Insertponceyfrenchnamehere's blog

This week's Inspiration Point 'Night' has produced some marvellous work, and both our Picks this week are responses to the IP.

I'm very pleased to announce that John Osborne, who writes on ABCTales as mcmanaman has a new poetry collection out now! You can buy it here: Go Faster Stripe or if you're not in the UK try here: https://johnosborne.bandcamp.com/merch John's been a member of ABCTales forever, and he's recorded some of the poems on Soundcloud especiallly for us - they are brilliant so do listen to them, and if anyone doesn't know John's poems, I can really...

This is more difficult every week, in my experience. Story of the Week among some stiff competiton is Celticman's 'Vermin', a powerful piece leavened by some of Jack's deft comic touches. https://www.abctales.com/story/celticman/vermin Poem of the Week goes to Gothicman's 'The Senile Neurologist.' Best read aloud to appreciate its scansion and flowing rhymes, it is both funny and sad at the same time, which is no bad thing. https://www.abctales...

So many things to choose from as usual - particularly poetry, but my final choices are both from north of the border this week. Story of the Week goes to Peter Bennett for his two-parter Pawns which is part of his longer work in progress but you can easily read it out of context. A gritty and compelling read: https://www.abctales.com/story/peter-bennett/pawns-part-one https://www.abctales.com/story/peter-bennett/pawns-part-two Poem of the Week...

Our Story and Poem for the month of September have very kindly been chosen by london_calling79: As the days are drawing in and the diesel’s running low, where better to be than back at home again? Enjoy the cosiness or combat the boredom with some superb writing. Take a trip in the strange mastery of mitzi44’s bullnose-fronted sidecar, ‘The Busmar Astral.’ A masterpiece of metaphor which made me remember me own dear dad’s miscellaneous...

Discoveries: our writers’ development programme Submissions are now open for our 2022 Discoveries writing development programme – enter via the Curtis Brown submissions portal by 11:59pm on 17 January 2022 Discoveries invites unpublished women writers from the UK or Ireland to submit the opening of a novel in English, of up to 10,000 words. Unlike most initiatives of this kind, writers are not required to have finished their novel, and...

I'm very happy to announce that YOU (From Pissed to Publication) by ABCTales' very own Drew Gummerson is out now. You can buy it here: https://www.beardedbadgerpublishing.com/online-store/YOU-From-Pissed-to-... for the bargain price of £5 with free postage and I can say with 100% certainty that you will really really enjoy it - it's brilliant! Here's a review by Marandina: There are certain things everyone is supposed to do at least once in...

Many thanks, once again, for all the wonderful things that you've posted this week. Please keep them coming. It's rare that we would choose the same writer two weeks running, but that's how good The Long and Spectacular Life of Agnes Magnusdottir is! It's our Story of the Week again - big congratulations to drew_gummerson. Poem of the Week is Ed Crane's Be Careful What You Wish For which takes catasrophising to a whole new level and which I...

Chosen by Ewan. As always it is no burden to choose the Picks of the Month on ABCTales. Consistently high standards of writing often put me in awe of so many of our members. Celticman’s latest opus has begun: funny and earthy, his account of a new messiah arriving on Clydeside, ‘What Did Jesus Do?’ might sound a familiar concept, but it is much deeper than a famous comedy routine some of you might know. Rosalie Kempthorne’s Webworld continues to...