Top in Fiction is the place where fiction lives, but it’s also the place where a community of fiction writers and readers come together every week to share in our mutual love (and respect) of fiction. Please read the guidelines as some things may have changed and check HERE for further explanation on these guides, if needed.
OPEN JANUARY 17 - JANUARY 18
Guidelines:
Only fiction shared between January 11th - January 17th on Substack!
This post will be open from NOW until 9pm EST on Saturday, January 18th.
Self-promotion of your fiction is welcome!
Use the TEMPLATE FOR RECOMMENDATION below when submitting a story.
Submit NO MORE THAN 2 stories! This is a strict rule that will be enforced.
TEMPLATE FOR RECOMMENDATION
Copy/Paste in the Comments Section. Anyone who does not use the template will be passed over for selection.
Story Title: Writer: [Name on Substack] Publication Name: [Substack Name Ex.: Erica Drayton Writes] Genre: [Choose 1 ONLY] Category: [Choose 1: Comic/Cartoon, Poetry, Micro/Flash Fiction, Short Story, Short Serial, or Serial] URL: [Must be a Substack URL] Extra: Tell us about your story in three sentences or less.
Look for the next TiF Weekly issue on Monday, January 20th! 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 time to share fiction LOUDLY AND PROUDLY is now!
Extra: The story is about a group of lads on a Sunday night trying to complete the Cayo Perico Heist. The story is told through an audio transcript of an Xbox Call
Extra: In his ongoing quest to become the official Santa Claus, Cuff obtains a reindeer to help with this year's delivery of toys. Of course, the creature living at the North Pole is still considered to be the real Santa by the denizens of consensus reality, but Cuff is confident he can charm his way into their hearts and sway them into accepting him as the new king of free toys.
Extra: This is part 1 of 7. The other genre is humour. It's basically a comedy sci-fi movie which gleefully takes the piss out of stuff like Don't Look Up! Unofficial Katy is sequestered to help the world's third richest neoliberal guy design a superbunker because the end of the world is nigh. Pearl & Deans included for free.
Extra: The Underground's latest stunt—proof that rising tensions between the urban centers and the Wilds are escalating—threatens Julia Ryker's hold over the country. With this sneak peek into the Forged series, find out why the code name for the leader of the United Pacific Territories is "Voltage."
Extra: In the 1950s, after the end of World War 2, a German bookmaker writes to his father to ask about a strange coin he received from a visitor to his shop. (this is one for the WW2 history boffins out there)
I don't usually throw out my Locksley chapters because they're behind the Paywall, but I put this one out for FREE this week and thought: What the hell...why not?
Extra: The Enedram have farmed the the rainless steppe for as long as anyone can remember, unlocking the power of the water below. But Hal feels destiny calling him to something greater than the wheat harvest.
Extra: Christmas Break sees protagonist William Able housesitting for his father at the country club, filling out applications for law and grad programs, and... enjoying a wintertime romance?!?
Extra: Philly Giordano leaves New York for Tinseltown, where the business of content creation is brisk while the corpses of scriptwriters rot in the hot sun.
Extra: I'm using Merriam-Webster's word of the day as a daily prompt for microfiction, decided to throw in a genre randomizer today too, and it gave me revenge western/theological fiction. I really liked that combo!
Extra: A young Afghanistan vet walks away from a fight with her boyfriend, leaving her alone with a litany of painful memories. With nowhere to hide, Colette hitches a ride with an older man carrying his own sorrows. As night falls, danger arises, and she must decide what among these many troubles are hers to carry.
Extra: After being reunited with Balgair, his bhannan can't wait to get him alone. As the house is too far away for their tastes, they demand an afternoon in the nearest inn. Once there, they have to get a room, but the InnKeeper is more interested in making them work for it.
Extra: The asthmatic climate scientist Grace Evans is a rising academic star, determined to expose the methane-leaking cracks in gas wells while hiding the widening cracks in her own life.
