Welcome to our weekly meet-up and open call for the best fiction of the week!
OPEN NOVEMBER 8 - 9
Fiction Accepted:
Only fiction shared between November 2nd - November 8th on Substack!
This open call will be available: NOW until 9pm EST on Saturday, November 9th.
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, November 11th 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.
In the Bulgarian tradition, All Souls’ Day is about cooking food and giving it away to family and friends, saying the names of the loved ones who have departed, remembering them. As I’m convalescing after an op, I couldn’t cook, so I wrote this.
NOTES: Trigger Warning for foul language, drug and alcohol use, and off-color remarks. Chapters 71 - 75 were published in the eligible time window. While AI is used to illustrate my custom chapter images, AI is not used in the writing of this novel. Thank you for the opportunity to connect with readers seeking bold, stylish fiction.
Note: Godfried, an elderly man from a small Dutch village, becomes obsessed with a dish at a new up-and-coming restaurant. Since the chef won’t give him the recipe, he returns everyday to decipher it for himself.
Note: I published this story in the lit mag I run and I love the way it gives us both sides of the story and shows that there's good and bad in everyone.
Note: This story came from one sentence, "Unexpectedly, keeping bears out of the store was part of the job description.", and it bloomed from there into this fever dream of a story.
Note: "It’ll be fine. It’ll be a lark. Thumbing their noses at all the stupid rules. Having some fun with the boys. Making out. God St Anne’s is prissy. It’s like snogging is the evilest thing in the world and a bit of shag will send them all to hell. But killing black people in the townships—that’s somehow okay."
Heaven's Warrior
K.J. Baker
Fantasy
Serial
https://open.substack.com/pub/kj961/p/heavens-warrior
In this Tang Dynasty influenced fantasy, Meilin defies the Lord Emperor's rule by seeking gifts of power from the Shen Gods.
Title: Daylight Savings Time (I Didn't Need a Bureaucrat for That)
Writer: Gerry Stanek
Genre: lit fic
Type: Poem
https://open.substack.com/pub/gerrystanek/p/daylight-savings-time-i-didnt-need?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2kb11f
(1) THE AFRICAN SONGBOOK
(2) FREEDOM HOUSE
SCRIBBLER - THE GOLDEN YEARS
LITERARY FICTION
Short Serial(s)
For THROWBACK THURSDAY I put up my...I guess it's a short serial THE AFRICAN SONGBOOK: A Tragedy In 5 Acts. It was actually the first story I posted when I came here: https://open.substack.com/pub/benwoestenburg/p/throwback-thursday-786?r=254e8w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
And then, last Sunday with my STORIES, AFTER EIGHT, I posted another reading/written piece of my novella FREEDOM HOUSE: https://open.substack.com/pub/benwoestenburg/p/freedom-house-10e?r=254e8w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I won't put up my Paywalled stuff because it doesn't seem right...
Story Title: Barrel (Part One)
Writer: Writing on a Whim
Genre: Thriller
Type: Short Story- Two parts
URL: https://briheron.substack.com/p/barrels?r=1cnhu7
Story Title: Saturday
Writer: Inkbattle
Genre: Literary Fiction
Type: Short Story
URL: https://inkbattle.substack.com/p/saturday?r=2swxfk
Story title: Gunpowder, Treason and Plot
Writer: FranB
Genre: Comedy
Type: Flash fiction
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/francesbrindle/p/gunpowder-treason-and-plot?r=j0ch2&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Story Title: Messapic
Writer: Oscar Ruto Chemelil of Oscar Ruto
Genre: Literary Fiction
Type: Short Story
URL:https://open.substack.com/pub/oscarruto/p/messapic?r=1of53q&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Story Title: Alone
Writer: The Môrdreigiau Chronicles
Genre: Fantasy
Type: Serial
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/projectstarfish/p/alone?r=1mk6at&utm_medium=ios
Note: Episode 3 in “Hiraeth”
Story Title: The Rapunzel in a Field of Rapunzels - Part One
Writer: E. H. Lau
Genre: Fairytale fantasy
Type: Short Serial
URL: https://ehlau.substack.com/p/the-rapunzel-in-a-field-of-rapunzels
Note: A singing duelist happens upon a flower trapped in a tower.
