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Johnathan Reid's avatar

Story Title: Star Child

Writer: Johnathan Reid / @ReidItWrite

Genre: Science Fiction

Type: Short Story

URL: https://reiditwrite.substack.com/p/star-child-a-short-story

Note: Humour lies, some say, wherever you may find it. So it’s far from a dull day when I get to write about starry smiles, woke wiles and a full bladder. Confused? Intrigued? Here's my Lunar Awards prompted story to explain it all…

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MarkONewmanWriter's avatar

Story Title: DRONIKUS 7, Rators, rebels and glo-slime

Writer: MarkoNewman

Genre: Cli-fi/Dystopian/Sci-fi

Type: Serial

URL: https://substack.com/home/post/p-152130101?source=queue

Note: Zola finds himself caught-up in a night of rioting, is glo-slimed and meets the lumpyface woman. "Get one of these,’ pointing to her face covering, "you absolutely need it".

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Chris J. Franklin's avatar

Story Title: Flash Fiction: Volume Five

Writer: Chris J. Franklin

Genre: Humour

Type: Micro/Flash Fiction

URL: https://chrisjfranklin.substack.com/p/flash-fiction-volume-five

Note: This is a special 'Christmas Edition' of my ongoing Flash Fiction series, featuring five, fun festive tales. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all... 🎄😎🎄

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Cade Robinet's avatar

Story Title- Afterwards: The Airplane

Writer- Cade Robinet

Genre- Sci Fi

Type- Short Story

URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/caderobinet/p/afterwards-the-airplane?r=4ldfnm&utm_medium=ios

NOTE- An airplane is determined to make one last delivery during the apocalypse.

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Thomas Foydel's avatar

Story Title: The Apprenticeship of Joel Pushkin

Writer: Thomas Foydel

Genre: Literary Fiction

Type: Short Story

URL: https://falsechoices.substack.com/p/the-apprenticeship-of-joel-pushkin

Note: Like thousands before him, a young fellow with little direction grabs hold of an idea and takes it all the way to the bank.

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K.M. McKellar's avatar

Story Title: Laus Veneris

Writer: K.M. McKellar

Genre: Fantasy

Type: Short story

URL: https://karenmckellar.substack.com/p/laus-veneris

Note: This is a World War One story with a touch of fantasy. So mostly historical, but the fantasy element is important to the story.

I posted two stories this week. The other is much shorter.

Story Title: The Gallery of Earthly Delights

Writer: K.M. McKellar

Genre: Fantasy

Type: Flash fiction

URL: https://karenmckellar.substack.com/p/the-gallery-of-earthly-delights

Note: More of a dream-like, irrealist piece of writing.

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Rostislava Pankova-Karadjova's avatar

Story Title: The Apple Tree and The Sun

Writer: Rostislava Pankova-Karadjova of Airings

Genre: A folk-poem

Type: Poetry

URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/rostislava/p/the-apple-tree-and-the-sun?r=zcxsb&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Note: A translation of a poem I first wrote in Bulgarian, including an audio of the original

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Victor Jimenez's avatar

Story Title: The Lawn

Writer: Victor Jimenez

Genre: Sci-Fi

Type: Flash

URL: https://serialassemblerofwords.substack.com/p/alien-gardening

A nice callback to the pulp era.

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Michael Arturo's avatar

Story Title: Don’t Let Them Take Your Boots

Writer: Michael Arturo

Genre: Folklore

Type: Short Story

URL: https://michaelarturo.substack.com/p/dont-let-them-take-your-boots-e79

Note: The story of Italian immigrant Giacomo Mazzone, who sets out on a journey to find a pair of stolen boots, is a folkloric meditation on identity, loss, and the dehumanizing indifference of New York in the early 20th century.

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Evelyn K. Brunswick's avatar

Story Title: XF

Writer: Evelyn K. Brunswick

Genre: Sci-Fi

Type: Short story

URL: https://inadifferentplace.substack.com/p/xf?r=2s9hod

Note: I did two sci-fi stories this week - this one isn't humour as well though. It's a first contact story. But the Great Image Generator, as always, did a superb job. The story's not bad either, if I say so myself. Part of my Immigration Control collection.

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Making It Up As I Go Alone's avatar

Story Title: King Work

Writer: Making It Up As I Go Alone

Genre: Crime

Type: Short Story

URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/richarddavis565153/p/king-work?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=46o1cl

Note: A slab of Brit-Grit noir that follows killer King at work. All goes according to plan, until it doesn't.

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Evelyn K. Brunswick's avatar

Story Title: Johnny Gone to Charon

Writer: Evelyn K. Brunswick

Genre: Sci-Fi

Type: Short Story

URL: https://inadifferentplace.substack.com/p/johnny-gone-to-charon-act-iii-finale?r=2s9hod

Note: the other genre here is humour/comedy. It's basically sci-fi and humour in equal measure, and was inspired by the recent Lunar Awards Prompt Quest.

