Insertponceyfrenchnamehere's blog

Two wonderful autobiographical pieces take the honours this week: Cannonette's Slip One, a slice of life about knitting and a nan who can do everything all at once, and Scorpio88's The Mechanic, a fleeting moment of a childhood summer. They are both brilliant - do read them! http://www.abctales.com/story/canonette/slip-one http://www.abctales.com/story/scorpio88/mechanic-0 For this week's Inspiration Point I give you a phrase that's been in the...

Pete and I have been reading and rereading like mad for the past few weeks - all the stunning poetry and prose that makes ABC such a wonderful community to be a part of, and I think it would be fair to say that nailing the very best is the hardest thing we’ve collectively done. Here are our Picks of the Year for 2014 - we hope you like them as much as we did! For the Story of the Year it’s a tie: both very different but equally wonderful...

Congratulations this week, (for the second time in a row!) to Old Jack is Back for his excellent Janus in a Dinner Jacket, and also to Sean McNulty for Christmas Game Over using a format borrowed from the Fighting Fantasy books. It's set at a Christmas party and works surprisingly well! http://www.abctales.com/story/old-jack-back/janus-dinner-jacket http://www.abctales.com/story/sean-mcnulty/christmas-game-over Here's this week's Inspiration...

Sometimes less is more, and there's no better example of this than our Story of the Week - love-writing's dispassionate account of the loss of her baby at birth: http://www.abctales.com/story/lovewriting/amy Congratulations also to Parson Thru for Broken Faith, our Poem of the Week, which is a simple yet powerful reaction to recent events: http://www.abctales.com/story/parson-thru/broken-faith The Inspiration Point for today is The Shortest Day...

Here's something to look forward to next month - one of ABC's legendary readings at the wonderful Wheatsheaf in Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia. We usually start around 7 - 7.30 pm and finish by 9.30. We'll be reminding you nearer the time, but for now, do email us if you'd like to read - we only have a fixed number of places. If you've never been to one before, it's a lovely relaxed evening in a beautiful place - do try to come!

Two wonderful Picks of the Week today. Story of the Week goes to Noo's beautiful piece inspired by Iggy Pop and love_writing's stunning Black Fog was a no-brainer for Poem of the Week: http://www.abctales.com/story/noo/skylines-and-angels http://www.abctales.com/story/lovewriting/black-fog For this week's Inspiration Point I am nicking the idea from Noo. Take a song and go from there - anyway you fancy. Good luck!

Big congratulations this week to Linda Wigzell Cress for her three-part biography of her grandmother - a fascinating insight into early twentieth century Bermondsey, and again with London as a theme, but definitely another time and another place, john_silver's wonderfully bitter Poem in a Nice Suit: http://www.abctales.com/story/linda-wigzell-cress/bermondsey-girls-eliza... http://www.abctales.com/story/linda-wigzell-cress/bermondsey-girls-eliza...

This week's poetry pick was nominated by another ABC writer and I can't think of a better c hoice. Please do send us your nominations - we don't get enough! Congratulations to Scratch for his sparse, enigmatic Unknown Girl: http://www.abctales.com/story/scratch/unknown-girl Congratulations also to The Other Terrence Oblong, who just gets better and better, for his brilliantly witty piece The Work Problem: http://www.abctales.com/story/other-...

Congratulations this week to Bee for her stunning, multi-layered piece on memories, and to Barely Black Francis for his wonderful poem on parenthood: http://www.abctales.com/story/barely-black-francis/maudlin-tuesday-after... http://www.abctales.com/story/bee/all-ghosts-us As for the Inspiration Point, well, with Halloween next Friday it's a bit of a no brainer isn't it: poetry or prose with some reference to ghosts . Good luck!

Congratulations this week go to Mark Brown for one of the best pieces of flash fiction I've read and to Ewan for his wonderfully dark poem: http://www.abctales.com/story/markbrown/those-we-leave-behind http://www.abctales.com/story/ewan/light-gibbous-moon This week's Inspiration Point is poetry or prose on the theme of moving - and you can interpret that any way you want. Don't forget if you have an idea for the Inspiration Point we'd love to...