Welcome to our weekly meet-up and open call for the best fiction of the week!
OPEN AUGUST 9 - 11
Fiction Accepted:
Only fiction shared between August 3rd - August 9th on Substack!
This open call will be available: NOW until 9pm EST on Sunday, August 11th.
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.
Look for our email on Monday, August 12th 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.
The Execution of Marketing is the third installment in the Interstellar Industries Cruise Line series, but the first for this epic character! Inspired by the real life widow-turned-vengeful-pirate Jeanne de Clisson, this is an exciting beginning for this character. He story will will twist around the other emerging main characters of this series as they bring to light the atrocities of a planet-to-planet cruise line. Enjoy!
My first submission to TIF, a short story, high fantasy genre.
This is an epistolary narrative, a letter between feuding colleagues who are both exceptionally gifted wizards. Though the letter begins as a fatherly appeal, the reader will soon see there’s much more than meets the eye.
Several stories from this week, mostly inspired by the riots and unrest in the UK. Out of all of them, I prefer this lazy, historically inspired approach to one of the Prime Minister's cabinet meetings:
This novel is middle grade fantasy, and Chapter 5 is as far as I've shared publicly before (on my own much less traveled website, and on Tall Tales Critique Community). I altered it slightly from the original, moving the surprise at the start of Chapter 6 to the end here as a cliffhanger—and incentive to keep reading, of course. That means that Chapter 6 starts out missing a little context if you don't recall Chapter 5, but it shouldn't be too hard to turn back a page.
This is such a wonderful idea. And it's wonderful to see so much great work getting posted here. I have a new story available this week. It's part of my ongoing series where the narratives are based on song titles. This one features the songs of Thin Lizzy and is about the power of true love... 😎 You can find it here: https://chrisjfranklin.substack.com/p/run-the-titles-volume-three
Tim Minchin is great! He's always doing interesting and innovative things with music. He was a comedy songwriter originally, and now he does West End musicals. And what he's doing in that one, which he's done in a few of his recent songs, is applying the principles of writing for theatre to something more mainstream. It's very clever... 😎
Chapters 21-22 of the novel in progress 3 Lives in Jury were released Aug. 8, in which one of the main characters fears his own fragility more than the lives of those around him, to the detriment of all.
There are two chapters left in Part One of the novel. In Part Two, the three main characters (3 lives in the town of Jury) reconnect after 20 years.
Hi there, I'd love to put my story forward, if that's ok? I'm particularly proud of it as it has just helped me break through my writers' block! :) I would categorise it as a Gothic folktale.
Thanks for putting this together! I still have stuff to read from the first few editions. I'll link my latest chapter from my serial "fictional memoir." It's literary fiction. Although I pull things from my own experience I can assure you that this whole project is very much fiction.
Here is Sluggers the newest shorty from Son of Ugly my weekly flash fiction joint, mostly crime and sports. This one is about baseball, or is it? Thx for doing this.
Thank you in advance for considering the second-to-last chapter of my slightly surreal serial novel, "Only by the Grace of the Wind" (published August 5). Title: "The Lion Cage."
Short story, western by Jean McKinney: https://blackmoonjournal.substack.com/p/on-crow-water-part-two-of-four
Flash fiction, horror by William Pauley, III: https://williampauleyiii.substack.com/p/storytime-creep-of-the-city
Short story, horror by Ken Flyingheart: https://kenflyingheart1.substack.com/p/aggie
Sharing this poem I wrote: https://bravethecastle.substack.com/p/gomorra.
Sharing this excellent horror story by the Chronicler, TBC I believe:
https://bmaya.substack.com/p/p-r-e-y
Also, I finished a sonnet this week:
https://irisshaw.substack.com/p/bad-practice
The Execution of Marketing is the third installment in the Interstellar Industries Cruise Line series, but the first for this epic character! Inspired by the real life widow-turned-vengeful-pirate Jeanne de Clisson, this is an exciting beginning for this character. He story will will twist around the other emerging main characters of this series as they bring to light the atrocities of a planet-to-planet cruise line. Enjoy!
https://www.davidjace.com/p/the-execution-of-marketing
My first submission to TIF, a short story, high fantasy genre.
This is an epistolary narrative, a letter between feuding colleagues who are both exceptionally gifted wizards. Though the letter begins as a fatherly appeal, the reader will soon see there’s much more than meets the eye.
https://open.substack.com/pub/ericfalden/p/a-missive-for-mankind?r=3ecd72&utm_medium=ios
Several stories from this week, mostly inspired by the riots and unrest in the UK. Out of all of them, I prefer this lazy, historically inspired approach to one of the Prime Minister's cabinet meetings:
"Keir Starmer Condemns Far-Right Thuggery After Another Day Of Violence": https://tomsomerfield.substack.com/p/keir-starmer-condemns-far-right-thuggery
A fictional account of the news, as always! Thanks Erica.
