Save the date! We’re excited to share that we will launch our 2027 anthology at The Birmingham & Midland Institute on NFFD (12 June), with a day of readings & workshops. Tickets will be available in the spring. Watch this space for details of our anthology theme, editors, etc. www.bmi.org.uk

The Birmingham & Midland Institute | A Place for Endless Learning

Explore BMI's history, Grade II*-listed in Birmingham. Host events at this seat of learning, supporting our legacy since 1854

bmi.org.uk

"The chin of her X-ray resembled tiny dice. Her bones shattered the palms of her tender skin. She’d scraped for a long time. Her two teeth had broken off, helpless and perfumed." Everything @kathyfish.bsky.social writes is magic & this is no exception. Again, she teaches us what language can do! ❤️🔥

Kathy Fish@kathyfish.bsky.social · last wk.

There are FORTY-TWO gorgeous flashes in Ghost Parachute's 10th anniversary issue and you should read them all. I'm about 3/4th of the way through. Very grateful to be included with my piece, "Archaeology," which I'd love for you to read while you're at it. 💙 ghostparachute.com/issue/octobe...

"A warm wind stirred the palm fronds. The streetlights buzzed. How many more minutes until it was a whole new year?" Love this tender flash from @patriciaqbidar.bsky.social. Such a gorgeous time capsule poised on the cusp of coming-of-age. ❤️ ghostparachute.com/issue/octobe...

The Hippies — Ghost Parachute

I sliced my hand with a steak knife the day after Christmas, sneaking leftover pie. The wound stung and pulsed. I made my way to the sink, rinsed my hand over the piled dishes. It hurt. The water ran ...

ghostparachute.com

Woohoo! It's a dream to be in Ghost Parachute w/ my weird little rhesus monkey story! Immense thanks to @brettpribble.bsky.social for welcoming me into the 10th Anniversary issue w/ so many writers I admire, and thanks to Brett J Barr for the gorgeous artwork. ❤️❤️❤️ ghostparachute.com/issue/octobe...

Primate Signaling — Ghost Parachute

Bob and I are at the zoo, checking out the macaques from the wide viewing window, when I notice a muscular man in a tiger t-shirt checking out Bob’s ass. And even though coming here on a token date wa...

ghostparachute.com

Wowza! Happy 10th Anniversary to Ghost Parachute!!! 🥳❤️

Brett Pribble@brettpribble.bsky.social · last wk.

The 10 Year Anniversary Issue of Ghost Parachute is here! Cover illustrated by @genevievetyrrell.bsky.social. ghostparachute.com/issue/octobe...

"Sharp splinters blossom from each socket, like shattered kernels of hard winter corn." and "My teeth clink. Chimes in the wind, milk-shot pearls nestled in my hands. A collection, incomplete." Oof! Love this visceral and gorgeously wrought dark flash from @mynachang.bsky.social. 🔥❤️

Myna Chang@mynachang.bsky.social · last wk.

Wow, look at this ginormous 10-year anniversary issue of Ghost Parachute! I'm thrilled to be part of the line-up, and I can't wait to dig into all the stories! Check out my micro, "Shattered Across the Night!" And thanks to Brooksie C. Fontaine for the cool illustration!

"What a view, what freedom. No longer would they squat obediently in back gardens and down the side-alleys like tethered pets." "But how will their families manage without them?" Wheeee! The depth & relatability. Such an absolutely brilliant story from @fionamckay.bsky.social in Ghost Parachute.🔥❤️

Fiona McKay@fionamckay.bsky.social · last wk.

Hey, I have a story in the amazing 10th Anniversary issue of Ghost Parachute 😍 It’s about bins!! (And yes, it’s a metaphor!!) Thanks so much to @brettpribble.bsky.social and @brooksiesbooks.bsky.social for the amazing illustration ghostparachute.com/issue/octobe...

Hi y’all! You know what would be rad? If you came to my remote launch party for Family Night on Oct 24 @1pm ET. More info in the alt text and at the registration link below. aniking.net/launchparty/

Amirite tho

Writers, if, like me, you're proud of your non-AI work, when you share a new story, maybe you could share your Pangram result too?

