Pick of the day
Circus Soleil and The Empress Card
Posted by VeraClark on Sat, 09 May 2026
She meets the balloon sculptor at the lido where the water is black and salted. When the tide comes in, the swells slop and jive her towards his exhibition of domestic animals. She buys a silver sausage dog, a white cat, straddles them on the sea wall, pretends they are debating horror in contemporary revisionist fairy tales. He tells her she is a right card: she asks if she is a spade, a diamond or a club?
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Amanderella Gottsnobbler and the Bangolin Tree Chapter 6
Posted by Eric Marsh on Fri, 08 May 2026
Chapter 6.A Letter arrives.
After Mrs Thimblewick left, Amanderella’s mother sat for a long moment in the garden chair, the newspaper clipping trembling slightly in her hand. Lectures. In the city. Parrots. Vines with opinions. Tea and biscuits. It was all too much.Read more
Poem of the week
I heard the cuckoo sing today …
Posted by Rhiannonw on Thu, 07 May 2026
I heard the cuckoo sing today … this welcome gentle sound of spring …
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'For All We Know We Don't' by Sean McNulty. Out Now! Review by Drew Gummerson
I am very pleased to announce the publication of 'For All We Know We Don't' - a collection of short stories by our very own Sean McNulty. It's available to order from Amazon here:
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Story and Poem of the Month
Our Story and Poem of the Month for April, very kindly chosen by Airyfairy
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“The Way We Heard”: A New Fiction Challenge for ABCtales
“The Way We Heard”: A New Fiction Challenge for ABCtales
This new fiction challenge is sponsored by Cerasus who will donate £100 to ABCtales if all the criteria are met.
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Family Man by Colin Burnett. Review!
I'm very pleased to annnounce the publication of Colin Burnett's new book 'Family Man'
Read moreWant to join ABCTales?
We've had to suspend the automatic joining facility for a while so if you would like to join us please email
Read moreBee's Journey
Picks of the Month
After You'd Gone
Posted by Angusfolklore on Sat, 11 Apr 2026
After you'd gone, sometimes we would wake
and find you still there
in the favourite chair,
in the dust-ridden front room
alive with the sunlight streaming in.
And we would speak in surprise,
asking where had you been.
But you could do nothing
but stare through the cathedral beams
of the morning sun
that magnified your presence.
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Bron-33
Posted by Ivan the OK-ish on Tue, 21 Apr 2026
Continued from Chapter 32: Bron-32 | ABCtales
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