The Milk House

Rural Lit Book Club: This is Happiness by Niall Williams – The Milk House Some discussion questions to consider for the Rural Literature Book Club on This is Happiness by Niall Williams.

The #RuralLitBookClub is meeting online this Sunday, August 10th, 6pm GMT/1pm EST to discuss #ThisIsHappiness by Niall Williams.

Come along for a fun chat!

www.themilkhouse.org/rural-lit-bo...

The Escapee’s Lover by Dennis McFadden – The Milk House An old man gets another taste of life, as well as insight into someone else's, in Dennis McFadden's short story "The Escapee's Lover."

This week on #TheMilkHouse: An old man gets a chance at another adventure, in Dennis McFadden's short story "The Escapee's Lover."

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/the-escapees...

Submissions Sought for 2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest | Agriland It is always particularly exciting to see writing from farmers and those from rural environments...

A big thanks to @agriland.bsky.social for featuring a story on the 2025 #BestinRuralWriting contest, co-sponsored with @dailyyonder.bsky.social!

Agriland is a great news source for those in rural Ireland, and we're grateful they've given us coverage.

www.agriland.ie/farming-news...

Best in Rural Writing Contest Shows the Value of Rural Stories The 2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest is accepting submissions until Sept. 15, 2025, offering an important platform for rural writers.

Thanks to @dailyyonder for sharing a piece on why the #BestinRuralWriting Contest matters and what's at stake when stories about rural life aren't told.

Get your entries in by September 15th for judge @jamesgwriter.bsky.social.

dailyyonder.com/best-in-rura...

Johnny’s Coming! by Gwylym Ford – The Milk House One never knows what will dig up the past, in Gwylym Ford's story "Johnny's Coming!," shortlisted for the 2024 Best in Rural Writing Contest.

This week on #TheMilkHouse: An old eccentric in a small town holds secrets that no one guessed.

Enjoy "Johnny's Coming!" by Gwyl Weatherford.

www.themilkhouse.org/johnnys-comi...

Two months left to enter the 2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest!

In partnership with @dailyyonder.bsky.social and judged by @jamesgwriter.bsky.social, the #writingcontest is accepting fiction and nonfiction under 7,000 words.

Deadline: September 15th

To enter: themilkhouse.org/contest

The Seventh Whistler by Jonathan Humble – The Milk House "The landscape changed, the game unfurled, / a post-impressionistic dance..." read "The Seventh Whistler" by Jonathan Humble.

The landscape changed, the game unfurled,
a post-impressionistic dance,
as bird and hare and hound performed
in blurring April ambience...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: "The Seventh Whistler" by @northernjim.bsky.social)

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/the-seventh-...

A Body In Motion by Elizabeth Rosen – The Milk House In the short story "A Body in Motion" by Elizabeth Rosen, a teenager has the hard choice of when to hang on and when to let go.

This week on #TheMilkHouse:

A teenage boy has to learn when to hold on and when to let go, in Elizabeth Rosen's #shortstory "A Body in Motion."

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/a-body-in-mo...

The Milk House is excited to announce the 3rd annual #BestinRuralWriting Contest, judged by @jamesgwriter.bsky.social.

Fiction and nonfiction.

Deadline: Sept 15th, 2025.

Prize pool: $700.

Finalists published in the 2026 Best in Rural Writing print anthology.

To enter: themilkhouse.org/contest

Side of the Road by Simon A. Smith – The Milk House In Simon A. Smith's short story "Side of the Road," a stray dog helps a man find the answers he needs in his marriage.

This week on #TheMilkHouse: a chance encounter with an usual ally helps a man reconsider what's in front of him.

Read the short story "Side of the Road" by Simon A. Smith: www.themilkhouse.org/side-of-the-...

Haying seasons by Bill Conlogue – The Milk House Read the essay "Haying Seasons" by Bill Conlogue, shortlisted for the 2024 Best in Rural Writing Contest by judge Dr. Chea Parton.

On #TheMilkHouse: Bill Conlogue considers his father's life through the fieldwork he did, in his essay "Haying Seasons," shortlisted for the 2024 #BestinRuralWriting contest.

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/haying-seaso...

Cloud of Locusts by Michael Loyd Gray – The Milk House The fragility of making a life as a farmer is felt by everyone in the family, in Michael Loyd Gray's short story "Cloud of Locusts."

This week on #TheMilkHouse:

In the short story "Cloud of Locusts" by Michael Loyd Gray, one character faces the fragility of being a farmer in the modern world.

Read "Cloud of Locusts" here.

www.themilkhouse.org/cloud-of-loc...

Oyster World by Cayla Garman – The Milk House "...hoping I could grow your mind / past the limits of our watershed,..." Oyster World by Cayla Garman

You massacred those oysters
when we were girls,
wrenched them from the river mud...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: "Oyster World" by Cayla Garman.

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/oyster-world...

@billinberkeley.bsky.social

What We've Lost by Bill Smoot – The Milk House The past and the presence collapse in an all-too-familiar experience faced by those from a farm. Read "What We've Lost" by Bill Smoot.

