Amy Barnes
@amygcb.bsky.social
Child Craft: bellepointpress.bsky.social | Associate Editor: @fracturedlit.bsky.social | Assistant Editor: @literaryruby.bsky.social | Co-editor: @gonelawn.bsky.socia
Reposted by Amy Barnes
November 7, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Reposted by Amy Barnes
Reposted by Amy Barnes
My #WritingCraftArticle for September is all about feedback and editing skills. It got quite lengthy so I had to split it into two. This is part one, focusing on my four feedback Es, writer intention, and stars, wishes & mirrors:
🏝️⭐🧞🪞
prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com/p/no-writer-...
🏝️⭐🧞🪞
prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com/p/no-writer-...
No Writer is an Island - Part 1
As an editor I have the privilege of working with writers at all stages of their writing journeys.
prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com
October 6, 2025 at 11:11 AM
My #WritingCraftArticle for September is all about feedback and editing skills. It got quite lengthy so I had to split it into two. This is part one, focusing on my four feedback Es, writer intention, and stars, wishes & mirrors:
🏝️⭐🧞🪞
prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com/p/no-writer-...
🏝️⭐🧞🪞
prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com/p/no-writer-...
Reposted by Amy Barnes
This issue is one for the ages. Grateful to EIC @brettpribble.bsky.social, and special thanks to @amygcb.bsky.social
for helping me start to unlock this one a couple of summers back. I hope you like it!
for helping me start to unlock this one a couple of summers back. I hope you like it!
"There’s a theory I read once. That every mother wounds one of her children so they cannot leave her."
A dandy by @patriciaqbidar.bsky.social in Ghost Parachute
ghostparachute.com/issue/octobe...
A dandy by @patriciaqbidar.bsky.social in Ghost Parachute
ghostparachute.com/issue/octobe...
The Untranslatable German Word for a Gate Slamming Shut — Ghost Parachute
My only friend, Little Hansel, smells like closet. That’s what my mother said the one time she met the four-year-old. I was babysitting him for my weed dealers, a pair of comfy old dykes. My mother sn...
ghostparachute.com
October 1, 2025 at 10:45 PM
This issue is one for the ages. Grateful to EIC @brettpribble.bsky.social, and special thanks to @amygcb.bsky.social
for helping me start to unlock this one a couple of summers back. I hope you like it!
for helping me start to unlock this one a couple of summers back. I hope you like it!
Reposted by Amy Barnes
Read "In the Back Row of the Nostalgia Group, We Talked about Death" written by @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social and illustrated by @damicandrea.bsky.social.
"So we agreed on lying in our beds, the sun just razoring through the blinds, soft shadows that often welcomed us..."
tinyurl.com/4v5sum4h
"So we agreed on lying in our beds, the sun just razoring through the blinds, soft shadows that often welcomed us..."
tinyurl.com/4v5sum4h
In the Back Row of the Nostalgia Group, We Talked about Death — Ghost Parachute
How we all wanted it to come in our sleep, if we had a choice, and since we were allowed, in this group setting, to talk freely about our desires, though we were sure that some of us, Gregory and Mars...
tinyurl.com
October 1, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Read "In the Back Row of the Nostalgia Group, We Talked about Death" written by @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social and illustrated by @damicandrea.bsky.social.
"So we agreed on lying in our beds, the sun just razoring through the blinds, soft shadows that often welcomed us..."
tinyurl.com/4v5sum4h
"So we agreed on lying in our beds, the sun just razoring through the blinds, soft shadows that often welcomed us..."
tinyurl.com/4v5sum4h
Reposted by Amy Barnes
Read "The HOA rules don’t apply" written by @amygcb.bsky.social and illustrated by Brett J Barr.
"To the zebra who wanders loose in our suburban neighborhood. It ambles up and down the streets like he belongs among their English countryside names."
tinyurl.com/mw27m3hn
"To the zebra who wanders loose in our suburban neighborhood. It ambles up and down the streets like he belongs among their English countryside names."
tinyurl.com/mw27m3hn
The HOA rules don’t apply — Ghost Parachute
To the zebra who wanders loose in our suburban neighborhood. It ambles up and down the streets like he belongs among their English countryside names. He’s not intimidated by Northumberland or Buckingh...
tinyurl.com
October 1, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Read "The HOA rules don’t apply" written by @amygcb.bsky.social and illustrated by Brett J Barr.
"To the zebra who wanders loose in our suburban neighborhood. It ambles up and down the streets like he belongs among their English countryside names."
tinyurl.com/mw27m3hn
"To the zebra who wanders loose in our suburban neighborhood. It ambles up and down the streets like he belongs among their English countryside names."
tinyurl.com/mw27m3hn
Reposted by Amy Barnes
Read "Clone of the Lost Astronaut" written by @avitusbcarle.bsky.social and illustrated by @amymarques.bsky.social.
