KM Elkes

Sounds great!

Microdosing Fiction: My Jockey by Lucia Berlin In this edition of Microdosing Fiction, I’m looking at the shimmeringly beautiful story My Jockey by Lucia Berlin.

"In just five paragraphs, this story distils an intense, ambiguous encounter between an emergency room nurse and an injured jockey into a layered and ambiguous meditation on vulnerability and masculinity, intimacy and maternal care, the real and the magical..."
kmelkes.substack.com/p/microdosin...

Rewriting Ideas on Editing - the latest FREE post on my Writing Talk Substack, about letting go of the binary idea of writing, then editing, and how there is a messy middle place of redevelopment, rewriting and re-visioning.

kmelkes.substack.com

I Hear Voices: Evoking Tone through Word Choice, Images and Style | MattKendrick.co.uk

Want to spend 90 minutes playing around with different voices?

Come join me next Saturday at 9 BST for "I Hear Voices" where we'll ponder the levels of voice, the constellation of tonal influences, and stuff like authenticity and balance:

www.mattkendrick.co.uk/live-worksho...

Thanks Jo. It was certainly a new challenge writing for radio!

I loved the way you drew out your characters and made us care - with almost no backstory - and in such a tiny space of words :)

Really grateful for your kind words - and for listening to the story!

Listened to this wonderful story this morning. So beautifully written.

Thanks so much for listening and posting Kik

Short Works - Snowbirds and Coyotes by KM Elkes - BBC Sounds After the death of her husband, Betty drives south from Ohio to the Arizona desert.

Incredible storytelling by @kmelkes.bsky.social here 😮

Short Works - After the Romans - BBC Sounds A fabular vision of the Dark Ages. New short fiction by Jo Lloyd, read by Jacob Ifan.

And if you need more, here's (ahem) something from me - not from this summer, but I did my best to squeeze all the essence of summer into it - don't know how much longer it'll be available, so do listen if you get the chance 😉 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Thanks so much for listening and the shout out Jo!

It found a home! Glad to have helped Angela.

I Was Made for Loving You The boys are staying overnight at their dad’s apartment for the first time. A perfect opportunity, I’m sure, for my ex to introduce them to his twenty-five-year-old tart.Flopped on my bed upstairs …

My 70s Gene Simmons story just dropped! Thank you @flashfictiononline.bsky.social and thanks to my @smokelong.bsky.social , @jdclappwrites.bsky.social and @kmelkes.bsky.social for earlier feedback and for generally enabling my foolishness! www.flashfictiononline.com/article/i-wa...

Looking forward to joining a roster of writing luminaries at the international Geneva Writers Conference in November. Hope to see some familiar faces there!

From the Bookshelf August 2025

Happy to share my August writing prompt on From the Bookshelf. Enjoy!

Microdosing Fiction 1: Mermaid In A Jar Thoughts, insights and guidance for analysing great writing

The first instalment of my Microdosing Fiction series. The premise is simple: I take a short fiction text and provide some thought and insights on specific elements of craft. Big benefits from small amounts.

open.substack.com/pub/kmelkes/...

WestWord Prize 2025 Winners Read the winning and shortlisted stories

Congratulations to WestWord Prize 2025 winners @quickasaflash.bsky.social, @joycebingham.bsky.social, Charlie Swailes and everyone on the shortlist. Thank you for trusting me with your work — what a fantastic selection of stories! 🌟🌟🌟
westword.substack.com/p/westword-p...

Our annual contest opens for submissions August 1st! This year's guest judge is Andrew Porter. Keep an eye out for our Q&A with Andrew soon.

Find more details about our contest here: pitheadchapel.com/larrybrown/

Final shoutout to the workshop hosts who gave me so much to write about.
@kmelkes.bsky.social
@judehiggins.bsky.social
@shelleyr-j.bsky.social
@vanessageb.bsky.social
@farhanashaikh.bsky.social

and the readers, my God, so much to love and be inspired by.
Thank you FFF2025, I loved it 🌟

Good to see you Rachael - albeit briefly!

As Bookbanks new Ambassador I’d like to spread the word about this brilliant charity giving books with food at food banks.

Please share and support if you’re able :)

www.bookbanks.co.uk

Thanks so much Elizabeth, appreciate it!

That’s galling. ☹️Unfortunately I think the BBC have changed or are changing their access to BBC Sounds for overseas listeners - something to do with licencing. I thought maybe it might be on BBC.com or the app, but clearly not easy to find…

You're invited to our Master Series interview and reading with Aimee Bender on August 9th! This event is free! And we'll be giving away lots of books. Sign up through the SmokeLong Shop by "purchasing" this event for $0 dolares!
www.smokelong.com/product/mast...

This is gloriously weird! Rockstars of flash writing together in @gooseberrypielit.bsky.social “If she is not present, he must go and find another one.”
@stillsquirrel.bsky.social @sarahillswrites.bsky.social @rosaleenlynch.bsky.social @jamesmontgomery.bsky.social

Go straight to small independent publishers eg Rose Metal Press, Ad Hoc Fiction etc.
it doesn’t normally matter if the pieces have been previously published as single flash fiction. My collection had a mix of new and published pieces.

Wow, thanks so much Patricia!

No, don’t even know I could have them! I do wish I’d asked for a burst of interlude music between the sections, but we live and learn.
Fingers crossed we both get some more opportunities for radio, I’d love to give it another go!

Thanks so much Dan, really appreciate you listening.