Amy Barnes

Congrats to Liam Strong for winning in the Monarch awards for "the year of lost limbs,"

also Robert McDonald for inclusion in Best Microfiction for "Jane Goodall of the Mantid Kingdom!"

The cover of Monarch 2026. A photo of a person lying on their back in a field of tall grass with their left arm covering their face. Text reads Monarch 2026, a queer literary awards anthology published by fifth wheel press.

Awardees. Michael Agunbiade, Maddox Emory Arnold, J. L. Bermúdez, C. Ray Borck, Finnian Burnett, Connor, a.d., Gion Davis, Erin Dorney, Dante Fuoco, Ranudi Gunawardena, Katy Haas, Annalisa Hansford, K.M. Hanslik, KT Herr, Jennessa Hester, Esmé Kaplan-Kinsey, Jules Kennedy, Ani King, Kyrico, Tara Labovich, Olivia Lehman, Jackson D. Moorman, Chi Pham, William Roberds-King, Cristina Sanchez, Steven Sanchez, January Santoso, Elena Sichrovsky, Mark Spero, Ashley Steineger, Liam Strong, Gordon Taylor, Holly Lyn Walrath, Cela Xié.

Finalists. Hayden Berry, Alex Bortell, Isabella Boyd, Jordan Byrum, J. J. Carey, James Diaz, Emily Franklin, Isaiah Gardner, Michael Getty, Finnley Greet, Kimberly Hall, Calvin Jones, E.G.N. Lafleur, Angel Leal, Parker Logan, Abby E. Murray, Karol Olesiak, Bleah Patterson, Rowan Procter, Eli V. Rahm, Luke Rudman, Mk Smith Despres, Meghan Sterling, Liam Strong, Wendy Vardaman, Alicia Wright, Steven C Wright.

We are elated to announce the awardees and finalists for MONARCH 2026. Thank you to all of the organizations who nominated work for making our first anthology so stunning 🦋 and a special shoutout to @esichr.bsky.social and @bleatingthing.bsky.social for the beautiful cover photograph!

Fuzzy snowy wood in evening.

Here it's snowing, tonight it will be dark for all. But guess what will be bright? Gone Lawn 63 will be! This is the micro-excerpt issue, featuring thirteen brilliant authors. Enjoy!

Art by BEE LB.

gonelawn.net/journal/issu...

I’m excited to have a micro-excerpt from my novel-in-progress in this issue. Thrilled to be in such great company!

Finding an under 200-word, freestanding section to extract and submit was a difficult —but rewarding—challenge. Big thank you to eds. @owenwyke.bsky.social and @amygcb.bsky.social !

Delighted to have 2 stories in this amazing issue of @frazzledlit.bsky.social What a treat to appear with so many stellar writers incl @elissafield.bsky.social @delgeo14.bsky.social @barbarabyar.bsky.social

Letting go www.frazzledlit.com/p/letting-go
Marie Kondo www.frazzledlit.com/p/and-now-i-...

Back at you in sleepless solidarity. 🥰

Nope. Not going to sleep easily. Always wake at 5. I got an Apple Watch for my birthday. Before I was guessing my sleep sucked, now I KNOW. :) My 20-something kids made me get Melatonin gummies, but that hasn't helped, yet. 🥱

Frigg: A Magazine of Fiction and Poetry, Issue 65, Winter 2025-2026 | Front Page Frigg: A Magazine of Fiction and Poetry, Fall/Winter 2025-26, Issue 65. Writers: Shane Allison, Ewan Downie, Kathy Fish, Adelaide Gifford, Samuel Goldsmith, Kim Magowan, Jasmine Melchor, Michael Meyer...

I have no idea what the response to this will be, but I have a three-part experimental / hybrid published today is FRiGG Magazine I would love for you to read. Fabulous issue, including flashes from @kimmagowan.bsky.social and Michelle Ross! 💙 friggmagazine.com

"...the gray, the gray / flat windows unshined / a happenstance boy / growing, the boy the clicketten with turpentine ears / to gesture and aloud / to crowd and seem unseemly...."