Thank you for your time and consideration, and running these every week! 😄
Story Title: Runner's High
Writer: Karl K. Gallagher
Genre: Science Fiction
Type: Short Story
URL: https://gallagherstories.substack.com/p/runners-high
Story Title: Snakelegs
Writer: Layne Mercer
Genre: Literary fiction
Type: Short story
URL: https://laynemercer.substack.com/p/snakelegs
Story Title: Empty Voices in an Abandoned Library
Writer: Bryan Russell
Genre: Spec-Fic
Type: Short Story
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/bryanrussell1/p/empty-voices-in-an-abandoned-library?r=11vroc&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Notes: Dedicated to the late Ray Bradbury! Live forever!!!!
Story Title: The Pit of Despair Writer: Blueshift Genre: Suspense Type: Flash Fiction URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/nothingpretentious/p/the-pit-of-despair?r=2qufyf&utm_medium=ios Note: A date pit and a corporate mystery.
Story title: Tara
Writer: COBOL
Type: shot story mythology
https://open.substack.com/pub/synopsys/p/tara?r=64ykk&utm_medium=ios
Story Title: Where Lightning Drink in the Dark
Writer: Igga Fitzsimons
Genre: High-Fiction
Type: Short Story
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/quantumsatis/p/where-lightning-drink-in-the-dark
Note: High-fiction is a literary genre in which stories are written under the influence of psychoactive substances.
Title: Blade of Burden 2
Write: Wirrowac
Genre: Dark fantasy
Type: short serial
https://open.substack.com/pub/wirrowac/p/blade-of-burden-2?r=4hfdz3&utm_medium=ios
Note: there is someone else in the cave with tgr samurai.
Story Title: CRYBABY
Writer: Mark Watson
Genre: Horror
Type: Serial Fiction
URL: https://markwatsonbooks.substack.com/p/crybaby-chapter-eighteen
Title: Barbarism
Writer: Tommy Green
Genre: Free Verse
Type: Poetry
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/tommyjgreen2004/p/barbarism?r=4k4m5l&utm_medium=ios
Title: Rippling Reflection’s Light
Writer: Tommy Green
Genre: Free Verse
Type: Poetry
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/tommyjgreen2004/p/rippling-reflections-light?r=4k4m5l&utm_medium=ios
Story Title: Salad Bar Meditation
Writer: Hassania
Genre: Literary Fiction
Type: Short Story
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/shakeyourhasss/p/salad-bar-meditation?r=3ogw45&utm_medium=ios
Note: Perfect for you if you like carrot cake and paying 17 euros/dollars for a dry salad
Story Title: Things I can never do, or do easily
Writer: Rostislava Pankova-Karadjova
Genre: Poetry
Type: A poem
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/rostislava/p/things-ill-never-be-able-to-do-or?r=zcxsb&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
In the Bulgarian tradition, All Souls’ Day is about cooking food and giving it away to family and friends, saying the names of the loved ones who have departed, remembering them. As I’m convalescing after an op, I couldn’t cook, so I wrote this.
Story Title: The Rabid Dog
Writer: Ryan Hight
Genre: Literary Fiction
Type: Short Story
URL: https://ryanhight.substack.com/p/the-rabid-dog
Story Title: Why Teach?: Chapter 2
Writer: Peter Shull - lower midlist
Genre: Literary Fiction
Type: Serial
URL: https://substack.com/home/post/p-151115869?source=queue
Note: William heads back to school on the Monday after Bryce's funeral.
Story Title: Juniper Falls
Writer: PodFiction by Nikolas Allen
Genre: Mystery
Type: Serial
URL: https://nikolasallen.substack.com/
NOTES: Trigger Warning for foul language, drug and alcohol use, and off-color remarks. Chapters 71 - 75 were published in the eligible time window. While AI is used to illustrate my custom chapter images, AI is not used in the writing of this novel. Thank you for the opportunity to connect with readers seeking bold, stylish fiction.