Suzanne (writing as S A Greene)@sagreene1.bsky.social · 2w ago

And just to prove it…

A plea to Lit mags - please check the stories you select for AI. I've been putting some with some 'tells' through Pangram and some highly prestigious lit mags have recently published stories with percentages of suspected AI, including one that is 100% AI!!! #AIslop

Please sign up for this class and help me buy a new car! www.cleavermagazine.com/classes/ HOPPERAEROBICS!: A 2-Hour Excursion into the Museum of Narrative Instructor: Sarah Freligh Date: Sunday, October 25, 2-4 PM ET Open to poets and prosers and all those who are word-curious. Cost: $60.

Classes • Cleaver Magazine % %

Find community and grow your craft in our online workshops. We host both synchronous and asynchronous courses using Zoom and Canvas, an easily accessible, private online platform. Whether you’re a new...

cleavermagazine.com

What? Is it this time already? The deadline for the latest £1400 prize fund BFFA is coming round again Closes Sun 4th Oct. Just under TWO weeks. For up to 300 word micros. All 50 longlisted writers are offered publication in our 2026 anthology. Results end Oct. Bathflashfictionaward.com/enter

Colorful Neon Number 2

ALT: Colorful Neon Number 2

static.klipy.com

THIS!

Fiona McKay@fionamckay.bsky.social · 2w ago

My writing is 100% human because I’m a Small Language Mammal not a Large Language Model #StopAI

I don't usually write about sex but @sarahillswrites.bsky.social fun workshop at @flashficfestuk.bsky.social inspired me. Excited my story found a home in the fabulous @bulbregion.bsky.social! bulbregion.com/Ophelia-in-B...

Ophelia in Brooklyn, by Beth Sherman — The Bulb Region

Ophelia in Brooklyn — Beth Sherman JAMES MAKES LOVE WEARING a Kim Kardashian...

bulbregion.com

"and when I woke up, I told her about it, how real it seemed. Roland Barthes, for Pete’s sake." This is easily one of the best micros of all time. ❤️⚡ Such superb writing from @alimcg.bsky.social in @fictivedream.bsky.social

Fictive Dream@fictivedream.bsky.social · last mo.

"That dream where Marianne said she’d found a reference to one of my stories in a Roland Barthes essay" by Ali McGrane @alimcg.bsky.social #microfiction #MicroMonday. Please follow the link and enjoy fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/m...

"In the supply closet of the Paramus Walmart, Jeremy takes out his phone and his father’s credit card and dials 1-800-TITS." "Um, can you put me on with Miranda? he asks, hating how whiny and young he sounds." ❤️🔥 SO much love for this one from @bsherm36.bsky.social in @brightflash1500.bsky.social

bsherm36.bsky.social@bsherm36.bsky.social · last mo.

Thrilled to be back in @brightflash1500.bsky.social with my story, "Talking Dirty," created in a @sarahillswrites.bsky.social workshop at the Flash Fiction Festival in Bristol. brightflash1000.com

"I don't want to make this all about feet, but it kind of is." and "I could have bent it with my mind." Brilliant new story from @kathyfish.bsky.social. I love everything about it — the weirdness, the humor, the fact that I can hear the whole thing in her inimitable voice. Perfection! ❤️❤️❤️

Kathy Fish@kathyfish.bsky.social · last mo.

Hey friends, there's a new journal in town, called The Menu, and I'm in their debut issue alongside some greats! Wouild love for you to read my weird micro and the whole issue. 💙 www.durtybeanz.com/kathy-fish

Hey lit mag editors. We've been worried about AI companies scraping Split Lip's site to train their models. We just learned that our web host, SquareSpace, has a native feature that allows us to stop some of this. It was quick & easy for our web editor to put in place. I encourage you to do the same

Staring down the eye of AI with our little spear.

