'At the same time, throughout his life, he questioned his ability to write, he confessed. “My whole life has been a struggle with self-doubt.” Only a “minor percentage” of what he wrote had “ever seen the light of day,” he revealed.'

This story is extraordinary. I'm off to order my own medal French professor accused of ‘gigantic hoax’ after inventing Nobel-style prize www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Tried to make a story longer. Ended up making it shorter. Still not sure if it's better #editing

May has come, and with it my new collection Blurred Edges, now available for preorder. Twelve stories, a foreword by Laura Black @fictivedream.bsky.social, and artwork by Geoff Staden. Huge thanks to both, and to Renée Sigler, @ballerinibookpress.bsky.social ballerinibookpress.ch/product/blur...

Exciting news! The chapbooks Andy published were brilliant and I'm so delighted that are coming back #shortstories

Came home from a week away to find these beauties waiting for me. I was expecting the new @nicholasroyle.bsky.social @saltpublishing.com but the two new @nightjarpress.bsky.social titles were a very welcome surprise!

New blog post about my short story, "The Good Men", published yesterday by @salopress.bsky.social andrew-hook.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-...

new thing - can you help?

I keep calling him Ollie Robinson and thinking that now he has more time for his cricket

Sunday morning re-reading

Very sorry to miss this last night but I have ordered the book!

"I think it's good, now and then, to remind ourselves that art isn't a job we do well - it's a job we do uniquely, as only we could do it" --George Saunders

My friend and neighbour Saul Leslie isn’t on social media. His debut novel is out soon, the launch is at @waterstoneslpl.bsky.social on 21 April. It’s called A Working Title I Want To Change. It’s brilliant. He’s in conversation with @davidhering.bsky.social www.waterstones.com/events/saul-...

Very sorry to hear this. Saw Clannad play in '88. They were my gateway into folk music.

On Thursday (16th April) join me and author @nicholasroyle.bsky.social for a live online conversation to mark the publication of 'FINDERS KEEPERS: The Secret life of Second-hand Books.' Free, and all welcome. If you haven't already been invited contact me via davidjcollard.wixsite.com/my-site

Salò Press are now publishing short stories under a new imprint named Infidelities (with poetry distinct under the Flirtations imprint). The first five are up for pre-orders (including my short story, The Good Men), available individually or in a bundle. Check out the link: www.salopress.com/store/

Just a quicky update about Blurred Edges, my forthcoming collection from @ballerinibookpress.bsky.social. I'm really chuffed to say that as things stand, publication is still set for 20th May, with a launch either at that time or shortly after. I'll say more things are firmed up.

Scratch A4 short story competition is open for two more weeks! More info here: www.scratch-books.co.uk/scratcha4com...

My new collection ‘Thin Places in Hard Concrete‘ is out on 30 April as an eBook and paperback with 10 brand new weird stories. Pre-order the eBook here 👉 www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DC5PL7T4

New story on the blog. Link below if you’d like to read. Cheers all! kieranstorieswriter.wordpress.com/2026/04/09/n...

On the Ramblings today my thoughts on the third in a series of books about books by @nicholasroyle.bsky.social from @saltpublishing.com Hint: it’s brilliant! kaggsysbookishramblings.wordpress.com/2026/04/08/t...

Get involved! Follow this new Bluesky account for the 2026 Barbellion Prize. @thebarbellionprize.bsky.social

M. R. James and #WeirdFiction and #GhostStory people might be interested in this Kickstarter, which is to help fund a print run of annotated manuscripts of James's most famous stories. You can find out more on this project at the website, crumpledlinenpress.com

The Write A Short Story Festival starts TODAY! Come write the best goddamn story you've written so far. We've got soilpunk, we've got the archeology of fiction, we've got parallel lives, we've got editing, we've got publishing WE'VE GOT IT ALL GANG! writershq.co.uk/festivals-ch...

