Pick of the day
The Way We Heard: Wannabe (1996)
Posted by airyfairy on Tue, 28 Jul 2026
What Fran wants is peace and quiet and a Chicken Tikka Masala. Or does she?
Read moreStory of the week
Ghosts
Posted by hudsonmoon on Sat, 25 Jul 2026
Another ghost.Getting crowded around here.
Not that I mind. I enjoy the company. Been surrounded by ghosts my whole life: grandparents; parents; aunts; uncles: brothers; a son.
Also a smattering of dogs and cats. Dogs mostly. Most recently there was Baxter.
Baxter belonged to our son Sam. When Baxter was orphaned we adopted the gentle beast. That was 12 years ago.Read more
Poem of the week
A Better World
Posted by marandina on Mon, 27 Jul 2026
Remembering the most recent US election in 2024
A Better World
I dreamt of a better world,
of Satchmo and red roses too,
no slings and arrows hurled,
perennial peace renewed anew.
The problem being I awoke,
woke to the result of an election,
Read moreFeatures
Story and Poem of the Month
Our Story and Poem of the Month for July, very kindly chosen by Mark Say:
Story of the Month
Read moreStory and Poem of the Week and Inspiration Point
Firstly I'd like to say a huge thank you, both to Cerasus Poetry for the idea and the very generous donation offered, and to everyone who's joined in with his fiction challenge, The Way We Heard, which comes to an end today.
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Son of September by SoulFire77 - Available for Pre-order!
I'm very pleased to announce that J. Oliver Padgett who writes on ABCTales as SoulFire77 has a new book coming out. Here's what he says:
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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 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
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Posting From Your Android Phone - Fixed!
Some of you have been having issues with posting your work using an android phone. Ewan and John our techie have been working really hard to fix this.
Read moreBee's Journey
Picks of the Month
Clearing Out
Posted by maudsy on Sun, 12 Jul 2026
How do you unpick a life?
A Silver Spoon?
A Stanley Knife?
A riddle rewritten eighty times
A code of unsolved
Synaptic rhymes
Ten pairs of pants stuffed in a drawer
All large, all beige
And never worn
A hundred pairs of sports socks stabled
In wicker baskets
Each one labelled
Who never ran nor joined a gym
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The Way We Heard: Three Coins In The Fountain (1954) (Pt.1)
Posted by airyfairy on Tue, 21 Jul 2026
A family in the aftermath of events.
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