The Brat is brat: https://davidperlmutter.substack.com/p/the-brat-and-the-burly-qs
Good morning - here’s my crime fiction story about what motivates people to do things they shouldn’t.
https://open.substack.com/pub/jackconlan/p/sayulita?r=3oefic&utm_medium=ios
hey! putting up my story from the 5th. an attempt to evoke a particular place and time. let's call the genre 'hot couch literature'
https://friendsofmine.substack.com/p/rank
It's the end of Part 1. Do I need more promotion than that? https://open.substack.com/pub/dragonwriterluc/p/whats-a-dragon-chapter-5
This novel is middle grade fantasy, and Chapter 5 is as far as I've shared publicly before (on my own much less traveled website, and on Tall Tales Critique Community). I altered it slightly from the original, moving the surprise at the start of Chapter 6 to the end here as a cliffhanger—and incentive to keep reading, of course. That means that Chapter 6 starts out missing a little context if you don't recall Chapter 5, but it shouldn't be too hard to turn back a page.
My story, Shapeshifting, in which a man who is terrified of water meets a great blue heron and goes on the ride of his life. https://open.substack.com/pub/juliegabrielli/p/shapeshifting?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
This is such a wonderful idea. And it's wonderful to see so much great work getting posted here. I have a new story available this week. It's part of my ongoing series where the narratives are based on song titles. This one features the songs of Thin Lizzy and is about the power of true love... 😎 You can find it here: https://chrisjfranklin.substack.com/p/run-the-titles-volume-three
Love that concept - you ever watched Song Exploder on Netflix?
Thanks! I hadn't heard of Song Exploder, but I've just looked it up and it definitely sounds like my sort of thing... 😎
I love it. Thinking of doing something similar here too, or at least attempting.
That sounds like a great idea. There's a growing community of musicians on here now. I'm even considering posting some music myself soon! 😎
Cool! I'd like to explode some songs that don't follow a normal structure like this: https://open.spotify.com/track/5cOLW05QrG4EVMeqYpsx7w?si=VxabeHN4SF2ko5W3IpupAQ. Go on, find the chorus!
Tim Minchin is great! He's always doing interesting and innovative things with music. He was a comedy songwriter originally, and now he does West End musicals. And what he's doing in that one, which he's done in a few of his recent songs, is applying the principles of writing for theatre to something more mainstream. It's very clever... 😎
I have two different stories for this week. Chapter 11 of my serial THE SHIELD OF LOCKSLEY which will be winding down soon (3 more chapters left in Part One): The Genre is Historical/Fantasy: https://benwoestenburg.substack.com/p/the-shield-of-locksley-708?r=254e8w
And then my reading of THE TRUTH OF WHO WE ARE, (It's always printed underneath) a piece of my novella I put out every Sunday night on STORIES, AFTER EIGHT: The Genre for this is Historical, I guess: https://benwoestenburg.substack.com/p/the-truth-of-who-we-are-36d?r=254e8w
Chapters 21-22 of the novel in progress 3 Lives in Jury were released Aug. 8, in which one of the main characters fears his own fragility more than the lives of those around him, to the detriment of all.
There are two chapters left in Part One of the novel. In Part Two, the three main characters (3 lives in the town of Jury) reconnect after 20 years.
https://terryaf.substack.com?r=1uaih4&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=profile
Hi there, I'd love to put my story forward, if that's ok? I'm particularly proud of it as it has just helped me break through my writers' block! :) I would categorise it as a Gothic folktale.
https://open.substack.com/pub/nicolepaton/p/the-language-of-birds-and-blackberries-70b?r=2dk3ah&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Part of a series about a stripper turned politician:
https://open.substack.com/pub/tabithablair/p/stripper-revolution-2-from-da-poles?r=2l5tct&utm_medium=ios
Cool concept - behind paywall but what I saw looks cool!
Thanks! Yeah I give three free days and then I archive it.
I'd like to nominate the final chapter of Kim Hardy's mystical space odyssey serial 'If I Ruled the World'.
https://open.substack.com/pub/kimhardy/p/if-i-ruled-the-world-chapter-nine?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1zmgej
I'm giving Red Moon of Georgetown a chance at Top In Fiction. Thanks for doing it with soul.
Genre: Short Story
https://quantumsatis.substack.com/p/red-moon-of-georgetown?r=2z61by
Horror flash fiction/short story “Water.Lily.”
https://open.substack.com/pub/kathrineelaine/p/water-lily?r=2rhgsy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Thanks for putting this together! I still have stuff to read from the first few editions. I'll link my latest chapter from my serial "fictional memoir." It's literary fiction. Although I pull things from my own experience I can assure you that this whole project is very much fiction.
"Where the Sunbeams End," Chapter 19: Far Behind
https://petersmetanick.substack.com/p/far-behind
https://substack.com/home/post/p-147482851?source=queue
I would like to nominate this beautiful piece by Julie, it's stunning.
Genre: Fiction, Short Story
Oh my, thanks, Lenaleah!! Very generous!
https://open.substack.com/pub/sonofugly/p/sluggers?r=2sz29p&utm_medium=ios
Here is Sluggers the newest shorty from Son of Ugly my weekly flash fiction joint, mostly crime and sports. This one is about baseball, or is it? Thx for doing this.
Thank you in advance for considering the second-to-last chapter of my slightly surreal serial novel, "Only by the Grace of the Wind" (published August 5). Title: "The Lion Cage."
https://benzalkind.substack.com/p/chapter-11-the-lion-cage
Hot off the press! https://open.substack.com/pub/shonistar/p/what-really-truly-went-down-at-openai
It's part of a short series, I call it satire, but it was recently referred to as Techno Thriller, which I might even like better!