"I was coming down from an acid trip when I found out my best friend had her first child." The first line of Fiction Reader @valeriehughes.bsky.social's micro in @smokelong.bsky.social (a Grand Micro Contest '25 finalist): buff.ly/QHR5cXc PS, there's also an interview 🤩: buff.ly/cmJSl44

‘My friends were unfazed when I arrived in my platform boots and mesh muscle tee. They just gave him to me, his nostrils so little.’ Staggeringly vital writing from @valeriehughes.bsky.social in @smokelong.bsky.social - I felt this in my bones ✈️ www.smokelong.com/stories/wind...

"I was airplaning over their lives, trying to understand why other people wanted the things they wanted" Another @smokelong.bsky.social gem from @valeriehughes.bsky.social So many moments of human truth in here: www.smokelong.com/stories/wind...

We have winners! The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest was a bear this year. So many excellent micros. These are our top 7 and will be published Monday in Issue 90! www.smokelong.com/the-smokelon...

A big round of applause please for our top 25 micros in The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest 25! If you see your work on this list, please feel free to celebrate on social media but please do so without identifying your title(s). Anonymous judging is ongoing. www.smokelong.com/the-smokelon...