It had come again, rising from within, a murmur—the awful scrabbling, the horrid scritch, scritch, scritch—a rat between the walls, desperate for a way out. from Nick Young’s #shortstory Nocturne theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/nocturne #writingcommunity #horror #fiction

Nocturne

Nick Young

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

We all grieve differently. For the past six months my son became quiet and withdrawn. He had felt the loss of his mother... from Gregory Smith’s #shortstory The Phone in the Park theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/the-phone-... #writingcommunity #fiction #grief

The Phone in the Park

Gregory Smith

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

For a long time, blackness and pain were the totality of my being. Often, I questioned my own existence. In this realm, time had no meaning. from Benjamin Cooper’s #shortstory Orion Beckons theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/orion-beck... #writingcommunity #fiction #scifi

Orion Beckons

Benjamin Cooper

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

Godfried Schalken—one of his country's best artists—suffered two losses of late: Gerrit Dou, his mentor and Rose, Gerrit's niece—the one he gave his love to. from Dee Allen’s #shortstory Arched Smile theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/arched-smile #writingcommunity #horror #fiction

Arched Smile

Dee Allen

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

Next month, we’ll begin our Fall 2026 Literary Series. In the meantime, you can look back on the fiction featured in the last series. theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/fiction-fr... #Writingcommunity #reading #fiction #scifi #horror #shortstories

Fiction from Spring 2026 Literary Series

Next month, we’ll begin our Fall 2026 Literary Series.

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

#Literature event on August 29 (Saturday) featuring writers from #Korea and #Palestine. Discussion on literature, life, history, and exposing human rights abuses against Palestinian detainees. #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #seoulevents #seoul

Smiley Companions: An elderly widow’s Sunday routine is disrupted when a grinning wooden doll arrives, bringing with it a sinister force and a choice between painful memories and madness. cgacosta.substack.com/p/smiley-com... #writingcommunity #fiction #horror #dokkaebi #koreanmythology

Smiley Companions

Smiley Companions: An elderly widow’s Sunday routine is disrupted when a grinning wooden doll arrives, bringing with it a sinister force and a choice between painful memories and madness.

cgacosta.substack.com

Last weekend, I attended a Palestine cultural event in Seoul. It was about tatreez. What’s #tatreez? It’s a centuries-old Palestinian embroidery art form that has deep cultural meaning and is a symbol of Palestinian identity and #resistance. #writingcommunity #palestineculture #embroidery

I came across this article about poet Wang Jibing, a food delivery driver in China, winning a top literary prize! www.bbc.com/news/article... #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #poetry #awesomenews

Food delivery rider wins China's top literary prize

Wang Jibing is among blue-collar Chinese workers gaining wider attention for their literary works.

bbc.com

Well, yes, in case it might become relevant, I am technically a custard pie with eyes. Eyes that watch the sad revolving door at the end of the avenues. #Poem: What I Should Know Jeffrey Zable theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/what-i-sho... #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #poetry

What I Should Know

Jeffrey Zable

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

“Do you know who I am!?” was his favorite line for those who weren’t giving him the attention he felt he deserved. #Poem: The Chastisement Jeffrey Zable theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/the-chasti... #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity

The Chastisement

Jeffrey Zable

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

Yes, I sent away for another promotion, the email was so nice, never telling me time was running out in big letters, and I appreciated that lack of pressure. #Poem: The Garden is Open Ben Nardolilli theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/the-garden... #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity

The Garden is Open

Ben Nardolilli

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

"Back home there is a girl, This girl she sang the blues. We ask her why she does, And she just sings this song." #Poem: My Sailor is at War J.C. Moore theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/my-sailor-... #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #poetry #war #sailor

My Sailor is at War

J.C. Moore

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

"our portraits in crimson ink stains binary lines you draw as a failed architect" #Poem: Rolex Erin Jamieson theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/rolex #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #poetry #poems

Rolex

Erin Jamieson

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

"I’m doing my best to save a man from drowning. But I’m on the beach and he’s two hundred yards or more from shore." #Poem: My Best John Grey theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/my-best #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #poetry #beach #savinglife

My Best

John Grey

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

"The air’s full of funerals lately – a dirge in the distance, a cough in the pews, so much ashes to ashes, and dust to dust..." #Poem: The Honking Dead John Grey theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/the-honkin... #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #funerals #death

