The Milk House
@themilkhouse.bsky.social
📤 614
📥 58
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Literary journal of rural writing and experience, edited by
@penofryandennis.bsky.social
pinned post!
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...
17 days ago
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reposted by
The Milk House
Don Stewart
about 4 hours ago
I made the cut! (Not a bad way to start the new year.)
#MilkHouse
#BestInRuralWriting
#Anthology
#Rebounders
www.themilkhouse.org/anthology
@themilkhouse.bsky.social
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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...
17 days ago
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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...
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2025 Rural Writing Contest Best Essay: 'God, Guns, and Baseball' | The Daily Yonder
Editor’s note: The third annual “Best in Rural Writing Contest” was presented by the rural literary journal The Milk House with promotional support from
https://dailyyonder.com/2025-rural-writing-contest-best-essay-god-guns-and-baseball/2025/12/02/
24 days ago
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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...
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2025 Rural Writing Contest Best Short Story: 'The Escapee’s Lover' | The Daily Yonder
Editor’s note: The third annual “Best in Rural Writing Contest” was presented by the rural literary journal The Milk House with promotional support from
https://dailyyonder.com/2025-rural-writing-contest-best-short-story-the-escapees-lover/2025/12/02/
26 days ago
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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...
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On Killing by Andrew Sharp – The Milk House
Andrew Sharp approaches death on both the conceptual and practical level, trying to negotiate its necessity in modern life.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/on-killing-by-andrew-sharp/
about 1 month ago
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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!
about 1 month ago
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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...
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A Good Visit Home by Dan Tamblyn – The Milk House
A return to the past brings back some unresolved business, in Dan Tamblyn's short story "A Good Visit Home."
https://www.themilkhouse.org/a-good-visit-home-by-dan-tamblyn/
about 2 months ago
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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...
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https://www.themilkhouse.org/baling-hay-with-glen-by-joseph-powell/
about 2 months ago
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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-...
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Bug by John Whittier Treat – The Milk House
An annual camping trip causes one brother to start thinking about what lies ahead of them, in "Bug" by John Whittier Treat.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/bug-by-john-whittier-treat/
2 months ago
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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.
2 months ago
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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!
2 months ago
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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...
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2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest: Shortlist – The Milk House
The 2025 Best in Rural Writing Shortlist includes five essays and five short stories by writers from around the world.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/2025-best-in-rural-writing-contest-shortlist/
3 months ago
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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!
3 months ago
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reposted by
The Milk House
Ryan Dennis
3 months ago
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...
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Your Fall Reading List for a Better Food Future
Covering everything from soil to supper, these 26 inspiring books on food, farming, and climate are must-reads this fall.
https://foodtank.com/news/2025/10/food-tanks-fall-reads-for-food-farming-and-our-future/
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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...
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Grieving Horses by Julie H. Fonte – The Milk House
"The last thing I expected / turning into the gravel drive / were four red manes bowing / over a split rail fence..." Julia H. Fonte
https://www.themilkhouse.org/grieving-horses-by-julie-h-fonte/
3 months ago
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reposted by
The Milk House
Jamie Guiney
3 months ago
Reading more submissions this evening for the 2025
#BestinRuralWriting
Contest. Found another few pieces that I just love! 🤩
@themilkhouse.bsky.social
#Judging
#Fiction
#NonFiction
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reposted by
The Milk House
Jamie Guiney
3 months ago
Reading submissions. First one I picked up was AWESOME!
#Reading
add a skeleton here at some point
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"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...
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Dead Owl and Other Poems by J. R. Solonche – The Milk House
Yet there it was, / transferred to my palm like one of those / crazy decalcomanias she adorns herself with..."Dead Owl and Other Poems"
https://www.themilkhouse.org/dead-owl-and-other-poems-by-j-r-solonche/
3 months ago
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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...
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The Sugars of Existence by Benjamin Green – The Milk House
"What he feels, he acts upon; / What determines truth describes consequence...." The Sugars of Existence by Benjamin Green.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/the-sugars-of-existence-by-benjamin-green/
4 months ago
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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.
4 months ago
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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...
