Welcome to our weekly meet-up and open call for the best fiction of the week!
OPEN OCTOBER 4 - 5
Fiction Accepted:
Only fiction shared between September 28th - October 4th on Substack!
This open call will be available: NOW until 9pm EST on Saturday, October 5th.
Self-promotion of your fiction is welcome!
Leave a link of the story in the comments. Please say the GENRE as well (if applicable).
Submit as many as you want, so long as they were written and shared during the window mentioned above.
TEMPLATE FOR RECOMMENDATION
Copy/Paste in Comments Section. Anyone who does not use the template will be passed over for selection.
Story Title: Writer: [Substack Name] Genre: [See NOTE below] Type: [Choose 1: Poetry, Micro/Flash Fiction, Short Story, Short Serial, or Serial] URL: [Must be a Substack URL] Note: If you’d like to say a little something about your recommendation/self-promotion for anyone who happens upon this comments section in search of something new to read.
Genre can often be difficult to pin down or explain. And, if given the opportunity, we’d likely choose 3+ genres to try and explain our story but that can easily cause confusion for readers. So, I urge, nay INSIST, you only list ONE genre for your story. Using a “/” or “-” does not count as ONE genre and will be passed over for consideration. Some key exceptions are Sci-Fi, Cli-Fi, Spec-Fic, & Lit-Fic.
List of Popular Genre Fiction:
Science-Fiction OR Sci-Fi / Literary Fiction OR Lit-Fic / Speculative Fiction OR Spec-Fic / Climate Fiction OR Cli-FI / Fantasy / Horror / Thriller / Romance / Historical / Mystery / Comedy / Folklore / Dystopian / Young Adult
This list is in no way “complete.” For instance, you may choose “Crime” in place of Mystery or “Suspense” in place of Thriller. There are hundreds of genres to choose from. A good source of research, if your story does not fit into one of the above commonly used fiction genres is this page.
Feel free to include “extra genres” in the Note area where you can say whatever you want about your story.
Look for our email on Monday, October 7th where the Top In Fiction list will appear in your inbox! You never know what new gems you’ll discover. All we ask in return is that you share Top In Fiction to your email list and Restack the post on Monday in Substack Notes.
Note: “Nina dragged herself away from the exposed sidewalk and rolled down a grassy slope as bombs two, three, and four took down the Old Cathedral and debris whizzed over her head.”
Note: If there was a sub-genre it would be humour. This is part 1 of 8 in total (to be released weekly). I could also say the 'type' is serial, as although this story is self-contained it's the first in a series.
Note: The series encompasses dystopian, cli-fi and first contact elements. Chapters are issued twice weekly. The first chapter in the series this week won the Lunar Awards #8 'First Chapter' competition.
Note: After a long build-up of 25 chapters, this week, our main characters FINALLY kissed. I'm nothing if not a writer of slow burn. The book has been released as an ebook, so if you like this chapter, you can either dive back in from the beginning on Substack and wait for the last chapters along with other readers and commenters, or get the ebook and find out what happens early!
Note: Raw, real and visceral, the opening of chapter of this debut novel packs a punch. In the hushed corridors of an empty office, despair seeps through the cracks as one soul grapples with the weight of failure and the haunting echoes of harsh words. While the other heads home to pot roast.
Note: Reflections began as a writing warm-up and evolved into an anthology of personal struggle, exploring self-doubt, childhood trauma, and low self-esteem through an unnamed protagonist whose journey resonates universally, with each part serving as a standalone glimpse or part of a larger narrative.
Note: The night before the big sorcerer competition, there’s a ball - where everyone is is in their finest attire for the night, with splashes of anxiousness, sprinkles competitiveness and the most dazzling spectacles.
Note: This is the final story in a four-part anthology surrounding a fictional wedding between two characters from my novels. Each story can be read individually or in a group.
The Cove
Hanna Delaney
Horror
Chapter one of a new serial?
https://open.substack.com/pub/hannadelaneywrites/p/the-cove?r=21tibm&utm_medium=ios
This is a banger.
Shipwreck Dice Virus
@edithbow
Horror sci-fi
Short story
https://open.substack.com/pub/etherdreams/p/shipwreck-dice-virus-pt1?r=21tibm&utm_medium=ios
Edith’s putting out some crazy stuff.
