In partnership with @dailyyonder.bsky.social, The Milk House is happy to announce that entries for the 2026 Best in Rural Writing Contest are now open! Deadline: September 1st Judge: Will Weaver Accepting fiction and nonfiction. More details can be found at: themilkhouse.org/contest.

"Thirsty. I drink the desolate hours whole tall on the backbone of tomorrow..." Read "On the Spine of Time" by J.M. Dedeiros. www.themilkhouse.org/on-the-spine...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: In order to make a new start where she grew up, Leanna must accept new allies while facing old challenges. Read "Possum" by Elijah Bayuk here: www.themilkhouse.org/possum-by-el...

It’s strange how things come back around, two different times and places, yet the name’s the same and they’re blood-bound... This week on The Milk House: Enjoy two poems by Thomas Alan Orr. www.themilkhouse.org/two-poems-by...

This week on The Milk House: A wife asks a husband to make good on his word. Enjoy "You Won't Get a Second Chance" by Cathy Adams. Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/you-wont-get...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: A woman takes a moment to ponder where's she's been and what comes next. Read "In our Old Barn, I Ponder a Question we each Must Ask" by @writergailstrock.bsky.social. www.themilkhouse.org/in-our-old-b...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: The legacy of a fruit farm hangs in the balance in Emma Tozer's short story "Scions." Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/the-scions-b...

This week on The Milk House: A haunting turns problematic, in the short story "Narcissus" by Róisín O'Grady. Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/narcissus-by...

We're excited to announce that @minnesotawill.bsky.social is the judge of the 2026 #BestinRuralWriting Contest. Will is the author of Sweet Land and Red Earth, White Earth (both turned into films), as well as many more great books. Learn more about Will here: www.themilkhouse.org/2026-best-in...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: A boy tries to make sense of his unusual pet in the essay "A Snake Named Snake" by Daragh Fleming. Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/a-snake-name...

This week on The Milk House: A young man on the verge of change gets valuable advice from his mother, in William Gary Cole's essay "Wild Strawberries." Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/wild-strawbe...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: An Irish man has to decide how an unfortunate incidence is going to shape him, in the short story "Rained Off" by Michael Fitzgerald. Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/rained-off-b...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: After tasked with a serious responsibility, @sarafleming.bsky.social takes a moment to rest and reflect, in her excerpt "Fields and Streams." Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/fields-and-s...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: Rural community resilience takes on a new meaning, in the short story "American Testament" by Michael Lundy. Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/american-tes...

I'm proud of what Samantha Rogers, Alma Antón, Madelyn Pendry and I put together. There are some amazing rural voices in this collection. If you want to support #TheMilkHouse and get to read some memorable writing, get your copy here: www.themilkhouse.org/product/2026...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: A childhood in snow is pondered in Tom Milburn's essay "Winter on the Farm: A Memoir." Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/winter-on-th...

The editor of The Milk House, @penofryandennis.bsky.social, talks about what the journal has been up to, as well as his memoir #BarnGothic in this interview with Successful Farming. Watch it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TN-...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: A father and son's final moments together recounts their familial past, in Dan Tamblyn's short story "Pour Three Fingers and Grab Me a Beer." www.themilkhouse.org/pour-three-f...

In July, a rush to get dry harvest in the barn before a summer storm, our family of girls pirouetted from housework to hay wagons... This week on #TheMilkHouse: "In Long Exhale and Other Poetry" by Nancy Huxtable Mohr. www.themilkhouse.org/in-long-exha...

Congratulations to @williamburtch.bsky.social on an excellent collection of rural short stories, titled #OtherwiseWretched. Available from Sunbury Press: www.sunburypress.com/collections/...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: Two young boys are forced to reckon with adult matters, in the short story "Nameless" by Daniel Heila. Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/nameless-by-...

"The cattle have grazed through the wait anxious at the gate getting noisy..." This week on #TheMilkHouse: Made in Milk and Other Poems by James Walton. Read them here: www.themilkhouse.org/made-in-milk...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: A farming family contends with a changing world, in Brian Reisinger's short story "Rats in the Corncrib." Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/rats-in-the-...

I made the cut! (Not a bad way to start the new year.) #MilkHouse #BestInRuralWriting #Anthology #Rebounders www.themilkhouse.org/anthology @themilkhouse.bsky.social

The results of the 2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest are in. Who has won the grand prize and title of overall Best in Rural Writing, presented by #TheMilkHouse and @dailyyonder.bsky.social? www.themilkhouse.org/2025-best-in...

We're grateful to @dailyyonder.bsky.social for publishing the finalists of the #BestinRuralWriting Contest. Vote for overall winner on #TheMilkHouse's contest page. Read the nomination for Best Essay, "God, Guns, and Baseball" by Lena (Sunada-Matsumura) Newlin. dailyyonder.com/2025-rural-w...