Extra: A timberpunk tale of an imagined Elizabethan era in which a Shakespearean dramatist struggles to make his voice heard in the cultural milieu. A reflection on how disposable virality could drown out valuable creativity.
Story Title: Brief Speaking Tips from the Toastmaster's Exhibitionists Chapter
Writer: Shawn Emhe II
Publication Name: Futures and Follies
Genre: Humor
Category: Micro/Flash
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/futuresandfollies/p/brief-speaking-tips-from-the-toastmasters?r=3o0pkx&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Extra: Satirical advice for speakers suffering from stagefright (and my first post on substack! Thanks for considering)
Story Title: Bad Day
Writer: W.B.Foley
Publication Name: W.B.'s Substack
Genre: Thriller
Category: Micro/Flash
URL:https://wbfoley.substack.com/p/bad-day?r=4m5nh3
Extra: A bad day turns worse for Ramos. Stuck at work, but needed elsewhere, he struggles with everyday life on one of the worst days in life.
Story Title: One Hundred Thousand Things Undone
Writer: Maximilian P Siddell
Publication Name: A Stream of Consciousness
Genre: Poetry
Category: Poetry
URL: https://mpsiddell.substack.com/p/one-hundred-thousand-things-undone
Extra: A poem about battling the never ending todo list.
Story Title: The Boys Do Cayo Perico
Writer: Rhys Hickmott
Publication Name: Rhys Hickmott
Genre: Comedy
Category: Short Story
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/rhyshickmott/p/the-boys-do-cayo-perico-short-story?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=49oaba
Extra: The story is about a group of lads on a Sunday night trying to complete the Cayo Perico Heist. The story is told through an audio transcript of an Xbox Call
Story Title: Checkers
Writer: Dyce Anferné
Publication: Assurance of Victory
Genre: Speculative
Category: Serial
URL: https://dyce.substack.com/p/checkers
Extra: In his ongoing quest to become the official Santa Claus, Cuff obtains a reindeer to help with this year's delivery of toys. Of course, the creature living at the North Pole is still considered to be the real Santa by the denizens of consensus reality, but Cuff is confident he can charm his way into their hearts and sway them into accepting him as the new king of free toys.
Story Title: Please Don't Thank Me with Salad
Writer: Jennie Robertson
Publication Name: Mercy, Maine, and Me
Genre: Literary Fiction
Category: serial
URL: https://jennierobertson.substack.com/p/please-dont-thank-me-with-salad
Notes: chapter 8 of a series; this one posted January 17, but Chapter 3 unlocked for free subscribers!
Story Title: Moquerie De La Mere
Writer: Spencer D. W.
Publication Name: Spencer’s Cult of Forbidden Horrors
Genre: Horror
Category: short story
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/spencerdw/p/moquerie-de-la-mere?r=3517l8&utm_medium=ios
Notes: delicious horror
Story Title: Pinko Commie Superbunker
Writer: Evelyn K. Brunswick
Publication name: In A Different Place
Genre: Sci-Fi
Category: Short Serial
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/inadifferentplace/p/pinko-commie-superbunker-part-17?r=2s9hod&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Extra: This is part 1 of 7. The other genre is humour. It's basically a comedy sci-fi movie which gleefully takes the piss out of stuff like Don't Look Up! Unofficial Katy is sequestered to help the world's third richest neoliberal guy design a superbunker because the end of the world is nigh. Pearl & Deans included for free.
Story Title: Escalation: The Fine Line Between Strong Leader And Despot
Writer: @cbmason
Publication Name: by CB Mason
Genre: dystopian
Category: Short Story
URL: https://cbmason.substack.com/p/escalation-fine-line-between-strong-leader-and-despot
Extra: The Underground's latest stunt—proof that rising tensions between the urban centers and the Wilds are escalating—threatens Julia Ryker's hold over the country. With this sneak peek into the Forged series, find out why the code name for the leader of the United Pacific Territories is "Voltage."