Story Title: TruthStack
Writer: Annie Hendrix
Genre: Dystopian
Type: Short Story
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/anniehendrixwrites/p/truthstack?r=3lda94&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Note: “Nina dragged herself away from the exposed sidewalk and rolled down a grassy slope as bombs two, three, and four took down the Old Cathedral and debris whizzed over her head.”
THE TRUTH OF WHO WE ARE
SCRIBBLER -- THE GOLDEN YEARS
FICTION - NOVELLA (SHORT SERIAL) Literary Fiction
https://benwoestenburg.substack.com/p/the-truth-of-who-we-are-8db?r=254e8w
The last concluding piece to my novella
Title: Little Butterfly
Writer: feastsandfables (Just Write, Right)
Genre: Literary Fiction
Type: Short Story
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/justwriteright/p/little-butterfly?r=56lr6&utm_medium=ios
Note: Entered for the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award. Written for all the children who lose their childhoods to conflicts and wars.
Story title: The White Duchess
Writer: Liz Zimmers
Genre: Speculative
Type: Short Story
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/lizzimmers/p/the-white-duchess?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2byo0o
Title: Rinko
Writer: Sean Thomas McDonnell
Genre: Sci fi
Type: Microfiction
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/automaticwriter/p/rinko?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2byo0o
Title: All Who Wander
Writer: Sean Thomas McDonnell and EJ Trask
Genre: Horror
Type: Short Story
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/automaticwriter/p/all-who-wander?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2byo0o
Story Title: Episode 8: Patti Playpal - The Truth About Sadie Wilkins
Writer: S.L. Stallings
Genre: Paranormal fiction
Type: Serial
URL: https://merakiwriting.substack.com/p/a-haunting-at-vanity-theater-e78
Note: Sadie discovers the truth about who she is and why she is constantly harrassed by entities.
Story Title: Snow Blind
Writer: Badger Scratch
Genre: Fiction, Humor
Type: Micro?
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/lorenvictory/p/snow-blind?r=43m39u&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Story title: Ciao, SETI!
Writer: Evelyn Brunswick
Genre: Sci-fi
Type: Short story/novella
URL: https://inadifferentplace.substack.com/p/ciao-seti-intro-and-part-18?r=2s9hod
Note: If there was a sub-genre it would be humour. This is part 1 of 8 in total (to be released weekly). I could also say the 'type' is serial, as although this story is self-contained it's the first in a series.
Hi Erica & team - Thanks so much for this undertaking, and for the recognition (twice so far, so appreciated).
Here's another submit:
Story Title: Centenary: 100-word stories from Living Well Towers
Writer: Andrew Horan
Genre: Literary Fiction
Type: Micro/Flash Fiction
URL: https://centenary.substack.com/p/day-76-jimmy-dunne-anne-ruth-woman3
Note: This micro fiction 100-word stories compose my serial novel, Centenary. Day 76, and Jimmy Dunne is laying some truth on the Happy Hour ladies.
Story Title: I Confound my Enemies
Writer: Irshaad
Genre: Psychological horror
Type: Flash Fiction
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/unfinishedspeedwriting/p/i-confound-
my-enemies?r=2qufyf&utm_medium=ios
Note: Written against a 10 minute timer - so it’s short and to the point.
Story Title: Forever looking for forever
Writer: Outside The Therapy Room
Genre: Literary Fiction
Type: Short Story
URL: https://rolandoandrade.substack.com/p/forever-looking-for-forever-7f8?r=20ov80
Note: A very short story about love and soulmates
Story Title: INGRESSION (Chs. 6+7)
Writer: @reiditwrite
Genre: Science Fiction
Type: Serial
URL: https://consilienceseries.substack.com/p/ingression-index
Note: The series encompasses dystopian, cli-fi and first contact elements. Chapters are issued twice weekly. The first chapter in the series this week won the Lunar Awards #8 'First Chapter' competition.
Story Title: End of Days
Writer: Michael Serrur
Genre: Literary Fiction
Type: Flash Fiction
URL: https://michaelserrurauthor.substack.com/p/end-of-days-a-story-in-60-seconds
Note: A very short story about love, hopelessness, and gratitude.