"There’s a hurricane teasing the leftover bits of Massachusetts. A snow storm masking Chicago. Mission control wants to keep things concrete."
tinyurl.com/26e9nnen
"There’s a hurricane teasing the leftover bits of Massachusetts. A snow storm masking Chicago. Mission control wants to keep things concrete."
tinyurl.com/26e9nnen
Clone of the Lost Astronaut — Ghost Parachute
There’s a hurricane teasing the leftover bits of Massachusetts. A snow storm masking Chicago. Mission control wants to keep things concrete. Be specific they say, since this is the final call. “Are yo...
tinyurl.com
October 1, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Read "Clone of the Lost Astronaut" written by @avitusbcarle.bsky.social and illustrated by @amymarques.bsky.social.
"There’s a hurricane teasing the leftover bits of Massachusetts. A snow storm masking Chicago. Mission control wants to keep things concrete."
tinyurl.com/26e9nnen
"There’s a hurricane teasing the leftover bits of Massachusetts. A snow storm masking Chicago. Mission control wants to keep things concrete."
tinyurl.com/26e9nnen
Reposted by Amy Barnes
Read "My Husband, My Ex-Boyfriend, and the Love of My Life Walk into a Bar" written by @kimmagowan.bsky.social and illustrated by @amymarques.bsky.social.
"Though really, in this dream, it’s more a saloon than a bar, with swinging doors that slap the walls."
tinyurl.com/3ep2nhhb
"Though really, in this dream, it’s more a saloon than a bar, with swinging doors that slap the walls."
tinyurl.com/3ep2nhhb
My Husband, My Ex-Boyfriend, and the Love of My Life Walk into a Bar — Ghost Parachute
Though really, in this dream, it’s more a saloon than a bar, with swinging doors that slap the walls. I’m behind the bar, so I assume I’m the bartender. We’re all in old-timey clothes. I’m wearing a l...
tinyurl.com
October 1, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Read "My Husband, My Ex-Boyfriend, and the Love of My Life Walk into a Bar" written by @kimmagowan.bsky.social and illustrated by @amymarques.bsky.social.
"Though really, in this dream, it’s more a saloon than a bar, with swinging doors that slap the walls."
tinyurl.com/3ep2nhhb
"Though really, in this dream, it’s more a saloon than a bar, with swinging doors that slap the walls."
tinyurl.com/3ep2nhhb
Reposted by Amy Barnes
Read "One Day, Pele Decides She Wants to Visit Us" written by @lumchanmfa.bsky.social and illustrated by @damicandrea.bsky.social.
"her lava coursing down our streets into our houses, like liquid gelatin, as we eat our cereal and go to school, swimming through her."
tinyurl.com/y8jmem3w
"her lava coursing down our streets into our houses, like liquid gelatin, as we eat our cereal and go to school, swimming through her."
tinyurl.com/y8jmem3w
One Day, Pele Decides She Wants to Visit Us — Ghost Parachute
her lava coursing down our streets into our houses, like liquid gelatin, as we eat our cereal and go to school, swimming through her. We learn to breathe, to talk, to sing in her. Our mothers, our aun...
tinyurl.com
October 1, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Read "One Day, Pele Decides She Wants to Visit Us" written by @lumchanmfa.bsky.social and illustrated by @damicandrea.bsky.social.
"her lava coursing down our streets into our houses, like liquid gelatin, as we eat our cereal and go to school, swimming through her."
tinyurl.com/y8jmem3w
"her lava coursing down our streets into our houses, like liquid gelatin, as we eat our cereal and go to school, swimming through her."
tinyurl.com/y8jmem3w
Reposted by Amy Barnes
Read "The Way the Cookie Crumbles" written by @sfreligh.bsky.social and illustrated by @damicandrea.bsky.social.
"Sometimes Rita pretends to be sick so she can stay home from school."
tinyurl.com/4cekduun
"Sometimes Rita pretends to be sick so she can stay home from school."
tinyurl.com/4cekduun
The Way the Cookie Crumbles — Ghost Parachute
Sometimes Rita pretends to be sick so she can stay home from school. She and her mom watch television in the morning, talk shows where the hosts interview celebrities about their workout routines or t...
tinyurl.com
October 1, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Read "The Way the Cookie Crumbles" written by @sfreligh.bsky.social and illustrated by @damicandrea.bsky.social.
"Sometimes Rita pretends to be sick so she can stay home from school."
tinyurl.com/4cekduun
"Sometimes Rita pretends to be sick so she can stay home from school."
tinyurl.com/4cekduun
Reposted by Amy Barnes
Read "Making Love Is A New Subject" written by @andrewbertaina.bsky.social and illustrated by Brett J Barr.