Very sorry to hear that Glen Baxter has died. One of my favourite cartoonists

Nightjar publisher writes plays shock. Two short black comedies. More info linktr.ee/thunkpresents

Really enjoying Paris Fantastique short stories by Nicholas Royle - strange/everyday, often witty, often set in Paris locations I know. Recommended! @confingopublishing.bsky.social

Mystery and Melancholy of a Street https://www.wikiart.org/en/giorgio-de-chirico/mystery-and-melancholy-of-a-street-1914

Special offer: order the four new Nightjars from the website & we’ll throw in two backlist titles. Offer lasts until end of March. Like or respond to this post to get the offer. As well as placing an order obvs.

Interesting to read about John Cage's stint on a quiz show. I've applied to go on several but never heard back from any of them.

New Nightjars now available nightjarpress.weebly.com/news

‘She loved the forest. It contained her spirit. In the unshielded open, vividness was everywhere, and crowded in.’ Don’t miss @polyscribe70.bsky.social’s #shortstoryofthemonth about Gwen John, ‘A More Interior Life.’ thelonelycrowd.org/2026/03/06/s...

My story, ‘The Crossing’ is out there as a ‘Little Uncertainty’ – one of 12 little books being given away by @uncertainstories.com just to spread the love of short stories! Get one by ordering a book from their website, or grab a free copy from one of the bookshops distributing them.

The latest Little Uncertainty is out this week. It’s a very fine short story and it’s completely free! Copies are on the way to bookshops across the UK right now so keep an eye out and grab yourself a copy if you see one…

New Nightjars! @nightjarpress.bsky.social

ZOMG postman’s been and bound proofs are in! #phantomatthefeast #writinglife Looking great No Exit Press @bedsqpublishers.bsky.social — thank you! 🙏👏🫡✊ (Publication date 18 June ‘26)

Delighted to reveal the shortlist for the #AuthorsClub #BestFirstNovelAward #BFNA2026, now in its 72nd year. Congrats to: #RupertDastur, #ChristinaFonthes, @juliakellywriter.bsky.social, @michaelpedersen.bsky.social, #ThomasPeermohamedLambert, #XenobePurvis, www.authorsclub.co.uk/shortlist-fo...

Leicester missing a penalty at Vicarage Road reminds me of something . . .

New arrival! Have heard lots of good things about this so very much looking forward to reading @stuhennigan.bsky.social @ortacpress.bsky.social

A handy list of all the stories published so far on the blog. Had a pretty painful rejection this week. So it goes. At the moment it feels liberating having a blog like this. Anyway, several stories on there now, if you want to check it out! kieranstorieswriter.wordpress.com/self-publish...

‘It’s like a giant book club’: how schools are getting children excited about reading again www.theguardian.com/books/2026/m...

Happy 1st Birthday to my short story collection Saltburn! 🧂🔥🥳🍾🎊 @renardpress Reviews: www.goodreads.com/book/show/22... Buy: renardpress.com/books/saltbu... Substack: open.substack.com/pub/drewgumm...

Thanks to B+H for publishing this story. Proud to see it on the site. I wanted to cover about 20 years in a series of vignettes, but while I worked on it over the last year, it turned into a piece about the death of Toryism as we knew it. And also a meditation on masturbation. I hope you like it.

My March #CraftArticle is a contemplation on "bad" writing and "good" writers and whether those terms actually have any place in our literary world, thinking about subjectivity, spiky profiles, and eating chocolate: prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com/p/did-i-writ...

During April, I’m offering a month of THREE TIP SUNDAYS - 90 minutes of top tips & writing exercises on 4 writing subjects. The second session is READYING FOR THE NOVEL - on April 12, 4pm UK time, ONLINE. Email: [email protected] for details. £40 per session.

New arrival! Part of my subscription to the British Library Tales of the Weird series

It is publication day for SCRATCH MOSS. Please be buying it from your vendor of choice, or ask your local library to get it in. Available in paperback, ebook and audiobook. www.canelo.co/books/scratc...

I'm halfway through this and it's great. An utterly beguiling mix of Kafka and Auster and something completely it's own.

It's PUBLICATION DAY for my debut novel, IN THE DESERT! I've been writing for decades (many) and this is such a hugely big day for me. Thank you so much to my publisher @cowboyjamboree.bsky.social for believing in this book and to everyone who has helped along the way! Links to buy in thread 1/