Margo Griffin

The story opens with Raphael, running, in danger, and readers get little clue as to what or who is after him.

We are thrilled to bring you a review from our very own, and the hardest working woman in publishing, @melissacuisine.bsky.social ! Check out her take on
@barbarabyar.bsky.social ’s book scheduled for a March release “In the Desert”, published by @cowboyjamboree.bsky.social . Read it, Sunday 2/23!

Congrats!!!

Thanks for sharing Tracie!!

It's the final day! Get those subs in!

August 4, 2020 | MattKendrick.co.uk

FIRST PLACE in the Welkin Writing Prize 2026, "August 4, 2020" by Yara Zgheib. A swirling evocation of destruction and chaos juxtaposed with the haunting beauty of music:

www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stori...

Two days left to vote. Four stories currenlty tied in second place. Still very much all to vote / play / read / support / agonise for!!!

Given the quality of the shortlisted pieces, I'm not surprised it's quite so close!!

3
III
3️⃣
THREE
3333333

THREE days let to submit to the Blue Frog flash fiction contest! Ends 01/31 @ 11:59pm PST.

flash-frog.com/contest/

The SmokeLong Workshop Prize – The Shortlist! - SmokeLong Quarterly The SmokeLong Workshop Prize is such a competitive competition. All of the entries have been published, so the standard is already high. In 2025 our workshop participants, previous and current, report...

Hard decisions. The SmokeLong Workshop Prize entries are all so good. Help us celebrate our shortlist! www.smokelong.com/the-smokelon...

His Girl, Forwards and Backwards | MattKendrick.co.uk

HIGHLY COMMENDED in the Welkin Writing Prize 2026, "His Girl, Forwards and Backwards" by @authorgreene.bsky.social. A stunning use of form which creates multiple ways of reading the story:

www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stori...

The Surrogate by Sara Kaplan-Cunningham Today, Carol is glum. I bring her a hot coffee from the machine, two creams one sugar. “What’s wrong, queen?” I ask. We have this kind of relationship, ascribing to each other royal titles we haven…

NEW STORY⚡️🐸

“The Surrogate” by Sara Kaplan-Cunningham is now up!

Art by Catalina Blake

flash-frog.com/2026/01/26/t...

Those of you who've been enjoying the Welkin shortlist, the vote for the People's Prize is now OPEN! 👇

And if you've not been reading these incredible micros, you can do so here: www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stories

*adorable

Not that this little guy wasnt adorbale but the cardinal did steal the show

I think I had one of these in my yard as well. I wasn't sure!

If we'd said yes when you rang home to borrow four hundred dollars | MattKendrick.co.uk

Today's shortlisted story is "If we'd said yes when you rang home to borrow four hundred dollars" by
@gilloshaughnessy.bsky.social. A one-sentence marvel full of so much sadness and yearning:

www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stori...

Well, this is a first and a wonderful honor to be included!!! So excited!! Thank you @smokelong.bsky.social !

The SmokeLong Workshop Prize — The Long List - SmokeLong Quarterly Each year, SmokeLong hosts The SmokeLong Workshop Prize competition, a free-to-enter competition for anyone who’s participated in a SmokeLong workshop. To date, our workshop participants (past and cur...

The SmokeLong Workshop Prize Long List just went live. It has been a mountain of great work. We received just over 400 entries from our workshop participants in 2025. Congratulations to all! www.smokelong.com/the-smokelon...

Raw Lit - Issue 8 is live!
rawlit.weebly.com/issue8.html

Have a 100 word micro up in Nunum done in a 100 anthology - a pics that was curated at the @smokelong.bsky.social workshop! Thank you editors!

AMAZING NEWS 🤩Contributor Lia Hagen's WHAT WE BROKE, from our January Issue, is featured in the Memoir Monday Roundup!! Thank you to @memoirland.bsky.social & check out the list: buff.ly/BiEmTuZ

Find WHAT WE BROKE here: buff.ly/s9v6HdU

Issue 39 (2nd Anniversary Issue) - Gooseberry Pie Lit Magazine Photo by Andrew S on Unsplash This is hard for me to believe but it’s Gooseberry Pie’s 2nd anniversary. I launched in December 2023 with our first issue published on January 18, 2024. I want to thank ...

@csquareh.bsky.social
Read Christine’s micros from 2nd anniversary issue @gooseberrypielit.bsky.social
“Prey”
“Splintered”
…story links in comments…

gooseberry-pie.com/issue-39-2/

The Curator Who Counted Shadows | MattKendrick.co.uk

Today's shortlisted story is "The Curator Who Counted Shadows" by Vaishnavi Pusapati. A beautifully crafted evocation of character and place:

www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stori...

weak beans | MattKendrick.co.uk

Today's shortlisted story is "weak beans" by
Barnaby Wick. A piece which effectively covers so much narrative in such such an original tone of voice:

www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stori...

January 2026 Ten stories picked by Chris Scott

This month's #Mondettes picked by @iamchrisscott.bsky.social

⚡Ten wonderful flash fictions
🔍Ten splashes of analysis as to why Chris made these brilliant picks
🪴Three fantastic prompts to get you writing

mondettes.substack.com/p/january-2026

We Never Forgot - Gooseberry Pie Lit Magazine Photo by kub liz on Unsplash by Francine Witte We never forgot the pinch of time, my father always in a hurry and my mother clicking shut her compact, her never-shiny nose.  We were always late, my si...

"We would never leave without my sister, her ringlets like ever-swimming ducks around her face." A stunner @francinewitte.bsky.social @gooseberrypielit.bsky.social
gooseberry-pie.com/we-never-for...

Join SmokeLong for a reading and interview with Patricia Q. Bidar to celebrate the publication of Pardon Me for Moonwalking. January 31, 9pm NYC. DM us for an invitation!

Smoke Signals with Nadia Born - SmokeLong Quarterly First, let me say congratulations. I love “the sentence tree.” I’m a huge linguistics nerd, and when I saw your title in our queue, I was intrigued. Did your micro start out with diagramming sentences...

"...voice, language, imagination." Nadia Born is our featured author this week. Read Melissa Llanes Brownlee's interview with the author at smokelong dot com and then "the sentence tree," a finalist for The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest. www.smokelong.com/interviews/s...

The Bit Part Actress | MattKendrick.co.uk

Today's shortlisted story is "The Bit Part Actress" by
Jo Withers. A brilliant character study that ironically (given the first sentence) brings its protagonist fully to life:

www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stori...

Pattern | MattKendrick.co.uk

Today's shortlisted story is "Pattern" by
David Anson Lee. A micro that uses anadiplosis to such great effect:

www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stori...