"I haven’t made love in ages, which isn’t true. But I often say, well, many things. I often say that the truth isn’t in the truth but in what feels like the truth."
tinyurl.com/36t2vbvu
"I haven’t made love in ages, which isn’t true. But I often say, well, many things. I often say that the truth isn’t in the truth but in what feels like the truth."
tinyurl.com/36t2vbvu
Making Love Is A New Subject — Ghost Parachute
I haven’t made love in ages, which isn’t true. But I often say, well, many things. I often say that the truth isn’t in the truth but in what feels like the truth. I haven’t made love in ages, so I fli...
tinyurl.com
October 1, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Read "Making Love Is A New Subject" written by @andrewbertaina.bsky.social and illustrated by Brett J Barr.
"I haven’t made love in ages, which isn’t true. But I often say, well, many things. I often say that the truth isn’t in the truth but in what feels like the truth."
tinyurl.com/36t2vbvu
"I haven’t made love in ages, which isn’t true. But I often say, well, many things. I often say that the truth isn’t in the truth but in what feels like the truth."
tinyurl.com/36t2vbvu
Reposted by Amy Barnes
Read "Tunnel" written by @ninaschuyler.bsky.social and illustrated by @amymarques.bsky.social.
"Halfway through the Glory Tunnel, traffic stopped, as if someone cast a terrible spell."
tinyurl.com/33eh3cus
"Halfway through the Glory Tunnel, traffic stopped, as if someone cast a terrible spell."
tinyurl.com/33eh3cus
Tunnel — Ghost Parachute
Halfway through the Glory Tunnel, traffic stopped, as if someone cast a terrible spell. George had been singing nicely in his car seat, a little thing about sand and bones and monsters. I was one of t...
tinyurl.com
October 1, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Read "Tunnel" written by @ninaschuyler.bsky.social and illustrated by @amymarques.bsky.social.
"Halfway through the Glory Tunnel, traffic stopped, as if someone cast a terrible spell."
tinyurl.com/33eh3cus
"Halfway through the Glory Tunnel, traffic stopped, as if someone cast a terrible spell."
tinyurl.com/33eh3cus
Reposted by Amy Barnes
Read "shelter in place" written by @saralippmann.bsky.social and illustrated by @amymarques.bsky.social.
"Maybe it’s the rising sirens, maybe it’s the sudden soak, a complete wet heat through the cotton sack I’ve taken to wearing like a body flung overboard because this is..."
tinyurl.com/y5f23693
"Maybe it’s the rising sirens, maybe it’s the sudden soak, a complete wet heat through the cotton sack I’ve taken to wearing like a body flung overboard because this is..."
tinyurl.com/y5f23693
shelter in place — Ghost Parachute
Maybe it’s the rising sirens, maybe it’s the sudden soak, a complete wet heat through the cotton sack I’ve taken to wearing like a body flung overboard because this is who I am now, this is who I’ve b...
tinyurl.com
October 1, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Read "shelter in place" written by @saralippmann.bsky.social and illustrated by @amymarques.bsky.social.
"Maybe it’s the rising sirens, maybe it’s the sudden soak, a complete wet heat through the cotton sack I’ve taken to wearing like a body flung overboard because this is..."
tinyurl.com/y5f23693
"Maybe it’s the rising sirens, maybe it’s the sudden soak, a complete wet heat through the cotton sack I’ve taken to wearing like a body flung overboard because this is..."
tinyurl.com/y5f23693
Reposted by Amy Barnes
Read "Whatever" written by @sherrieflick.bsky.social and illustrated by Brett J Barr.
"Don’s dad liked to say whatever when the kids were around. He thought it was cool—like the word “cool” used to be cool."
tinyurl.com/22ezah8h
"Don’s dad liked to say whatever when the kids were around. He thought it was cool—like the word “cool” used to be cool."
tinyurl.com/22ezah8h
Whatever — Ghost Parachute
Don’s dad liked to say whatever when the kids were around. He thought it was cool—like the word “cool” used to be cool. Sammy asked for a Coke and Don’s dad said, “Whatever,” and Sammy didn’t know if ...
tinyurl.com
October 1, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Read "Whatever" written by @sherrieflick.bsky.social and illustrated by Brett J Barr.
"Don’s dad liked to say whatever when the kids were around. He thought it was cool—like the word “cool” used to be cool."
tinyurl.com/22ezah8h
"Don’s dad liked to say whatever when the kids were around. He thought it was cool—like the word “cool” used to be cool."
tinyurl.com/22ezah8h
Reposted by Amy Barnes
Read "Encounters" written by @aimee-bender.bsky.social and illustrated by @genevievetyrrell.bsky.social.