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Vladimir Ivanov's avatar

Story Title: Wine Pairings

Writer: Vladimir Ivanov

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Type: Flash Fiction

URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/vladimirivanov/p/wine-pairings

Note: My first ever flash fiction story about an eccentric wine shopkeeper and his peculiar clientelle

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M.P. Fitzgerald's avatar

Story Title: The Public Humiliation of Brian

Writer: M.P. Fitzgerald

Genre: Sci-Fi

Type: Short Story

URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/mpfitzgerald/p/the-public-humiliation-of-brian

Note: Dark-humored social anxiety horror about a man whose mind leaks.

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Dragon Writer Luc's avatar

Story Title: What's a Dragon? - Chapter 23

Writer: Dragon Writer Luc

Genre: Fantasy

Type: Serial

URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/dragonwriterluc/p/whats-a-dragon-chapter-23

Note: Snow blocks bikes but it doesn't block flying.

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BamBoncher's avatar

Story Title: Unicornity

Writer: BamBoncher

Genre: Fantasy

Type: Micro/Flash Fiction

URL: [https://open.substack.com/pub/bamboncher/p/unicornity?r=36jaso&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Note: a humorous drabble on the outcome of choosing the wrong spell ingredient

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Karl Gallagher's avatar

Story Title: Probe

Writer: Karl K. Gallagher

Genre: Science fiction

Type: Short Story

URL: https://gallagherstories.substack.com/p/probe

Note: A humorous story looking at why flying saucers decide to kidnap, probe, and return people.

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Elie Lichtschein's avatar

Story Title: We Were Out Hunting IV Billionaire

Writer: Elie Lichtschein

Genre: Spec-fic

Type: Literary Fiction

URL: https://darkquarters.substack.com/p/we-were-out-hunting-iv-billionaire

Note: Part I of a story about class warfare involving a 16-year-old girl's discovery of the plot that murdered her uncle, a hedge fund billionaire, and staged it as a heart attack.

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Shoni's avatar

Story Title: Imagine an AI Tutor for School Children

Writer: Shoni

Genre: Spec-fic

Type: Short Serial

URL: https://shonistar.substack.com/p/can-we-trust-ai-to-teach-our-children

Note: Part II of a two-part story about an AI-enabled toy that helps kids with their homework. Some reader appreciation was expressed: "That was a wonderful story. And I really wasn't expecting that part 2 - you went from really funny to poignant sadness. Both were equally well done."

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Shoni's avatar

Story Title: Imagine an AI Tutor for School Children

Writer: Shoni

Genre: Spec-fic

Type: Short Serial

URL: https://shonistar.substack.com/p/imagine-an-ai-tutor-for-school-children

Note: Part I of a two-part series about an AI-enabled toy that helps kids with their homework. It's not too Black Mirror, I promise.

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Diana Hannay's avatar

Story Title: Katydid and the Snow Angel

Writer: Diana Hannay of Fickle and Whimsy

Genre: Literary-Fiction

Type: Short Story

URL: https://fickleandwhimsy.substack.com/p/katydid-and-the-snow-angel

Note: A nostalgic reflection on imagined winters on the farm, where the simplicity and quiet magic of the season evoke a timeless sense of wonder.

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Renni Grier's avatar

Story Title: The Missing Lover

Writer: Renni Grier

Genre: Fantasy

Type: Short story

URL: https://spiritinmotion.substack.com/p/the-missing-lover?r=3i19cd

Note: A high priestess no longer hears the voice of God in the face of her people's extinction.

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Sue Mann's avatar

Story Title: The Question

Writer: Sue Meredith Mann/ On the Road to Jericho

Genre: Literary Fiction

Type: Serial

URL:https://ontheroadtojericho.substack.com/p/21-pretoria-1993-the-question-f85

Note: Eleanor navigates a high-stakes interview. Will truth elevate or sink her?

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Sue Mann's avatar

Story Title: Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika

Writer: Sue Meredith Mann/ On the Road to Jericho

Genre: Literary Fiction

Type: Serial

URL: https://ontheroadtojericho.substack.com/p/20-durban-1992-nkosi-sikelel-iafrika

Note: The University receives a special visitor. Some celebrate. Others mutiny.

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James Kenwood's avatar

Story Title: Cold Feet

Writer: James Kenwood

Genre: Sci-Fi

Type: Micro/Flash Fiction

URL: https://jameskenwood.substack.com/p/cold-feet

Note: On a grim Mars far in the future, our protagonist must make choices around life and limb...

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Tommy Green's avatar

Story Title: Ink Tears

Writer: Tommy Green

Genre: Free Verse

Type: Poetry

URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/tommyjgreen2004/p/inky-tears?r=4k4m5l&utm_medium=ios

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Tommy Green's avatar

Story Title: Campfire

Writer: Tommy Green

Genre: Literary Fiction

Type: Flash Fiction

URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/tommyjgreen2004/p/campfire?r=4k4m5l&utm_medium=ios

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Tommy Green's avatar

Title: Darragh’s Scourge

Writer: Tommy Green

Genre: Poetry

Type: Poetry

URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/tommyjgreen2004/p/darraghs-scourge?r=4k4m5l&utm_medium=ios

Note: A poem based on the weekend I had thanks to Storm Darragh.