Story Title: What's a Dragon? - Chapter 18
Writer: Dragon Writer Luc
Genre: Fantasy
Type: Serial
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/dragonwriterluc/p/whats-a-dragon-chapter-18
Note: We're starting up part 3 with a realization that I'm sure many of you had last week.
Story Title: Ol' Dirt Bike Creek
Writer: Alex England
Genre: Literary fiction
Type: Short Story
URL: https://substack.com/home/post/p-151128569
Story Title: I Cast the Date Pit Over the Edge Writer: Irshaad Genre: Fantasy Type: Flash Fiction URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/unfinishedspeedwriting/p/i-cast-the-date-pit-over-the-edge?r=2qufyf&utm_medium=ios Note: A recursive tale.
Story Title: The Date Palm
Writer: Safa H
Genre: folklore
Type: flash/micro fiction
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/inkblotwriting/p/the-date-palm?r=4at1ty&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Note: a man eats a date as the world changes around him
Story Title: With Dignity
Writer: Bill Ferguson
Genre: Literary Fiction
Type: Flash Fiction
URL: https://billferguson.substack.com/p/with-dignity-a-hundred-word-story
Note: A reflection on a statement made in a substack article that struck a chord with me.
Story Title: Wealthgiver
Writer: Daniel M. Bensen
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Type: Serial
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/danielmbensen/p/a-thousand-lives?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=7etwc
Note: Andrei tries to sleep on the Rhodope Mountain.
Story Title: The President Comes to Stay
Writer: Elisabeth Grace Foley / The Second Sentence
Genre: Historical
Type: Short Story
URL: https://secondsentence.substack.com/p/the-president-comes-to-stay
Note: A pure piece of fun that started from a prompt to write a humor story set in the early 1900s.
Story Title: Godfried the Gourmand
Writer: Shifra Steinberg / Absurdus
Genre: Comedy
Type: Short Story
URL: https://substack.com/home/post/p-151165380?r=fda6y&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Note: Godfried, an elderly man from a small Dutch village, becomes obsessed with a dish at a new up-and-coming restaurant. Since the chef won’t give him the recipe, he returns everyday to decipher it for himself.
Story Title: Little Boy
Writer: Outside the Therapy Room
Genre: Fiction
Type: Poetry
URL: https://rolandoandrade.substack.com/p/little-boy
Note: A poem for my younger Self
Story Title: The Ride to Oblivion
Writer: Geoffrey K. Graves
Genre: Literary Fiction
Type: Short Story
URL: https://westword.substack.com/p/the-ride-to-oblivion
Note: I published this story in the lit mag I run and I love the way it gives us both sides of the story and shows that there's good and bad in everyone.
Story Title: Smoke and Mirrors
Writer: Scott MacLeod/Son of Ugly
Genre: Noir
Type: Flash Fiction
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/sonofugly/p/smoke-and-mirrors?r=2sz29p&utm_medium=ios
Note: Now You See Me meets Rounders
Story Title: Army of the Bears
Writer: Stories by Orin
Genre: Thriller
Type: Short Story
URL: https://orinmight.substack.com/p/army-of-the-bears
Note: This story came from one sentence, "Unexpectedly, keeping bears out of the store was part of the job description.", and it bloomed from there into this fever dream of a story.
Story Title: Boredom
Writer: Sue Meredith Mann/ On the Road to Jericho: A Novel
Genre: Literary Fiction
Type: Serial
URL: https://ontheroadtojericho.substack.com/p/pretoria-1988-boredom-fd4
Note: "It’ll be fine. It’ll be a lark. Thumbing their noses at all the stupid rules. Having some fun with the boys. Making out. God St Anne’s is prissy. It’s like snogging is the evilest thing in the world and a bit of shag will send them all to hell. But killing black people in the townships—that’s somehow okay."