#books #read #write #authorlife #blueskywriters #booksky

Are you coming to the FLESH FICTION book launch? If so, don't forget to book your tickets! It'll be a great chance to meet some Not Quite Write fam in person, including several featured authors. Secure your tickets now! wordsonthewaves.com.au/book-launch-... All 18+ welcome. It's gonna be FUN 🥳

Wildscape issue 6 is out now. This issue honours the life of highschooler Lamon Wiggins, killed by gun violence. I’m lucky to be chosen as the Featured Writer, and have been interviewed about my story “Spaces of Waiting.” You can read my story and interview here 👉 wildscapelit.com/chloe-paige-...

bsky.app/profile/nycm... A little late to the party to announce I came second in NYCM’s inaugural Scary Story competition with Last Leg, a 400 word story about working too hard, featuring an exhausted woodturner, an industrial lathe, and a pony tail.

Every time I hear “Umbrella” I think about Tom Holland first and Rihanna second

Hey, that’s a familiar name in today’s Rat Bag 👀🦖

This quote comes from a talk Ursula gave as part of the Portland Arts & Lectures program of Literary Arts. You can listen to the whole thing here: literary-arts.org/archive/ursu...

This little daredevil clearly enjoys playing with fire. But you know what happens when you play with fire… You go Up In Flames 🔥

I am immensely proud of my story. It’s gonna hurt when @notquitewrite.com rips my little darling to shreds during my upcoming Daredevil.

All the cool kids will be there 🙌

Some lovely news: I’ve been shortlisted as a finalist for this year’s Sir Julius Vogel Awards in both Best Short Story ("The Cold Burns") and Best New Talent! Thank you so much to the people who nominated my work. It really means a lot, and I’m incredibly grateful. ❤️ sffanz.nz/the-sir-juli...

I’ve taken a side! Question is, have I stayed loyal to Team Ed, or have I traitorously kangaroo-hopped over to Team Amanda? 👀

I'm in the flood! "Star Signs" is flowing your way on June 13th at 5:40am BST / 2:40pm AEST! 🌟🌊

I took the risk of writing a whole dystopia in 400 words, and I’m THRILLED it paid off 🤩 Congrats to the others for making the top 15 of 3,600 people, especially to my friend Julia Knoef for placing 2nd. Always an honour to beta your art 💕🥳

@notquitewrite.com I will be there! I just booked my hotel and flights ✈️ SO excited to meet you! 🤩

My Healthy Harold comedy, “Father Figure,” received a Highly Commended Award, and is now published! 🎉🦒 If you‘d like to read about the jaded, sentient giraffe puppet that teaches kids about drugs, then you can do so here 👇 www.geelongwriters.org.au/writing-comp...

creative process

Writers of Bluesky! This weekend, you could be just one 500-word story away from a share in AU$4,000. 🌏 Open to writers worldwide 🌱 Beginner friendly 📕 Top 6 stories published Find out why the Not Quite Write Prize is fast becoming everyone’s favourite writing comp! Sign up at notquitewrite.com

Flesh Fiction Volume 1 is now available for pre-order! Containing 304 pages of the most "unsafe for work" content our authors could dream up. Trust us when we say, reading this book will blow your... mind! Ships worldwide from 1 June. Head to notquitewritepress.com to pre-order your copy now.

My spicy, print-exclusive story, "Venus of Urbino", will be in your hand on June 1st. 🎨🖌️ I can't tell you where to put your other hand. But at least, in my story, I know exactly where somebody's hand is. 🔥👀 Pre-order your copy now! 👉 notquitewritepress.com 🌶️ @notquitewrite.com 🌶️

I have a new 1000-word story in Locative Magazine today! 🎉 “The Largest Herbivore of the Holocene“ is equal parts history lesson and ode to working mums. Thank you Harvey Liu for not only accepting my work amongst the many submissions, but also for gushing about it in your editorial. 💕 Read here👇

A generous benefactor from the Not Quite Write community has donated an entry to the April Write-Off to help a writer on low income struggling with “cozzie lives” 🥹 To accept, email us at [email protected] Please like and repost to spread the word to someone who could use a leg up ❤️

In anticipation of the Flash Fiction Challenge kicking off on May 1st, we're happy to publish the story that placed 2nd overall in last year's competition. Check out "They Still Bring Your Flowers" by Natalie Minaker at nycmidnight.co/486oe4J. Original Illustration by Yevgenia Nayberg. Enjoy!

Congrats to longtime illustrator for NYCM, Yevgenia Nayberg, on the publication of her new graphic novel, Chernobyl, Life, and Other Disasters. It arrives just in time for the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl explosion and is available wherever books are sold. Learn more at her Instagram @znayberg.