Story Title: Times of Change
Writer: James Kenwood
Publication Name: Grim Acres
Genre: Sci-Fi
Category: Short Story
URL: https://jameskenwood.substack.com/p/times-of-change
Extra: In the 1950s, after the end of World War 2, a German bookmaker writes to his father to ask about a strange coin he received from a visitor to his shop. (this is one for the WW2 history boffins out there)
Story Title: Episode 3: Prisoners on the Beagle
Writer: Chris Lynch
Publication Name: The Amazing Adventures of Tortoise & Gecko
Genre: Fantasy
Category: Serial
URL: https://tortoiseandgecko.substack.com/p/episode-3
Extra: Tortoise and Gecko meet an educated dog.
Story Title: Winter
Writer: Jennifer James
Publication Name: Adventure To A Quiet Place
Genre: Magical Realism
Category: Short Story
URL: https://adventuretoaquietplace.substack.com/p/winter
Extra: A woman, alone in her home, fears the presence of an old enemy.
Story Title: Golden Hour
Writer: E.K. MacPherson
Publication Name: Ether Nothings
Genre: Literary Fiction
Category: Micro/Flash Fiction
URL: https://ekmacpherson.substack.com/p/golden-hour-microfiction
Extra: 100 words in honor of my dad's birthday.
Story Title: Finding Sasha
Writer: Rostislava Pankova-Karadjova
Publication Name: Airings
Genre: Literary fiction
Category: Short Story
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/rostislava/p/finding-sasha?r=zcxsb&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Extra: Truths spoken with a child’s voice are easier to understand.
CINDERELLA & HER SISTERS
Ben Woestenburg
Scribbler -- A Portal To Fiction
Literary Fiction
SHORT SERIAL
https://benwoestenburg.substack.com/p/stories-after-eight-87f?r=254e8w
THE SHIELD OF LOCKSLEY (Non-Paywalled submission)
Ben Woestenburg
Scribbler -- A Portal To Fiction
magical realism
SERIAL NOVEL
https://benwoestenburg.substack.com/p/the-shield-of-locksley-5bd?r=254e8w
THE BOXER'S LAMENT
Ben Woestenburg
Scribbler -- A Portal To Fiction
Literary Fiction
SHORT STORY
https://benwoestenburg.substack.com/p/throwback-thursday-634?r=254e8w
I don't usually throw out my Locksley chapters because they're behind the Paywall, but I put this one out for FREE this week and thought: What the hell...why not?
Title: Embers in the Sky
Writer DW Dixon
Publication Name: The Steam Stack
Genre: Adventure
Category: Serial
Url: https://dwdixon.substack.com/p/embers-in-the-sky?r=3onfnc
Extra: Sister airships the Swift and the Swallow must fight a raging forest fire that threatens the logging camp.
Story Title: Sonnet
Writer: Iris Shaw
Publication Name: Long Oddities
Genre: Poetry
Category: Poetry
URL: https://irisshaw.substack.com/p/sonnet
Story Title: Saltwater (Chapter 11 of Heaven and Earth: The Heshra Chronicles)
Writer: A.M. Ward
Publication Name: Heaven and Earth: The Heshra Chronicles
Genre: Fantasy
Category: Serial
URL: https://byamward.substack.com/p/11-saltwater
Extra: The Enedram have farmed the the rainless steppe for as long as anyone can remember, unlocking the power of the water below. But Hal feels destiny calling him to something greater than the wheat harvest.
Story Title: Soup Can
Writer: Ryan Hight
Publication Name: Ryan Hight
Genre: Literary Fiction
Category: Short Story
URL: https://ryanhight.substack.com/p/soup-can
Extra: A tale about an alcoholic dog searching for acceptance.
Story Title: Lightbulb
Writer: J.J. Walker
Publication Name: After Dusk
Genre: Horror
Category: Short Story
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/jjwalkerwrites/p/lightbulb?r=e3mmu&utm_medium=ios
Extra: A short horror story about a haunted lamp.