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Jack Fitzgerald's avatar

Story Title: Thanksgiving

Writer: Jack Fitzgerald

Genre: Literary Fiction

Type: Serial

URL: https://jackfitzgerald.substack.com/p/the-summer-we-said-goodbye-18

Note: Installment 18 of The Summer We Said Goodbye

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Zachary Clark's avatar

Story Title: The Cigarette Hotbox - Chapter 2

Writer: Zachary Clark (Foolish Words)

Genre: Lit-Fic

Type: Serial

URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/zacharyaclark/p/the-cigarette-hotbox-chapter-2?r=2stmma&utm_medium=ios

Note: After deciding to stay late at a family party, Baxton starts to see the sort of crowd that lingers past normal hours

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Irshaad's avatar

Story Title: I am Not Alone: They Lurk in the Shadows
Writer: Irshaad
Genre: Horror
Type: Flash Fiction
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/unfinishedspeedwriting/p/i-am-not-alone?r=2qufyf&utm_medium=ios
Note: Denied sleep because of his fears, he wonders if his fears are real or imagined….

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Ben Woestenburg's avatar

Hi Erica, it's good to be back. I got lost for a while. I have two stories for you to consider this week...

WRITER: Scribbler -- a portal to fiction (I changed my name.)

GENRE: Literary

Type: short story

My THROWBACK THURSDAY story is an oldie but a goodie...

https://open.substack.com/pub/benwoestenburg/p/throwback-thursday-b5e?r=254e8w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

And my STORIES, AFTER EIGHT (reading/written) conclusion to my story FREEDOM HOUSE is not for everyone because of the subject matter, but hey, it is what it is...https://benwoestenburg.substack.com/p/freedom-house-c69?r=254e8w

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Sharron Bassano's avatar

Title: LONDON STREETS: NIGHT

Writer: Sharron Bassano

Genre: Fiction

Type: Flash Fiction

URL: https://sharronbassano.substack.com/p/london-streets-night-49e

What transpires on on the streets of London on one particular night?

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Matt Gerrity's avatar

Story Title: "An Artist's Remembrance"

Writer: @bluebirdfiction

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Type: Short Story

URL: https://bluebirdfiction.substack.com/p/an-artists-remembrance

A college student experiences a strange encounter at the museum.

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Scott MacLeod's avatar

Story Title: Priced To Move

Writer: Scott MacLeod/Son of Ugly

Genre: Holiday

Type: Flash Fiction

URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/sonofugly/p/priced-to-move?r=2sz29p&utm_medium=ios

Note: Christmas schmaltz.

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Chris DeWitt's avatar

Story Title: Gullywashers

Writer: Chris DeWitt (Dork Mansion Dispatch)

Genre: Literary Fiction

Type: Short story

URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/dorkmansiondispatch/p/dispatch-18-gullywashers?r=e4td0&utm_medium=ios

Note: A writer drives his ailing father in law across Texas and gets lost in a torrent.

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Bruce Dobbins's avatar

Story Title: Liminal Mall

Writer: Bruce Dobbins

Genre: Speculative Fiction

Type: Flash Fiction

https://substack.com/@brucedobbins/note/p-153045990?r=351uu8

Note: How far would you go for one last moment?

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Peter Shull's avatar

Story Title: Why Teach - chapter 8

Writer: Peter Shull

Genre: Literary Fiction

Type: Serial

URL: https://substack.com/home/post/p-152383514

Note: The week of the big game: can William pull himself up out of his spiritual malaise to be the teacher that Javi, Marcos, and his other 'Jock English' students deserve?

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Jean Marie Bauhaus's avatar

Story Title:

Writer: Jean Marie Bauhaus [Through a Glass, Darkly]

Genre: Supernatural thriller

Type: Serial

URL: https://jeanmariebauhaus.substack.com/p/restless-spirits-chapters-13-and

Note: Second installment from this week (see previous comment).

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Jean Marie Bauhaus's avatar

Story Title:

Writer: Jean Marie Bauhaus [Through a Glass, Darkly]

Genre: Supernatural thriller

Type: Serial

URL: https://jeanmariebauhaus.substack.com/p/restless-spirits-chapters-11-and

Note: A paranormal investigator becomes the subject of her own investigation after a routine ghost hunt goes horribly awry. I'm serializing my first published novel, posting two episodes (four chapters) a week.

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Peter Shull's avatar

Story Title: Why Teach - chapter 7

Writer: Peter Shull

Genre: Literary Fiction

Type: Serial

URL: https://pshull.substack.com/p/why-teach-chapter-7

Note: An unusual homecoming: William attends Jim Morris Sr's birthday-slash-retirement party at the Plains City Country Club.

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A.P. Murphy's avatar

Story Title: Overnight Stay at Breakheart Lodge

Writer: A.P. Murphy

Genre: Literary Fiction

Type: Short Story

URL: https://thestrangenesskit.substack.com/p/overnight-stay-at-breakheart-lodge

Note: A short story about a rock group in the form of a review of their last album. Details of their story come dripping out between the lines before a climatic end track.

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