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Flystrike by Pearl Benjamin – The Milk House
A young woman is forced into action on a farm. Enjoy "Flystrike" by Pearl Benjamin, shortlisted in the 2024 Best in Rural Writing contest.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/flystrike-by-pearl-benjamin/
4 months ago
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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
4 months ago
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"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...
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Education by Sidney Lea – The Milk House
"Old times, but not so old that as darkness slunk in / the man had to hold his metal lantern..." Education by Sydney Lea
https://www.themilkhouse.org/education-by-sidney-lea/
4 months ago
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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...
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Agata and the Mice by Peyton Ellas – The Milk House
A woman looks for a new start in "Agata and the Mice" by Peyton Ellas, shortlisted in the 2024 Best in Rural Writing Contest.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/agata-and-the-mice-by-peyton-ellas/
5 months ago
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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...
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Rural Lit Book Club: This is Happiness by Niall Williams – The Milk House
Some discussion questions to consider for the Rural Literature Book Club on This is Happiness by Niall Williams.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/rural-lit-book-club-this-is-happiness-by-niall-williams/
5 months ago
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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...
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The Escapee’s Lover by Dennis McFadden – The Milk House
An old man gets another taste of life, as well as insight into someone else's, in Dennis McFadden's short story "The Escapee's Lover."
https://www.themilkhouse.org/the-escapees-lover-by-dennis-mcfadden/
5 months ago
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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...
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Submissions Sought for 2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest | Agriland
It is always particularly exciting to see writing from farmers and those from rural environments...
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/submissions-sought-for-2025-best-in-rural-writing-contest
5 months ago
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Thanks to @dailyyonder for sharing a piece on why the
#BestinRuralWriting
Contest matters and what's at stake when stories about rural life aren't told. Get your entries in by September 15th for judge
@jamesgwriter.bsky.social
.
dailyyonder.com/best-in-rura...
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Best in Rural Writing Contest Shows the Value of Rural Stories
The 2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest is accepting submissions until Sept. 15, 2025, offering an important platform for rural writers.
https://dailyyonder.com/best-in-rural-writing-contest-2025-never-underestimate-the-value-of-a-rural-story/2025/07/29/
5 months ago
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This week on
#TheMilkHouse
: An old eccentric in a small town holds secrets that no one guessed. Enjoy "Johnny's Coming!" by Gwyl Weatherford.
www.themilkhouse.org/johnnys-comi...
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Johnny’s Coming! by Gwylym Ford – The Milk House
One never knows what will dig up the past, in Gwylym Ford's story "Johnny's Coming!," shortlisted for the 2024 Best in Rural Writing Contest.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/johnnys-coming-by-gwylym-ford/
5 months ago
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Two months left to enter the 2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest! In partnership with
@dailyyonder.bsky.social
and judged by
@jamesgwriter.bsky.social
, the
#writingcontest
is accepting fiction and nonfiction under 7,000 words. Deadline: September 15th To enter:
themilkhouse.org/contest
6 months ago
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The landscape changed, the game unfurled, a post-impressionistic dance, as bird and hare and hound performed in blurring April ambience... This week on
#TheMilkHouse
: "The Seventh Whistler" by
@northernjim.bsky.social
) Read it here:
www.themilkhouse.org/the-seventh-...
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The Seventh Whistler by Jonathan Humble – The Milk House
"The landscape changed, the game unfurled, / a post-impressionistic dance..." read "The Seventh Whistler" by Jonathan Humble.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/the-seventh-whistler-by-jonathan-humble/
6 months ago
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This week on
#TheMilkHouse
: A teenage boy has to learn when to hold on and when to let go, in Elizabeth Rosen's
#shortstory
"A Body in Motion." Read it here:
www.themilkhouse.org/a-body-in-mo...