Story Title: Mustang
Writer: Sharron Bassano
Publication Name: 🌿LEAVES
Genre: 50-word
Category: Fiction
URL: https://sharronbassano.substack.com/p/mustang
Setting the wild creatures free
Story Title: Geometry
Writer: K.M. McKellar
Publication Name: K.M. McKellar
Genre: Poetry
Category: Poetry
URL: https://karenmckellar.substack.com/p/geometry
Story Title: A Part
Writer: John Calvin
Publication Name: Calvin's Cavern
Genre: Poetry
Category: Poetry
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/johnbcalvin/p/a-part?r=2kb11f
Story Title: Why Teach? - Chapter 13
Writer: Peter Shull
Publication Name: lower midlist
Genre: literary fiction
Category: serial
URL: https://pshull.substack.com/p/why-teach-chapter-13?r=2ler3z
Extra: Christmas Break sees protagonist William Able housesitting for his father at the country club, filling out applications for law and grad programs, and... enjoying a wintertime romance?!?
Story Title: Series of Dreams
Writer: Elie Lichtschein
Publication Name: Hebrew Horror
Genre: Horror
Category: Short story
URL: https://hebrewhorror.substack.com/p/series-of-dreams
Extra: A singer meets the devil at midnight, the third such meeting over a long career.
Story Title: Stella
Writer: Cobol
Publication Name: Synopsys
Genre: Crime fiction
Category: Short story
URL: https://synopsys.substack.com/p/stella
Extra: This is the story of Stella, who wants to be a mother so badly that she's willing to make it happen despite any moral considerations.
Story Title: Who Killed Storytelling (Part 2)
Writer: Michael Arturo
Publication Name: Michael Arturo
Genre: Meta-Fiction
Category: Short Serial
URL: https://michaelarturo.substack.com/p/who-killed-storytelling-part-2
Extra: Philly Giordano leaves New York for Tinseltown, where the business of content creation is brisk while the corpses of scriptwriters rot in the hot sun.
Funny and well written!
Thanks Thomas
Story Title: The Body in the Book Drop
Writer: Maisie Archer
Publication Name: It's Always Personal
Genre: Literary
Category: Flash Fiction
URL: https://maisiearcher.substack.com/p/the-body-in-the-book-drop
Extra: The dead body in the book drop is the least of my worries this morning.
Story Title: Apprehension
Writer: J.J.A Smith
Publication Name: The Ergodic Engine
Genre: Revenge Western
Category: microfiction
URL: https://substack.com/inbox/post/155018269
Extra: I'm using Merriam-Webster's word of the day as a daily prompt for microfiction, decided to throw in a genre randomizer today too, and it gave me revenge western/theological fiction. I really liked that combo!
Story Title: What's a Dragon? Chapter 28 - The Big Reveal
Writer: Dragon Writer Luc
Publication Name: The Dragons' Den
Genre: Fantasy
Category: Serial
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/dragonwriterluc/p/whats-a-dragon-chapter-28
Extra: Everyone's been waiting for it. It's time to get it over with.
Story Title: Reliance
Writer: Eric Van Meter
Publication Name: The Penny
Genre: literary
Category: Short Story
URL: https://ericvanmeter.substack.com/p/reliance?r=2f9cza
Extra: A young Afghanistan vet walks away from a fight with her boyfriend, leaving her alone with a litany of painful memories. With nowhere to hide, Colette hitches a ride with an older man carrying his own sorrows. As night falls, danger arises, and she must decide what among these many troubles are hers to carry.
Story Title: Everybody Has A Secret But Not Everybody Knows It Yet
Writer: emma girl (@emmanewmanholden)
Publication Name: my vape is dying
Genre: Dark Comedy
Category: Short Story
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/emmanewmanholden/p/everybody-has-a-secret-but-not-everybody?r=jkj3z&utm_medium=ios
Extra: Internal misogyny, age role-play, and psych ward antics
Story Title: Afterwards: The Librarian
Writer: Cade Robinet
Publication Name: Afterwards: The Zombieverse
Genre: Science Fiction
Category: Short Story
URL: https://caderobinet.substack.com/p/afterwards-the-librarian?r=4ldfnm
Extra: A team of scavengers make their way to the library after the collapse of society and face danger on the way.