@pmamtraveller.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Moby Dick by artist Gerard DuBois

I want to help you write your best flash fiction this fall! Since the class is asynchronous, you can work on your own schedule, take a deep dive into the examples, and try these craft moves in your own writing! I'll have examples of flash fiction and Flash CNF, so everyone is welcome!

This class is almost full! I just had a star flash fiction writer sign up ❤️.

Cheryl Pappas@cherylpappas.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Some news! Hermit Crab Flash Fiction Workshop Sunday, 9/27, 2026 1–5pm (ET) Online $80 In this highly generative four-hour writing workshop, you’ll write three flash using found forms. Lots of feedback, lots of work, lots of fun! Click here for the sign-up info: www.cherylpappas.net/events

Oooh! Love the sound of this! 😍 Congratulations @tcboudreau.bsky.social. I can't wait to read it!!

Timothy Boudreau@tcboudreau.bsky.social · 2mo ago

A former sitcom star meets the residents of a North Country trailer park... See what happens next in my new collection Stepdad on the Dance Floor. Available to preorder below from @unsolicitedpress.bsky.social

Before I take a bit of a break from Welkin things, it would be remiss of me not to say one big massive thank you to @chriscottom.bsky.social @pleomorphic2.bsky.social @mynachang.bsky.social & @susmitab.bsky.social for their brilliant judging. Also, a big thank you to everyone who entered...

The Welkin Press@welkinpress.bsky.social · 2mo ago

So sad that the Welkin Genre Prize has come to an end. Missed any of these brilliant pieces? Or just want to read them again? So many gems to discover / re-discover here: www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stories

📌 Editors — I know you care about integrity & I'm sorry to say, but *PLEASE* run your acceptances thru a safe/robust AI-detector like Pangram before publishing. In fact, start w/your latest issue & run each story/poem/essay, esp those from 'reputable' writers. It's disheartening how many are genAI.💔

StephenHenighan@stephenhenighan.bsky.social · 5mo ago

The Commonwealth debacle shows you can no longer run a litmag on trust. www.theargumentmag.com/p/the-litera...

Today’s the day! I know everyone’s licking ice cream and chilling the hell out phone-free but I’m as chuffed as chips to have a book out with @stanchion.bsky.social TODAY!♥️🍦🧘🏼🧘🏽‍♀️

Stanchion@stanchion.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Happy publication day to @kiklodge.bsky.social!! "Enter a world of desperately funny, offbeat & often emotionally isolated characters, like a woman with a penchant for BDSM having a heart-to-heart with Maria Von Trapp in the waiting room at the gynaecologist's office" - @megpokrass.bsky.social

I for one think that if you’re a literary journal who opposes AI in any writing submissions, you should also never use AI for any artwork on your site. Seems like a no-brainer! Support all artists, not just writers. And yet! A lot of journals seem ok with AI art. Please change this policy, folks!

Who wants a (hopefully) expert set of eyes on their story? I've got a quiet non-Welkin inbox at the moment and I don't want to be sat there twiddling my thumbs 😀

Matt Kendrick@mattkendrick.bsky.social · 2mo ago

FYI, 10% discount on my short-fiction editing services for the rest of August. 🙂 All the details here: prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com/p/the-editor...

Seriously, friends. If you're interested in this sort of thing, just stop. This will not help you. It will ruin your reputation. There are a lot of ways to improve your writing that don't involve lying, cheating, or stealing. Find a (free) human writing group! Take a class! Practice on your own!

Myna Chang@mynachang.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Auto block! #fuckAI

"seven minutes on a street corner against the fishing-line twitch of prior commitments" and "that sharp, strange little question" What a wonder this one is. A great sense of scene and movement, the looping of time and circumstance and heart. Congratulations, Amy Luxton! @welkinpress.bsky.social 🎉❤️

The Welkin Press@welkinpress.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🌻🌈😀 WINNER of the Joy Prize, "Spring, Seven Years Later" by Amy Luxton Such a beautifully-crafted and evocative scene the swells towards a wonderful realisation of happiness: www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stori...