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We were spoilt for choice this week with some wonderful poetry and prose. But the picks go to Chant for "Strangers" and MyPunkGang for "The Elephants Head,Camden". "Strangers" is contemplative of modern life yet with moody urban undertones. "The Elephants Head, Camden" looks at the sad decline in a relationship set against the backdrop of a house re-decoration! http://www.abctales.com/story/chant/strangers http://www.abctales.com/story/...

Join us on a quest to write a poem a month based on a range of exciting themes and styles. All you need to do to get started is read the brief below, let your imagination soar and get scribbling. Once you’ve finished writing and pruning your piece, you can share it on ABC Tales and see what superbly varied work emerges from the same brief. If you’d like to take it a step further, you can also seek critical feedback from your poetic peers because...

Our picks this month come from one of our brilliant, hardworking and all-round wonderful volunteer editors. Here's their decision: It has been a privilege to be able to choose two stand-out pieces in the month of May. There have been many very wonderful pieces; the two that have been selected have a touch of strangeness, a slight shift of perspective that reminds us of the oddness of living. A short story full of poetry and a poem full of story...

Two fabulous pieces today - our story of the week chosen for its most wonderfully disfunctional character, and our poem of the week, which also has disfunction at its heart, but in a very different way. Big congratulations to airyfairy for Daisy and the Chalet Woman, and to socialleaf for I'm Home. I hope you enjoy them both as much as I did. http://www.abctales.com/story/airyfairy/daisy-and-chalet-woman-part-one http://www.abctales.com/story/...

"The brief here was to write something that holds back and has stuff going on beneath the surface" Scratch has taken that brief by the ears, and wowed us all with a quality piece that leaves us wanting more. Congratulations to him for Story of the Week - "Silver Rider" Poem of the week goes to Esmerelda-O who marks a welcome return with her piece of stunning melancholy, "People in Rooms" http://www.abctales.com/story/esmerelda-o/people-rooms...

It's May! The birds are singing! The blooms are blooming! The sun is shining! The Tories have just won the election! Never mind though! Because we are holding one of our legendary readings at the Wheatsheaf in Fitzrovia which is 100% guaranteed to make you feel better. I'll eat my hat if you don't! Do come along. It's on May 27th at 7pm. We usually finish around 9.30 pm. We already have some fantastic readers lined up, but if you'd like to read...

We have a tie for Story of the Week! Both very different styles, both wonderfully authentic depictions of family, love and ageing. Read them one after the other and you'll see what I mean. Congratulations to T_az and Celticman: http://www.abctales.com/story/taz/taking-turns http://www.abctales.com/story/celticman/snap-0 Poem of the Week goes to london_calling79 for his wonderful Current - inspired by a chance encounter - a nothing much turned...

Another blistering week for poetry and stories here on ABCTales. Congratulations go to Esmerelda-O who is on a roll at the moment - watch out for her next one - for All the Suffering Sick Grey Reptiles of the Past, and to johnshade for his extraordinary Soldier's Leap. http://www.abctales.com/story/johnshade/soldier ’s-leap http://www.abctales.com/story/esmerelda-o/all-suffocating-sick-grey-rept... For this week's Inspiration Point I want you to...

Finding a poem this week was quite hard because the quality of submissions was even more outstanding than usual. I think maggyvaneijck is the rightful winner though, with the multi-layered Blue. Definitely one to read again and again. For the Story of the Week you're getting three for the price of one! Noo's trio of wonderful shorts, each with an unlikely ending - and they were so good, I am nicking the title and theme for this week's...

Make sure you visit ABCtales on Saturday when we'll be announcing the details of our fantastic new competition!