Pick of the day
The Torturer's Apprentice
Posted by Tipp Hex on Fri, 15 May 2026
The door was more than anything Mika could have imagined a door to a dungeon could be. Much more. Then again, he'd never seen a door to a dungeon before. Few had of course. And those few mostly never ever came back to talk about it. Mika was delighted.
At fifteen, out of school and more importantly, still out of work, his father urgently prodded his back and Mika shuffled forward, awestruck.
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Life on Berth
Posted by Jane Hyphen on Mon, 11 May 2026
Johnny the bottlenose dolphin nudged his friend, Cider with his smooth snout, ‘Watch out now, the monster is starting up her engines.’
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Poem of the week
Where Thoughts Take Me
Posted by skinner_jennifer on Fri, 15 May 2026
Whispering to where the sun rises,
how I wasn't sleeping so well...with
my imagination spinning a web of
metaphors that flew in on a breeze
through my window.
Wondering! If my future memories
will expand and grow, or will they
disperse like raindrops down my
pane?
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Features
Story and Poem of the Week, with Inspiration Point
Story and Poem of the Week, with Inspiration Point
posted by di_hard
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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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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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