Extraordinary writing by the very talented @kathyfish.bsky.social 💙💙💙

The balance beam in purgatory is only 4 inches wide Flash fiction by Amy Barnes

"My routine was designed to be performed to *Highway to Hell* played on a crackly loud speaker. Across the same radio waves, I can still hear my mother praying, but she’s got the wrong idea for what I need."

@amygcb.bsky.social in @frazzledlit.bsky.social www.frazzledlit.com/p/the-balanc...

Our first issue of 2026 is officially live!

pitheadchapel.com/2026/01/01/v...

Submissions - Gooseberry Pie Lit Magazine SUBMISSIONS Submission Guidelines Gooseberry Pie Lit Magazine publishes fiction with exactly six-sentences and no more than 400 words. Title does not count as one of the six sentences or towards the w...

@gooseberrypielit.bsky.social
Submissions are open.

Send us a 6-sentence with no more than 400 words.

Our response time is usually less than a week.

gooseberry-pie.com/submissions/

The broken window scene added to that terror for me.

Some thoughts from the submissions queue this morning. I'm seeing a few pieces that would be sparkling but for another couple of edits.

(1) Have you given the piece distance between writing and editing so you can approach it with a fresh set of eyes?

(2) Have you given enough distance?

Prisoner No 10 At The Hershey County Jail - Gooseberry Pie Lit Magazine Photo by Khaled Ossama on Unsplash by Amy Barnes Christmas songs play on the exercise yard loud speakers because it is December, not because we’re allowed to celebrate in our chocolate prison that som...

“I unwrap the candy bar my mom sent me for the holidays with its pictures of snow drifts on the wrapper, and think for a moment I’ve seen a glimpse of my family’s Christmas, but …”

@amygcb.bsky.social in @gooseberrypielit.bsky.social gooseberry-pie.com/prisoner-no-...

Dormant, by Andrea Damic

O, pale Moon, key to Sun, here you are!

Can you see? #62 is here!

New writing by 20 writers, and visual art by Andrea Damic.

gonelawn.net

Classes are completely asynchronous and I offer them discounted if you don't want a writing critique at the end.

Flash Roundup * October-November 2025 A gathering of recent speculative flash & micro fiction, each presenting a tiny-yet-powerful universe. How tiny? About one-thousand words for flash; four-hundred words for micro. The word count…

Double issue of MicroVerse Spec Flash Roundup with Oct-Nov recs!

Samuel Lorraine Goldsmith, Sreeja Naskar, Milena Anastasiadou, Iryna Somkina, Amelia Edwards

Our nominations for Best Small Fictions, just logged:

When I am six, I speak in tongues by Amy Cipolla Barnes Barnes pulls readers into the body of a young child who is forced into a sort of religious scheme. The intersection between identity, religion, family, and language is blended seamlessly; the objective correlative of the mother’s belt against the teacher’s belt ties this piece together. Sneak Peek: “because my Mama wants me to. I’m standing on a dining room chair. She’s coaching me in a loud voice because I haven’t been listening closely enough.”

@amygcb.bsky.social

The HOA rules don’t apply — Ghost Parachute To the zebra who wanders loose in our suburban neighborhood. It ambles up and down the streets like he belongs among their English countryside names. He’s not intimidated by Northumberland or Buckingh...

@amygcb.bsky.social at Ghost Parachute.

ghostparachute.com/issue/octobe...

No Writer is an Island - Part 1 As an editor I have the privilege of working with writers at all stages of their writing journeys.

My #WritingCraftArticle for September is all about feedback and editing skills. It got quite lengthy so I had to split it into two. This is part one, focusing on my four feedback Es, writer intention, and stars, wishes & mirrors:

🏝️⭐🧞🪞

prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com/p/no-writer-...

Thank you so much, June! 🦓

Thank you so much! 😍I haven't written much this year, so this one going up feels bigger than usual.

Thank you so much for sharing! I love your take on the community and Mary Ellen. 😍

Thank you so much for sharing, Timothy! A
"gem" is very generous and kind - for a story that came from me missing my own kids while dealing with a very vigilant HOA leader. :)

Thank you so much for sharing! These days, it feels like we might all need a zebra. :)

Thank you so much for sharing and your always-kind words. It's an honor to share an issue with you! 😍

Aww - love how it turned out, and where it found a home! 😍