This week on #TheMilkHouse:

The past and the present collapse in Bill Smoot's moving story "What We've Lost," sharing an experience faced by many who grew up on a farm.

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/what-weve-lo...

Maybe I’ll Catch a Second Wind and Other Poems by Luke Janicki – The Milk House "...say / look what I have found without knowledge of / having brought it there..." Enjoy three poems by Luke Janicki.

"Maybe I'll Catch a Second Wind," "Fire Extinguisher," and "Picking Mushrooms With Papa In Woodinville"
(@themilkhouse.bsky.social)

www.themilkhouse.org/maybe-ill-ca...

The Birth by Pearl Benjamin – The Milk House In "The Birth" by Pearl Benjamin, two characters realize that they have more than the life of a calf at stake.

This week on #TheMilkHouse:

In "The Birth" by Pearl Benjamin, two characters realize that they have more than the life of a calf at stake.

"The Birth" was a shortlisted story in the 2024 #BestinRuralWriting Contest.

Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/the-birth-by...

Dirty Laundry by Billie Pritchett – The Milk House In his essay "Dirty Laundry," Billie Pritchett explores the implications of growing up in a poor rural household.

This week on The Milk House: Billie Pritchett explores the implications of growing among the rural poor.

Read his essay "Dirty Laundry."

www.themilkhouse.org/dirty-laundr...

The 'Ol He Said, She Said: Writing Better Dialogue – The Milk House This online dialogue seminar will help you significantly improve your dialogue, from its mechanics to its content, with small edits.

It's this Sunday! Significantly improve your dialogue by learning these simple but essential edits.

Sunday, April 13th, 6pm GMT/ 1pm EST

Sign up here: www.themilkhouse.org/product/bett...

#fictionclasses #onlinewritingworkshop #onlinewritingclass

Milking Cows and Throwing Curves by Randy Hisner – The Milk House Randy Hisner explores the intersection of baseball and farming in his essay "Throwing Curves and Milking Cows."

This week on #TheMilkHouse:

Randy Hisner looks back on his father, who credits milking cows for helping him play major league baseball.

Read "Milking Cows and Throwing Curves," shortlisted for the 2024 #BestinRuralWriting Contest.

www.themilkhouse.org/milking-cows...

These Stone Walls by Áine Greaney – The Milk House Áine Greaney traverses countries and eras in her hybrid essay "These Stone Walls," using the past to try to make sense of the present.

This week on #TheMilkHouse"

A certain feature of the landscape becomes the dividers of countries and time in @ainegreaney.bsky.social's hybrid essay "These Stone Walls."

Read it here:

www.themilkhouse.org/these-stone-...

The first 2-hour #writingseminar from @TheMilkHouse
in 2025 is announced:

The Ol' He Said, She Said: How to Write Stronger Dialogue

April 13th, 2025 6pm GMT/ 1pm EST

$15/€15 (free for WRITER or SUPPORTER subscribers)

More info/Register here: www.themilkhouse.org/product/bett...

2025 Best in Rural Writing Judge: Jamie Guiney – The Milk House Jamie Guiney is a literary fiction writer from County Armagh, Northern Ireland. His short story collection The Wooden Hill (published by Epoque Press) was shortlisted under Best Short Story Collection...

The 2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest judge is Jamie Guiney (@jamesgwriter.bsky.social), author the short story collection #TheWoodenHill and the forthcoming novel #TheLightning.

Learn more about Jamie here: www.themilkhouse.org/2025-best-in...

It's my pleasure to get to share such excellent work.

I Confess and Other Poems by Kari Gunter-Seymour – The Milk House I’ve resorted to murder,/ here in my kitchen/ filled with basil, bee balm/ and thronging castes of blue-black crawlies—" Kari Gunter Seymour.

I’ve resorted to murder,
here in my kitchen
filled with basil, bee balm
and thronging castes of blue-black crawlies—

This week on #TheMilkHouse: I Confess and Other Poems by Poet Laureate of Ohio @karigunterseymour.bsky.social.

Read them here: www.themilkhouse.org/i-confess-an...

Poem appears in The Milk House newsletter

www.hiramlarewpoetry.com/post/a-poem-...

A monumental thanks to our readers.

The Milk House has moved to a subscription model, and the response has been humbling.

We're ready to take your support and do big things with it.

1/28

Feb is #ReadIndies month & each day I’ll feature a book from an indie publisher.

The Employees by Olga Ravn (trns Martin Aitkin) is strange & beautiful.

Told as a series of witness statements from a space crew it explores what means to be human.

www.lollieditions.com/books/the-em...

It's our pleasure to share such strong work.

A Way of Saving by Bradley David – The Milk House In the essay "A Way of Saving" by Bradley David, a packet of old seeds lead to a lot of hassle and some hard retrospection.

This week on #TheMilkHouse:

A packet of old seeds is the cause of much conflict and introspection, in the essay "A Way of Saving" by @bradley-david.com.

Read it here:

www.themilkhouse.org/a-way-of-sav...