she was sleepinge,
"Ich am hollowe and hurtinge and knowe not wherfor"
Countinge the cars on the Newe Jersey Turnpyke
Thei have all come to looke for America

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Reposted by Sarah McPherson

Diane Simmons @scooterwriter.bsky.social · Aug 15

My NIF ‘William Prichard & Co’ is a year old today! To celebrate I am giving away a free copy. To be in with a chance of winning, please retweet & DM me with your name. I will pick a name out of the hat on Wed 20th. Sorry, UK only.

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Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · Aug 16

Floki here is the epitome of 'Spine? What spine?' (There are any number of photos I could have used to illustrate this...!)

A brown tabby cat with white socks sleeping on a black sofa. His front half is twisted one way and his back half is twisted the other way, with his back feet in the air, so it looks like he has no spine.

Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · Aug 15

I'm so glad WHQ retreats have restarted in a place I can easily attend (Leeds) - they are the MOST productive days! ⭐️

Writers’ HQ @writershq.bsky.social · Aug 15

We have a 100% success rate at getting writers at our retreats to sit tf down and write. Here's how 🧵

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Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · Aug 14

July reads 💙📚:
1. Aerth by Deborah Tomkins (novella-in-flash)
2. Mrs Caliban by Rachel Ingalls (novella)

#books #reading #amreading #booklover #novella #novellainflash #2025reads

Two books roughly stacked on a black table: 'Aerth' by Deborah Tomkins, and 'Mrs Caliban' by Rachel Ingalls. 'Aerth' (on the bottom) has a black and cream spine. 'Mrs Caliban' (on the top) has a pink spine and a white cover with handwritten stye lettering in black, pink, and green, and two sketched figures swimming in a circle. The male figure is green and the female figure is pink. It has a green 'Faber Editions' banner down one side.

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Reposted by Sarah McPherson

Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · Mar 17

A cartoon for @theguardian.com books.

Image
Edgar Allen Poe sits with his head in his hands, his sad face lit by the glow of a laptop. On his desk are piles of books, a guttering candle and a bust. Atop the bust sits a raven who is animatedly talking to Poe.

Caption
The Raven, having seen the general state of the world, realised that quothing "Nevermore." was only going to add to the gloom, and instead tried to cheer things up with a few bawdy limericks and an amusing anecdote about two badgers and a turnip.

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Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · Aug 13

'as her light-burned silhouette echoes on the kitchen ceiling for priests to mutter at'

3rd place: 'Lucille Ascends' by @jmgatford.bsky.social - a brilliant example of anadiplosis (breaking out a word I learnt from a @mattkendrick.bsky.social workshop!)
flash500.com/flash-fictio...

Flash Fiction 3rd Place: Lucille Ascends by Jo Gatford - Flash 500

Lucille ascends while the bathwater is still running. The bathwater is still running when Max gets home after a shift that leaves his skin aching. After a shift that leaves his skin aching, Max doesn’...

flash500.com

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Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · Aug 13

'I know about crying like I know about rivers and their tributaries.'

2nd place: 'I Search Her Eyes for Rivers' by Hannah Retallick - love the use of geography metaphors for grief.
flash500.com/flash-fictio...

Flash Fiction 2nd Place: I Search Her Eyes for Rivers by Hannah Retallick - Flash 500

Grandma once said it’s ridiculous when books say tears fall and splash because if anything they trickle. I said mine do. It’s all about the tilt of your head, the angle, and how much you’re bawling. S...

flash500.com

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Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · Aug 13

'you could leave post-it notes in strange places that describe things you like about me, and they’d probably be things I don’t like about me at all'

1st place: 'Ways to Say that Thing You've Never Said' by Letty Butler - a fab list story
flash500.com/flash-fictio...

Flash Fiction 1st Place: Ways to Say that Thing You’ve Never Said by Letty Butler - Flash 500

You could give me a cup of overly sweet tea in my favourite mug, the one with the thin rim, which I swear makes the tea taste better; or you could swing round a lamppost like that bloke in the film, a...

flash500.com

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Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · Aug 13

Catching up on the latest winning stories from @flash500.bsky.social and they're all great - well worth a read!

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Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · Aug 12

The next #BitesizedBookClub session is coming up in a couple of weeks, on Thursday 28 August, and you can still book to come and read some teeny-tiny micro fiction with us! More info and booking details here: theleadedwindow.blogspot.com/p/bite-sized...

#flashfiction #microfiction #reading

Bite-sized Book Club

The Bite-sized Book Club is a monthly online book club dedicated to reading flash fiction. Everyone is welcome, whether you normally read fl...

theleadedwindow.blogspot.com

Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · Aug 11

I think it's helpful for writers to know the history of their genre, but that doesn't mean having to read/enjoy/recommend it all! And I'm guilty of grumbling if a book is lauded by non-genre people as innovative/unique when it's really not 🙄 But my position is always let folks read what they enjoy!

Sarah McPherson @summermoth.bsky.social · Aug 11

I did read (& largely enjoy) a lot of 'classic/canon' SF as a teen in the 90s, trawling through my parents' bookcases, & even then, naïve little me saw some of the dated/problematic aspects. But I also read a lot of more recent/contemporary SFF that was just as influential to me, if not more so!

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · Aug 11

Bah. Demanding people read half-century-old work as a purity test for genre membership is a fine way to kill the genre dead.

I wrote about such nonsense here;

whatever.scalzi.com/2020/08/07/o...

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