Story Title: The Big Screen
Writer: Thomas Foydel
Publication Name: False Choices
Genre: Literary Fiction
Category: Short Story
URL: https://falsechoices.substack.com/p/the-big-screen
Extra: Sometimes the facade is a door that opens the interior, and sometimes it is just a facade.
Story Title: "Bear" and the Bhannan
Writer: [Joseph L Wiess]
Publication Name: [Crann Na Beatha]
Genre: [Romantic Fantasy]
Category: {Serial]
URL: [https://josephwiess.substack.com/p/bear-and-the-bhannan]
Extra: After being reunited with Balgair, his bhannan can't wait to get him alone. As the house is too far away for their tastes, they demand an afternoon in the nearest inn. Once there, they have to get a room, but the InnKeeper is more interested in making them work for it.
Story Title: Flux
Writer: Julie Gabrielli
Publication Name: Homecoming
Genre: Literary
Category: Serial
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/juliegabrielli/p/flux?r=4cg2x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Extra: The asthmatic climate scientist Grace Evans is a rising academic star, determined to expose the methane-leaking cracks in gas wells while hiding the widening cracks in her own life.
Story Title: Jenny
Writer: Emily Cook
Publication Name: emily's substack
Genre: Fiction
Category: Flash fiction
URL: https://emilyrcook.substack.com/p/jenny
Extra: On a woman's bravery
Story Title: New Year's Resolved
Writer: emily cook
Publication Name: emily's substack
Genre: poetry
Category: poetry
URL: https://substack.com/home/post/p-153904588
Extra: thoughts from a new year's eve party
Story Title: The Sunset Glowed a Blinding Red - A Mark of Distinction Writer: Irshaad
Publication Name: Frantic Writing Genre: Sci-fi Category: Flash Fiction URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/unfinishedspeedwriting/p/the-sunset-glowed-a-blinding-red?r=2qufyf&utm_medium=ios Extra: A mysterious light, a humanoid stranger, a pair of jeans, what could it all mean….a humorous sci-fi story.
Story title: The Last of the Etela, Chapter 8
Writer: Tom Schecter
Publication: The Shieldbreaker Saga
Genre: Fantasy
Type: Serial
URL: https://shieldbreakersaga.substack.com/p/the-last-of-the-etela-chapter-8
Extra: Alternately titled, “An Angry Man in the Road, Covered in Blood”
Story Title: Nighthawks
Writer: Mark Jarret
Publication Name: DarkLight
Genre: Science Fiction
Category: Serial
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/mjporter/p/the-carousels-of-incompleteness?r=1ujboa&utm_medium=ios
Extra: Pages returns to New York looking for her friends but first she has to deal with the end of the world.
Story Title: The Playwright and the Proletariat
Writer: Matthew Clapham
Publication Name: Matthew Clapham
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Category: Short Story
URL: https://matthewclapham.substack.com/p/the-playwright-and-the-proletariat?r=2cekb2
Extra: A timberpunk tale of an imagined Elizabethan era in which a Shakespearean dramatist struggles to make his voice heard in the cultural milieu. A reflection on how disposable virality could drown out valuable creativity.
Story Title: Hong Kong
Writer: JLG Noga
Publication Name: JLG Noga
Genre: Satire
Category: Flash Fiction
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/cantrainallthetime/p/hong-kong?r=18ween&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Extra: A day in the life in one of the biggest cities in the world, following a man you will forget working a job you don't care about.
Story Title: Three Of A Kind
Writer: Scott MacLeod
Publication Name: Son of Ugly
Genre: Noir
Type: Flash Fiction
URL: https://open.substack.com/pub/sonofugly/p/three-of-a-kind?r=2sz29p&utm_medium=ios
Note: Post-New Year’s Detective Story in NYC
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