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A Body In Motion by Elizabeth Rosen – The Milk House
In the short story "A Body in Motion" by Elizabeth Rosen, a teenager has the hard choice of when to hang on and when to let go.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/a-body-in-motion-by-elizabeth-rosen/
6 months ago
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The Milk House is excited to announce the 3rd annual
#BestinRuralWriting
Contest, judged by
@jamesgwriter.bsky.social
. Fiction and nonfiction. Deadline: Sept 15th, 2025. Prize pool: $700. Finalists published in the 2026 Best in Rural Writing print anthology. To enter:
themilkhouse.org/contest
7 months ago
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This week on
#TheMilkHouse
: a chance encounter with an usual ally helps a man reconsider what's in front of him. Read the short story "Side of the Road" by Simon A. Smith:
www.themilkhouse.org/side-of-the-...
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Side of the Road by Simon A. Smith – The Milk House
In Simon A. Smith's short story "Side of the Road," a stray dog helps a man find the answers he needs in his marriage.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/side-of-the-road-by-simon-a-smith/
7 months ago
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On
#TheMilkHouse
: Bill Conlogue considers his father's life through the fieldwork he did, in his essay "Haying Seasons," shortlisted for the 2024
#BestinRuralWriting
contest. Read it here:
www.themilkhouse.org/haying-seaso...
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Haying seasons by Bill Conlogue – The Milk House
Read the essay "Haying Seasons" by Bill Conlogue, shortlisted for the 2024 Best in Rural Writing Contest by judge Dr. Chea Parton.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/haying-seasons-by-bill-conlogue/
7 months ago
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This week on
#TheMilkHouse
: In the short story "Cloud of Locusts" by Michael Loyd Gray, one character faces the fragility of being a farmer in the modern world. Read "Cloud of Locusts" here.
www.themilkhouse.org/cloud-of-loc...
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Cloud of Locusts by Michael Loyd Gray – The Milk House
The fragility of making a life as a farmer is felt by everyone in the family, in Michael Loyd Gray's short story "Cloud of Locusts."
https://www.themilkhouse.org/cloud-of-locusts-by-michael-loyd-gray/
7 months ago
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You massacred those oysters when we were girls, wrenched them from the river mud... This week on
#TheMilkHouse
: "Oyster World" by Cayla Garman. Read it here:
www.themilkhouse.org/oyster-world...
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Oyster World by Cayla Garman – The Milk House
"...hoping I could grow your mind / past the limits of our watershed,..." Oyster World by Cayla Garman
https://www.themilkhouse.org/oyster-world-by-cayla-garman/
8 months ago
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This week on
#TheMilkHouse
: The past and the present collapse in Bill Smoot's moving story "What We've Lost," sharing an experience faced by many who grew up on a farm. Read it here:
www.themilkhouse.org/what-weve-lo...
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What We've Lost by Bill Smoot – The Milk House
The past and the presence collapse in an all-too-familiar experience faced by those from a farm. Read "What We've Lost" by Bill Smoot.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/what-weve-lost-by-bill-smoot/
8 months ago
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reposted by
The Milk House
Luke Janicki
8 months ago
"Maybe I'll Catch a Second Wind," "Fire Extinguisher," and "Picking Mushrooms With Papa In Woodinville" (
@themilkhouse.bsky.social
)
www.themilkhouse.org/maybe-ill-ca...
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Maybe I’ll Catch a Second Wind and Other Poems by Luke Janicki – The Milk House
"...say / look what I have found without knowledge of / having brought it there..." Enjoy three poems by Luke Janicki.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/maybe-ill-catch-a-second-wind-and-other-poems-by-luke-janicki/
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This week on
#TheMilkHouse
: In "The Birth" by Pearl Benjamin, two characters realize that they have more than the life of a calf at stake. "The Birth" was a shortlisted story in the 2024
#BestinRuralWriting
Contest. Read it here:
www.themilkhouse.org/the-birth-by...
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The Birth by Pearl Benjamin – The Milk House
In "The Birth" by Pearl Benjamin, two characters realize that they have more than the life of a calf at stake.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/the-birth-by-pearl-benjamin/
8 months ago
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This week on The Milk House: Billie Pritchett explores the implications of growing among the rural poor. Read his essay "Dirty Laundry."
www.themilkhouse.org/dirty-laundr...