Thanks to @dailyyonder.bsky.social for publishing the finalists of the #BestinRuralWriting Contest. Vote for overall winner on The Milk House's contest page. Read the judge's choice for Best Short Story, "The Escapee's Lover" by Dennis McFadden: dailyyonder.com/2025-rural-w...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: Andrew Sharp (@asharpwriter.bsky.social) teases apart a delicate but universal issue, in his essay "On killing." Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/on-killing-b...

Announcement! We can now share which entries @jamesgwriter.bsky.social has selected as Best Essay and Best Short Story in the 2025 #BestinRuralWriting Contest. Visit themilkhouse.org to read or listen to both entries and lend your vote for the overall prize of $500!

This week on #TheMilkHouse: a man returns to where he grew up with unsettled business on his mind. Enjoy "A Good Visit Home" by @dantamblyn.bsky.social. www.themilkhouse.org/a-good-visit...

His mostly bald head bobbled as he talked and the halting words waited like the holes to be threaded... This week on #TheMilkHouse: "Baling Hay with Glen" by Joseph Powell. Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/baling-hay-w...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: a hunting trip for brothers turns into a comment on mortality, in the short story "Bug" by John Whittier Treat. Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/bug-by-john-...

Every so many years I stumble onto a poetry collection that makes me excited about the possibilities of language again. #ThisMuchVery by @hiramlarew.bsky.social has surprising turns, a unique voice, and is a celebration without a hint of sentimentality. Highly recommended.

Cover Reveal Alert! The Milk House is delighted to unveil the cover of its latest project – the 2026 Best in Rural Writing Anthology. Coming this winter!

The shortlists for the 2025 #BestinRuralWriting Contest is live! Congrats to the 10 shortlisted authors selected by @jamesgwriter.bsky.social. He had tough choices to make! And thanks to everyone who submitted. You deserve credit for lifting the rural voice. www.themilkhouse.org/2025-best-in...

Announcement: Tuesday, October 15th (tomorrow) the 2025 #BestinRuralWriting Contest shortlist, as chosen by judge @jamesgwriter.bsky.social, will be announced on The Milk House website at 1pm GMT/ 8am EST. Stop by for the results!

It's great to see that #BarnGothic, my upcoming memoir about the dairy industry (November 13th), is listed in @foodtank.bsky.social's Fall Recommended Reads! foodtank.com/news/2025/10...

Drawn to their sad songs rolling across the yard like leaves, I lingered in soft eyes, gazes never wavering from his window... This week on #TheMilkHouse: "Grieving Horses" by Julie H. Fonte. Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/grieving-hor...

Reading more submissions this evening for the 2025 #BestinRuralWriting Contest. Found another few pieces that I just love! 🤩 @themilkhouse.bsky.social #Judging #Fiction #NonFiction

Reading submissions. First one I picked up was AWESOME! #Reading

"Yet there it was, transferred to my palm like one of those crazy decalcomanias she adorns herself with..." This week on #TheMilkHouse: "Dead Owl and Other Poems" by J.R. Solonche. Read them here: www.themilkhouse.org/dead-owl-and...

What he feels, he acts upon; What determines truth describes consequence.... This week on #TheMilkHouse: "The Sugars of Existence by Benjamin Green. Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/the-sugars-o...

The 2025 #BestinRuralWriting Contest is now closed. Thanks for another incredible turnout of submissions. Good luck to all who have entered! The shortlist announcement is expected for late October/early November.

This week on #TheMilkHouse: A young woman has some tough choices on a farm left in her care. Read "Flystrike" by Pearl Benjamin, #shortlisted for the 2024 Best in Rural Writing Contest. www.themilkhouse.org/flystrike-by...

Less than a week to go! The deadline for the 2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest is Monday, September 15th (midnight GMT). Get your entries in! Judge @jamesgwriter.bsky.social is looking forward to them! themilkhouse.org/contest

"I’ve been here for decades among all sorts of hardwoods, eight evergreen species, innumerable shrubs, not on the Main. But in truth, I was born in the suburbs..." This week on #TheMilkHouse: the poem "Education" by Sydney Lea. Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/education-by...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: A character might have found an opening for a new life in "Agata and the Mice" by Peyton Ellas, shortlisted in the 2024 #BestinRuralWriting Contest. Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/agata-and-th...

The #RuralLitBookClub is meeting online this Sunday, August 10th, 6pm GMT/1pm EST to discuss #ThisIsHappiness by Niall Williams. Come along for a fun chat! www.themilkhouse.org/rural-lit-bo...

This week on #TheMilkHouse: An old man gets a chance at another adventure, in Dennis McFadden's short story "The Escapee's Lover." Read it here: www.themilkhouse.org/the-escapees...

A big thanks to @agriland.bsky.social for featuring a story on the 2025 #BestinRuralWriting contest, co-sponsored with @dailyyonder.bsky.social! Agriland is a great news source for those in rural Ireland, and we're grateful they've given us coverage. www.agriland.ie/farming-news...