The Honking Dead

John Grey

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

"I am the petal folding inward, edges soft, the color fading, time has traced its lines upon me like the slow hands of the sun." #Poem: From a Flower Wilting to a Flower Blooming Robert Greene theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/from-a-flo... #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #lgbt #love

From a Flower Wilting to a Flower Blooming

Robert Joseph Greene

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

"I’m telling you this dude was just a carpenter with hammers in his satchel—he vanished.." #Poem: Working Crowd Control John Davis theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/working-cr... #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #poetry #johnthebaptist

Working Crowd Control

John Davis

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

"Ancient cartographers knew the danger of living on the edge: they warned of dragons beyond..." #Poem: On the Borderline Jeannette de Beauvoir theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/on-the-bor... #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity #liminalspaces #poetry

On the Borderline

Jeannette de Beauvoir

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

"Birds dropping out of the sky: burning..." #Poem: Fire Breathing Jeannette de Beauvoir theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/fire-breat... #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #poems #poetry #climatechange #fire #environment #earth

Fire Breathing

Jeannette de Beauvoir

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

Our Fall 2026 Literary Series will begin in September. In the meantime, you can look back on the #poems that were featured in our last series. theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/poetry-fro... #writingcommunity #poetry

Poetry from Spring 2026 Literary Series

Our Fall 2026 Literary Series will begin in September.

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

Butterfly Bullets You said you couldn’t bring me the book, You didn't want to risk getting flagged at the airport. Why? It's just #poetry. Continue reading at cgacosta.substack.com/p/butterfly-... #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #poem #antiwar

Butterfly Bullets

You said you couldn’t bring me the book, You didn't want to risk getting flagged at the airport. Why?

cgacosta.substack.com

Veteran Boston crime reporter Ted Halloran becomes the main character in a serial killer's intricate revenge plot. DEADLINE - NICK YOUNG theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/deadline #bookrec #reading #writingcommunity #crimethriller #fiction

Deadline

Nick Young

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

From the contemplative and somber to darkly #humorous and #surreal, Zable’s #poetry captures the complexity and #humor of life. When I’m Dead and Feeling Blue - Jeffrey Zable theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/when-im-de... #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #bookrecommendation #poems

When I'm Dead and Feeling Blue

Jeffrey Zable

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

In a city where #gentrification and #displacements are the norm, and squatting is seen as a viable means to live for the less fortunate... The Mansion - Dee Allen theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/the-mansion #writingcommunity #bookrecommendation #poetrycollection #homelessness

The Mansion

Dee Allen

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

A bold and captivating collection of stories exploring gay male love, #identity, and desire across cultures and time. The Gay Icon Classics of the World Robert Joseph Greene theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/the-gay-ic... #bookrecommendation #writingcommunity #lgbt #shortstory

The Gay Icon Classics of the World Volume I & II

Robert Joseph Greene

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

These #poems reveal the concrete and artistic expression of the poet’s various moods and thoughts in emotional and rhythmic language. Bittersweet - John Grey theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/bittersweet #writingcommunity #poetrycollection #poetrycommunity #bookrecommendation

Bittersweet

John Grey

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

Diagnosed as a toddler with Type III Osteogenesis Imperfecta—commonly known as Brittle Bone Disease—Greg Smith was told his life would be short and painful. Stronger Than Bone - Gregory Smith theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com/p/stronger-t... #writingcommunity #memoir #bookrecommendation

Stronger Than Bone

Gregory Smith

theonesbehindthebookshelves.substack.com

Browse through the Co-op Shelf for your next book! There are several books from #poetry collection to #crimethriller. substack.com/home/post/p-... #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #reading #books #bookrecommendation

Are you looking for something to read?

Browse through the Co-op Shelf for your next book.

substack.com

A Good Father “He was a good father,” she recalled of her late father who had burned other fathers [First published in The Inflectionist Review, 2026] —g.a.costa cgacosta.substack.com #poetrycommunity #poem #writingcommunity

g.a.costa | theonesbehindthebookshelves | Substack

g.a.costa's poetry and fiction. Click to read g.a.costa, by theonesbehindthebookshelves, a Substack publication. Launched 3 months ago.

cgacosta.substack.com