Title: Stone Collectors
Writer: Thomas Foydel
Genre: Literary Fiction
Type: Short Story
Url: https://open.substack.com/pub/falsechoices/p/stone-collectors?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=27s0s
The stone walls of New England are astonishing for the uninitiated, like life's surprises.
Story Title: Don't Move Your Desk
Writer: Rhiannon D'Averc
Genre: Queer romance
Type: Serial
URL: https://crowhillcove.substack.com/p/dont-move-your-desk-chapter-twenty-six
Note: After a long build-up of 25 chapters, this week, our main characters FINALLY kissed. I'm nothing if not a writer of slow burn. The book has been released as an ebook, so if you like this chapter, you can either dive back in from the beginning on Substack and wait for the last chapters along with other readers and commenters, or get the ebook and find out what happens early!
Story Title: On the Road to Jericho: Prologue
Writer: Sue Meredith Mann
Genre: Literary Fiction
Type: Chapter One of a debut novel being serialized on Substack
URL: https://ontheroadtojericho.substack.com/
Note: Raw, real and visceral, the opening of chapter of this debut novel packs a punch. In the hushed corridors of an empty office, despair seeps through the cracks as one soul grapples with the weight of failure and the haunting echoes of harsh words. While the other heads home to pot roast.
Story Title: What Lay Below
Writer: Keith Loser
Genre: Horror
Type: Short Story
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/losersflashfiction/p/anthology-what-lay-below?r=3517l8&utm_medium=ios
Note: Atmospheric Horror, a man explores a recently revealed cave in his canoe.
Story Title: The Supply Officer, 1/2
Writer: Ken Wolfson
Genre: Science Fiction
Type: Short Story
URL: https://kenwolfson.substack.com/p/the-supply-officer-part-12?r=2f2488
Note: What happens when your colony is still dependent on the outside world, and that world collapses?
Story Title: Reflections [Part 3]
Writer: Diana Hannay of Fickle and Whimsy
Genre: Literary Fiction
Type: Short Serial
URL: https://fickleandwhimsy.substack.com/p/reflections-part-3
Note: Reflections began as a writing warm-up and evolved into an anthology of personal struggle, exploring self-doubt, childhood trauma, and low self-esteem through an unnamed protagonist whose journey resonates universally, with each part serving as a standalone glimpse or part of a larger narrative.
Story Title: Gowns of Glory
Writer: @Preciousjane
Genre: Fantasy
Type: Short Story
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/preciousjane/p/gowns-of-glory?r=dszai&utm_medium=ios
Note: The night before the big sorcerer competition, there’s a ball - where everyone is is in their finest attire for the night, with splashes of anxiousness, sprinkles competitiveness and the most dazzling spectacles.
Story Title: Blue Ice
Writer: Scott MacLeod/Son of Ugly
Genre: Noir
Type: Flash Fiction
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/sonofugly/p/blue-ice?r=2sz29p&utm_medium=ios
Note: A very hot rock six miles high
Story Title: Forever in Our Hearts
Writer: Vince Wetzel, Salted Wetzel With a Side of Mustard
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Type: Short story (as part of a four-part anthology series)
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/vincewetzel/p/forever-hearts
Note: This is the final story in a four-part anthology surrounding a fictional wedding between two characters from my novels. Each story can be read individually or in a group.
Story Title: Precocial
Writer: Oscar Ruto
Genre: Literary Fiction
Type: Short Story
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/oscarruto/p/precocial?utm_source=app-post-stats-page&r=1of53q&utm_medium=ios
Story Title: What's a Dragon?
Writer: Dragon Writer Luc
Genre: Fantasy
Type: Serial
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/dragonwriterluc/p/whats-a-dragon-chapter-13
Note: Surely nothing can go wrong from this, right?
Story Title: The Silenced
Writer: Toasted Fiction with Chris Patrick
Genre: Science Fiction
Type: Short Serial
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/toastedfiction/p/tongue-part-one?r=1gq5r9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Note: Part One of a short story, part of collection Ceal: A Collection Of Stories From The End Of The World