Currently deep in the Paranormal Noir slush for @flashfictiononline.bsky.social.
We want your best human-written stories! We currently have ~200 submissions for our 1,000 submission cap. We will close at 11:59 on 4/30
Below is a thread of common pitfalls/trends I've noticed so far:
1/?
White blossom on a spiked blackthorn hedge behind barbed wire. Green fields and a low hill in the background.
Trip out in the sunshine today to Roseberry Topping.
Blackthorn blossom.
A rocky outcrop, covered in carved graffiti, under a cloudy blue sky.
Summit view.
Slope in a wood, covered in purple flowers.
Bluebell wood.
White blossom on a spiked blackthorn hedge behind barbed wire. Green fields and a low hill in the background.
Trip out in the sunshine today to Roseberry Topping.
Blackthorn blossom.
Want some inspiration? I'm gonna thread some awesome stories I love that are "found media"!
![mockup cover of an anthology called [RECORDED], showing an old fashioned film camera with colorful glitch overlays, and a skull vaguely visible in the background; smaller text says "edited by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:urwbiqpcjwskrgmvxjfgddpj/bafkreig2mawa7ewwonq23akpvgdhkkk3ixyovq5ikrrobcqphz3ys3fk4m)
mockup cover of an anthology called [RECORDED], showing an old fashioned film camera with colorful glitch overlays, and a skull vaguely visible in the background; smaller text says "edited by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor"
'sup, sickos — who likes FOUND FOOTAGE???? good, because SO DO I and I am going to spend my tax monies on BRINGING MORE FICTION INTO THE WORLD and editing an anthology this summer. because we need more weird art and I want YOU to help make it. 👀⬇️
mercfennwolfmoor.carrd.co#recordedantho
The local moorhens have achieved 5 or 6 fluffy chicks, and their parenting strategy at the moment is to let them wander aimlessly all over the place. Until a jackdaw glides down, totally minding its own business, at which point the moorhen parent absolutely legs it to try and round the babies up.
The date is in the address, so it'll do any day by manually editing that. I did manage 2009, but 2001 was a bit empty.
Kaleidotrope re-opens to fiction and poetry submissions in one week, for one week, April 19-25.
kaleidotrope.net/guidelines/
Story Reprint Day! My story from @thefuturefire.bsky.social's May 2025 issue is now available @castofwonders.org in audio!
New Story Day!
The end of school approaches and a magical dressmaker helps girls prepare for the leavers' ball in "The Perfect Dress", now available to read @gavagai.com (1200 words).
gavagai.com/posts/4213
Our general submissions for Issue 2 are NOW OPEN until April 21st!
If you are a 2SLGBTQIA+ writer, send us your work! You can submit one story and up to three poems. Wondering what we like? Issue 1 is free to read on our site! But please don't self-reject—we can't wait to read your work 🗡️🪐🌈
Recently, a new market opened up looking for novelettes, paying only $10/piece, and using A.I. I joked that if people were willing to sell novelettes for $10/story, I could afford to edit an anthology that *doesn't* use use A.I. artwork.
Well, one thing led to another and here are the guidelines:
New Story Day!
The end of school approaches and a magical dressmaker helps girls prepare for the leavers' ball in "The Perfect Dress", now available to read @gavagai.com (1200 words).
gavagai.com/posts/4213
It's always a good idea to keep dogs on a lead at this time of year for the safety of livestock and our ground nesting birds.
Cover for The Perfect Dress by Louise Hughes on Gavagai.
Happy Saturday! In today's Editor Pick: A dressmaker who weaves magic into every gown meets a girl for whom magic isn’t the answer. It's The Perfect Dress by Louise Hughes. Read it for free at gavagai.com
mountain scenery in shades of blue, green and pale gold
Cast of Wonders 683: Born of the Mountain's Chill by @trailofleaves.bsky.social narrated/hosted by @chesneycat.bsky.social and produced by @jeremycarter42.bsky.social
www.castofwonders.org/2026/04/cast...
CW: colonialism
Helen DeWitt on turning down a $175k Windham-Campbell Prize because she wasn't able to handle the prize's mandatory publicity requirements. Imo a moving, deeply relatable, and darkly funny story about money, obligation, mental health, & executive dysfunction
paperpools.blogspot.com/2026/04/we-l...
Story Reprint Day! My story from @thefuturefire.bsky.social's May 2025 issue is now available @castofwonders.org in audio!
A carpet of bluebells lit by dappled sunlight in dense woodland under a green canopy
A close-up of purple bell-shaped bluebells with a blurry green and blue background
A sloping bank of bluebells with greenery and red and white blooms in the background
Carpeting woodland floors, shady borders and hedgerows, bluebell season is upon us 💙
They serve as an early spring nectar source for polinators and provide habitat in woodlands and hedgerows. Please remember to stick to paths when admiring them so we can protect these magical blooms for all.
We're in the final week for submissions. If you aren't ready to send your story yet - maybe it's time to finish it? Please read our guidelines! translunartravelerslounge.com/submissions/
Translations that digest their own tongues. Expressions of the ephemeral creatures that blip in and out of existence when language is toggled. Threads that weave disparate voices together. We are looking for flash fiction about the things that fall away, transform, and negotiate new bodies as the words that create either their home or their prison shapeshift around them. Our usual submission guidelines apply. We define Flash Fiction as anything under 1000 words. No AI ever. We mean it.
Submissions are open for "Nabokov's Suspension"
Submissions are OPEN!
thecosmicbackground.moksha.io/publication/1
NABOKOV'S SUSPENSION
Edited by Jehanne Bell
👅🧵👻🎤✍️
We are looking for flash fiction about the things that fall away, transform, and negotiate new bodies as the words that create shapeshift around them.
In less than two weeks, Kaleidotrope will re-open to fiction and poetry submissions for one week. April 19-25. One of only three weeks the zine will be open this year!
Ten more days of open submissions. No need to panic yet (please read the guidelines) translunartravelerslounge.com/submissions/
Storm Dave continues to move in from the west, bringing heavy rain, snow across parts of Scotland, and very strong, gusty winds for many, as shown in the latest radar and satellite sequence
Stay #WeatherAware ⚠️
Our council is merging glass with the rest of the recycling for the first time, to allow for food waste collection. But this information is in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet...beware of the leopard...etc.