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Dirty Laundry by Billie Pritchett – The Milk House
In his essay "Dirty Laundry," Billie Pritchett explores the implications of growing up in a poor rural household.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/dirty-laundry-by-billie-pritchett/
9 months ago
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It's this Sunday! Significantly improve your dialogue by learning these simple but essential edits. Sunday, April 13th, 6pm GMT/ 1pm EST Sign up here:
www.themilkhouse.org/product/bett...
#fictionclasses
#onlinewritingworkshop
#onlinewritingclass
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The 'Ol He Said, She Said: Writing Better Dialogue – The Milk House
This online dialogue seminar will help you significantly improve your dialogue, from its mechanics to its content, with small edits.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/product/better-dialogue/
9 months ago
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This week on
#TheMilkHouse
: Randy Hisner looks back on his father, who credits milking cows for helping him play major league baseball. Read "Milking Cows and Throwing Curves," shortlisted for the 2024
#BestinRuralWriting
Contest.
www.themilkhouse.org/milking-cows...
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Milking Cows and Throwing Curves by Randy Hisner – The Milk House
Randy Hisner explores the intersection of baseball and farming in his essay "Throwing Curves and Milking Cows."
https://www.themilkhouse.org/milking-cows-and-throwing-curves-by-randy-hisner/
9 months ago
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This week on
#TheMilkHouse
" A certain feature of the landscape becomes the dividers of countries and time in
@ainegreaney.bsky.social
's hybrid essay "These Stone Walls." Read it here:
www.themilkhouse.org/these-stone-...
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These Stone Walls by Áine Greaney – The Milk House
Áine Greaney traverses countries and eras in her hybrid essay "These Stone Walls," using the past to try to make sense of the present.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/these-stone-walls-by-aine-greaney/
10 months ago
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The first 2-hour
#writingseminar
from @TheMilkHouse in 2025 is announced: The Ol' He Said, She Said: How to Write Stronger Dialogue April 13th, 2025 6pm GMT/ 1pm EST $15/€15 (free for WRITER or SUPPORTER subscribers) More info/Register here:
www.themilkhouse.org/product/bett...
10 months ago
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The 2025 Best in Rural Writing Contest judge is Jamie Guiney (
@jamesgwriter.bsky.social
), author the short story collection
#TheWoodenHill
and the forthcoming novel
#TheLightning
. Learn more about Jamie here:
www.themilkhouse.org/2025-best-in...
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2025 Best in Rural Writing Judge: Jamie Guiney – The Milk House
Jamie Guiney is a literary fiction writer from County Armagh, Northern Ireland. His short story collection The Wooden Hill (published by Epoque Press) was shortlisted under Best Short Story Collection...
https://www.themilkhouse.org/2025-best-in-rural-writing-judge-jamie-guiney/
11 months ago
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I’ve resorted to murder, here in my kitchen filled with basil, bee balm and thronging castes of blue-black crawlies— This week on
#TheMilkHouse
: I Confess and Other Poems by Poet Laureate of Ohio
@karigunterseymour.bsky.social
. Read them here:
www.themilkhouse.org/i-confess-an...
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I Confess and Other Poems by Kari Gunter-Seymour – The Milk House
I’ve resorted to murder,/ here in my kitchen/ filled with basil, bee balm/ and thronging castes of blue-black crawlies—" Kari Gunter Seymour.
https://www.themilkhouse.org/i-confess-and-other-poems-by-kari-gunter-seymour/
11 months ago
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reposted by
The Milk House
Hiram Larew
11 months ago
Poem appears in The Milk House newsletter
www.hiramlarewpoetry.com/post/a-poem-...
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A monumental thanks to our readers. The Milk House has moved to a subscription model, and the response has been humbling. We're ready to take your support and do big things with it.
11 months ago
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reposted by
The Milk House
Drew Gummerson
11 months ago
1/28 Feb is
#ReadIndies
month & each day I’ll feature a book from an indie publisher. The Employees by Olga Ravn (trns Martin Aitkin) is strange & beautiful. Told as a series of witness statements from a space crew it explores what means to be human.
www.lollieditions.com/books/the-em...
add a skeleton here at some point
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