Insertponceyfrenchnamehere's blog

We're just about to begin the difficult task of reading through all the wonderful prose and poetry to find the Picks of the Year, but in the meantime here are this week's picks: Story of the Week goes to Lord of the Flies by Stephen Thom - a fabulously unsettling, disturbing, other-worldly nightmare: http://www.abctales.com/story/stephen-thom/lord-flies Poem of the Week is Elliot C. Mason's For a Son - a finely constructed piece which has struck...

It's been a wonderful week for posting on ABCTales and consequently it's been really hard to pick the best of the best - especially prose - but here are my choices: Poem of the Week goes to Michael S R Valentine for Horreur a Paris - a powerful and heartfelt reaction written in the immediate aftermath of recent events. The Story of the Week is Terrence Oblong's Getting Fat, a quite extraordinary piece. It's not his usual style. Do read both and...

No need to feel gloomy now the nights are drawing in - just sit down with our wonderful picks this week and let yourself be carried away. I promise you won't be disappointed with either! Big congratulations to johnshade for his breathtaking Autumn, and to love_writing for Fly Like Superman - a vividly authentic account of childhood: http://www.abctales.com/story/johnshade/autumn http://www.abctales.com/story/lovewriting/fly-superman Do also take...

Two fantastic pieces today. First up is Philip Sidney's haunting trip to the past via Google Maps Street-view, which was written for our wonderful Poetry Monthly brief. If you haven't tried this feature yet, do have a go - it's producing some astounding work. Our Story of the Week is Wolfboy by well-wisher. Like all good children's stories, it works on so many levels and isn't just for children. It's the best thing I've read for quite a while...

There's been a positive avalanche of quality prose this week! Two series - one finished now and one ongoing have caught my attention especially and I can thoroughly recommend them: The Trip by Jeand which starts here: http://www.abctales.com/story/jeand/trip-part-1 and Jake Mutant by Jane Hyphen which starts here: http://www.abctales.com/story/jane-hyphen/jake-mutant-chapter-one It's beautiful outside right now, but later on when it starts to...

I'll plunge straight into this week's picks with Bee's stand-out poem Breasts which we've already featured on our front page as it forms part of her Journey sequence, detailing her cancer from diagnosis through treatment. If you haven't already been there, please do pay it a visit. Story of the Week goes to Matthew Hughes for Something Borrowed - a cleverly constructed short with a really unexpected twist. http://www.abctales.com/story/bee/...

There seems to be a small glitch happening at the moment with our email system. Until it's sorted out, if you need to get in touch please email either claudine@abctales.com or peter@abctales.com (or both if you like!) If you emailed us recently and didn't get a reply, then please accept our apologies and write again to above addresses. Thank you!

A little on the early side this week as I'm on holiday and there's a swimming pool ten feet away waiting for the pleasure of my company... Nottingham by all accounts was a huge success, so a million thanks to VeraClark for her super-efficient organising. We are planning something for London in November, so watch out for further details. Meanwhile, ABC has been bursting at the seams with quality poetry and prose - so much to choose from! Poem of...

This week saw the launch party for the publication of Ex - Laurie Avadis' stunning debut novel which started here on ABCTales and was snapped up by Unbound. It's now available on Amazon and if you can leave a review it would be wonderfully helpful. We're currently on the lookout for others to follow in his footsteps, so if you have any suggestions please send them to us! Two blistering pieces for you today: Poem of the Week goes to...

It's always a huge pleasure to read what's been posted on ABCTales - not just the pieces which are so fantastic that they blow you away, but also the works in progress, the long-running series with their own loyal followers, the diary entries - I could go on... Huge congratulations this week to 60units for The Gunshow Loophole which he says is the first thing he's ever posted anywhere for criticism. It's a slick, accomplished three parter (so...