Ewan's blog

Story and Poem of the Week, and Inspiration Point 22 March 2024 Some very good writing indeed this week. Give yourselves a pat on the back for making this job as difficult as ever. Story of the Week I very much liked Starfish Girl’s The Spa . Equally good were Parts 1 & 2 of Blighter’s Rock’s The Plan. But in the end Celticman was in competition with himself – and not for the first time – with The Little Lady and the eventual winner. So with...

I'm sure if you have any writing in print, you will have already have done this. However, if not, joining ALCS UK ensures you receive payment if any of your work has been photocopied/reproduced for use in schools/colleges/work seminars etc. I got a significant payment this year. Join ALCS, it is worth it. As you can see from the image, it comes at what - for me - is the worst month every year, March (no idea why). Oh, and join PLR too, which...

The International Welsh Poetry Competition is open for entries until 30th June. Poetry collections invited and A) You don't have to be Welsh. B) Poetry does not have to be about Wales. C) It is a genuinely open competition. Last time I entered, I was short-listed and I'm nobody. Welsh Poet Cathy Miles is the judge Find out more here

Choosing - as always - has proven very hard indeed. So, without further ado, or with “adon’t”, if you prefer, here goes. Story of the Week Special mention for Jane Hyphen’s long form piece ‘Parcel for you’ the latest instalment is here , but start here if you haven’t read any of it. Also of note were marandina’s Enoshima Pt1 & 2 However this week’s Story of the Week goes to ‘ Only Here for the Poets ’ part of Turlough’s account of his visit...

Story of the Week As always there are difficult choices to make. I enjoyed Justin Tuijl’s The Others , it read like silver age sci-fi, and if the lone inhabitant of a planet is a trope, well there are reasons for that: it’s a good way to create suspense or to explore what it is to be human. This story does that. Others I enjoyed included: Celticman’s Hellish Heaven Pts 1 & 2 SeanMcNulty (ABC’s own worthy successor to Flann O’Brien )‘s...

As usual our members made this the most difficult task of the week. Story of the Week Mark Burrow’s WIP continues to convince with a strong narrative voice. I look forward to seeing it in print one day. The latest instalment is here I enjoyed Marandina’s short about a family tragedy. This, too, benefits from a strong and believable narrative voice. ‘Those We Leave Behind’ is here This week’s Story of the Week goes to a tale by one of the most...

Quite difficult to choose again this week. Do keep up the good work, everyone. Poem of the week There were many contenders for the poem of the week. Lenchenelf’s powerful and topical piece Identity was particularly good, as was marandina’s Blagdon Lake in Winter This weeks POW award goes to MJG’s Mother-tongue -a really moving elegy for her mother. Story of the Week The continuing stories were much in evidence this week and I continued to enjoy...

I am presently sifting through about 500 of my own poems looking to compile a collection of about one hundred pages and 50+ pieces. It'll be self-published and only available on the 'Zon. Theoretically speaking - after all, you could read them on here if you wanted to look for them - what would you pay for a good quality paperback? I'm looking to set the price at £4.99, less than a fiver, Egad! Sarcasm and humourous posts will be ignored (unless...

Chosen by Ewan This just gets harder every time I do it. Well done to everyone who posted in the last week Story of the Week No beating about the bush, this week’s Story of the Week is Turlough’s Miss Australia 1978 in four parts. Miss Australia 1978 Pt One Miss Australia 1978 Pt Two Miss Australia 1978 Pt Three Miss Australia 1978 Pt Four I did enjoy returning member Sooz006’s continuing series Silas Nash catch it all here Celticman’s Goatie 17...