Pick of the day
Ghosted: A Meteorology
Posted by VeraClark on Fri, 08 May 2026
Clouds live on average for about ten minutes.
His cooking pot is pigeon grey and sturdy with non-scald handles. It still has a glass jar of rusty ground paprika inside it, a concertina bag of basmati rice.
It is psychologically ruinous to see the cooking pot. I put it in the back of the pantry space, cover it with a carrier bag.
Read moreStory of the week

Amanderella Gottsnobbler and the Bangolin Tree Chapter 6
Posted by Eric Marsh on Fri, 08 May 2026
Chapter 6.A Letter arrives.
After Mrs Thimblewick left, Amanderella’s mother sat for a long moment in the garden chair, the newspaper clipping trembling slightly in her hand. Lectures. In the city. Parrots. Vines with opinions. Tea and biscuits. It was all too much.Read more
Poem of the week
I heard the cuckoo sing today …
Posted by Rhiannonw on Thu, 07 May 2026
I heard the cuckoo sing today … this welcome gentle sound of spring …
Read moreFeatures
Story and Poem of the Month
Our Story and Poem of the Month for April, very kindly chosen by Airyfairy
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“The Way We Heard”: A New Fiction Challenge for ABCtales
“The Way We Heard”: A New Fiction Challenge for ABCtales
This new fiction challenge is sponsored by Cerasus who will donate £100 to ABCtales if all the criteria are met.
Read moreThe ABCtales Superpoem Challenge – The Final Outcome
Huge thanks to Turlough for his brilliant idea, his very generous donation to ABCTales, and to all ABCTalers who joined in. I hope you'll agree that the result was most definitely worth it!
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Family Man by Colin Burnett. Review!
I'm very pleased to annnounce the publication of Colin Burnett's new book 'Family Man'
Read moreWant to join ABCTales?
We've had to suspend the automatic joining facility for a while so if you would like to join us please email
Read moreBee's Journey
Picks of the Month

After You'd Gone
Posted by Angusfolklore on Sat, 11 Apr 2026
After you'd gone, sometimes we would wake
and find you still there
in the favourite chair,
in the dust-ridden front room
alive with the sunlight streaming in.
And we would speak in surprise,
asking where had you been.
But you could do nothing
but stare through the cathedral beams
of the morning sun
that magnified your presence.
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Bron-33
Posted by Ivan the OK-ish on Tue, 21 Apr 2026
Continued from Chapter 32: Bron-32 | ABCtales
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