FlashFlood opens for submissions on 19 April till 25 April. Flashes up to 300 words. Stories will be published on NFFD. Pre 2023 previously published considered. Reserved slots for unpublished writers. For more details see our submission guidelines: flashfloodjournal.blogspot.com/p/submission...

4th place overall in @twistinthetale.bsky.social! 🥳 A personal best for me. I made the leaderboard in all 3 rounds, each story in the 9’s 🎉🥰 9.05 | 9.39 | 9.08

duotrope.com/interview/ed... A great interview with Not Quite Write's @akscotland.bsky.social where I even get a cheeky shoutout!

Entering the April Not Quite Write Prize for Flash Fiction? Read Amanda’s interview with Duotrope to find out what she’ll be looking for! duotrope.com/interview/ed...

My Booby Prize winning story is posted! 🦭🌟 I'm incredibly proud of this one. You can read "Over Down Under" here 👇 theboobyprize.co.uk/over-down-un...

What an honour to win The Booby Prize! 🏆 🥳 “Over Down Under” took inspiration from the meme that Aussies live upside-down, and ended up exploring where grief takes you. A big thank you to Steve from the Prize, Emma Oldham, and all the prelim judges. Congrats to Jaime Gill for placing 2nd, too! 🎉

I made the Booby Prize shortlist! “Over Down Under” is a fever dream story—an Aussie portal fantasy with a talking sea lion. Congrats to the other shortlisters and everyone else who nabbed an Honourable Mention! 🎉🦭🐧

I'll be gracefully handing over the crown to whoever wins this year. I hope my stories will put up a good fight in the meantime. I'm just excited to see my winning story published (soon!!!) 👀🥰🦘

It’s never too late to start supporting independent bookstores instead of, you know, other places. 😌

Thank you @penstricken.bsky.social for publishing another of my tales. I’m looking forward to reading all the other contributions in this issue. penstricken.com/the-sublime-...

Days without embarassing myself:

I never considered myself a comedy writer, but I’ve managed to crack the shortlist for a local comedy competition 🎉🎉🎉 It features the Aussie icon, sentient giraffe puppet Healthy Harold, who is jaded and ready for retirement after years of teaching kids about drugs 🦒

Made it out alive with three new stories 🎉

also if you think to yourself 'DANG i could never just say that my book is good and people should get it, seems a little self centered'... GOOD. center yourself buckaroo, you deserve it. YOUR BOOK IS GREAT. YOU ARE THE INCREDIBLE PRODUCT OF A THOUSAND CRASHING STARS. THE CENTER HAS ROOM FOR EVERYONE

so funny when people get all upset about genres that other people DARE to enjoy. these big think pieces about ROMANTASY or COZY HORROR or DARK ACADEMIA and how dang upset they make the writer of the article. bud who cares what other people like youll be fine. let people read their books oh my god

And here is a story of mine out in the world today. This one is definitely not dark. It's called Big Sassy and the Space Miner's Crapshoot. You can read the full story here: everydayfiction.com/big-sassy-an...

When the Oxford children's dictionary discarded dozens of nature-words—"dandelion," "fern," "starling"—as irrelevant to children's imagination and replaced them with words like "broadband" and "cut-and-paste," this inspired act of resistance was born: www.themarginalian.org/2019/06/17/t...

Spent a good week being pummelled all at once by rejections and poor results. My heart needed a break. But I checked my emails today to find a very enthusiastic acceptance for an off-the-cuff story I wrote in December. My much-needed glimmer of sunlight. ⛅️🥰

nobel prize. right fucking now. im serious.

Attention writers on low income: winner @elisescott.bsky.social is stepping down from writing comps this year due to other commitments, and is offering their remaining annual pass to a person who needs the leg up. If that’s you (or someone you know) please email us to accept the generous offer!

Looking for something to do while you await the flash and flesh results this week? We'd love it if you'd consider taking a moment out of your day to leave us a 5 star rating and review! We read and appreciate every single one, and they make a real difference in how the algorithm shares our podcast.

Nothing like submitting in the last 5 minutes to get the heart pounding

Oops, she did it again!

An honour to make that sweet, sweet longlist for the inaugural Write-Off 🎉 Congrats to everyone else who made it 🥂 @notquitewrite.com

Befriended a local ghost in Edinburgh, had a rainy adventure, committed to the bit... @lunapress.bsky.social 👀👻✨️🖤

I placed 2nd with my story, “Celebrity Collarbones” 🎉 Off to the finals this weekend! Congrats to everyone else! 🎉