"When I was in my twenties and went through a breakup and didn’t hate the person, I harbored what I’d call the “nursing home” fantasy."
tinyurl.com/5384pnpt
"When I was in my twenties and went through a breakup and didn’t hate the person, I harbored what I’d call the “nursing home” fantasy."
tinyurl.com/5384pnpt
Encounters — Ghost Parachute
When I was in my twenties and went through a breakup and didn’t hate the person, I harbored what I’d call the “nursing home” fantasy. I’d imagine running into my ex in the wallpapered halls of an assi...
tinyurl.com
October 1, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Read "Encounters" written by @aimee-bender.bsky.social and illustrated by @genevievetyrrell.bsky.social.
"When I was in my twenties and went through a breakup and didn’t hate the person, I harbored what I’d call the “nursing home” fantasy."
tinyurl.com/5384pnpt
"When I was in my twenties and went through a breakup and didn’t hate the person, I harbored what I’d call the “nursing home” fantasy."
tinyurl.com/5384pnpt
Reposted by Amy Barnes
My story "The Black Window" was published by Roi Fainéant Press: @rfpress.bsky.social.
tinyurl.com/2wyr5ckp
tinyurl.com/2wyr5ckp
"The Black Window" by Brett Pribble
It hovers in the sky like a baby killer whale. I avoid day light because at night it’s harder to make out, but it’s still unmistakable. Starless and shiny, an obsidian square. It calls to me as I trai...
tinyurl.com
September 3, 2025 at 1:59 AM
My story "The Black Window" was published by Roi Fainéant Press: @rfpress.bsky.social.
tinyurl.com/2wyr5ckp
tinyurl.com/2wyr5ckp
Reposted by Amy Barnes
We are excited to present the October 2025 issue, which is our Nine Year Anniversary issue. We've put out an issue every month on the first since we started, making this our 108th issue. Cover illustrated by @genevievetyrrell.bsky.social.
tinyurl.com/mtcaexjy
tinyurl.com/mtcaexjy
October 2025 Issue — Ghost Parachute
tinyurl.com
October 1, 2025 at 1:45 PM
We are excited to present the October 2025 issue, which is our Nine Year Anniversary issue. We've put out an issue every month on the first since we started, making this our 108th issue. Cover illustrated by @genevievetyrrell.bsky.social.
tinyurl.com/mtcaexjy
tinyurl.com/mtcaexjy
Reposted by Amy Barnes
it's tha 1st of tha month, submissions are open
thanks !
thanks !
October 1, 2025 at 12:00 PM
it's tha 1st of tha month, submissions are open
thanks !
thanks !
Reposted by Amy Barnes
September MicroVerse roundup is out!
Flash Roundup * September 2025
A gathering of recent speculative flash & micro fiction, each presenting a tiny-yet-powerful universe. How tiny? About one-thousand words for flash; four-hundred words for micro. The word count…
mynachang.com
September 25, 2025 at 9:07 PM
September MicroVerse roundup is out!
Reposted by Amy Barnes
This month's #Mondettes picked by @kathrynsilverhajo.bsky.social
⚡Ten wonderful flash fictions
🔍Ten splashes of analysis as to why Kathryn made these brilliant picks
🪴Three fantastic prompts to get you writing
mondettes.substack.com/p/september-...
⚡Ten wonderful flash fictions
🔍Ten splashes of analysis as to why Kathryn made these brilliant picks
🪴Three fantastic prompts to get you writing
mondettes.substack.com/p/september-...
September 2025
Ten stories picked by Kathryn Silver-Hajo
mondettes.substack.com
September 16, 2025 at 11:16 AM
This month's #Mondettes picked by @kathrynsilverhajo.bsky.social
⚡Ten wonderful flash fictions
🔍Ten splashes of analysis as to why Kathryn made these brilliant picks
🪴Three fantastic prompts to get you writing
mondettes.substack.com/p/september-...
⚡Ten wonderful flash fictions
🔍Ten splashes of analysis as to why Kathryn made these brilliant picks
🪴Three fantastic prompts to get you writing
mondettes.substack.com/p/september-...
Reposted by Amy Barnes
My daughter Nora has a story in @smokelong.bsky.social! Read Nora's story, and also her interview (she calls me out for not writing as much as her). So proud of this girl!
www.smokelong.com/stories/anim...
www.smokelong.com/stories/anim...
Animal Therapy - SmokeLong Quarterly
A new low for group therapy. We thought it couldn’t get worse than Christina forcing us to bake brownies. Eat brownies. She divided us up: flour team, sugar team, Ghirardelli chocolate team. Everythin...
www.smokelong.com
September 15, 2025 at 2:49 PM
My daughter Nora has a story in @smokelong.bsky.social! Read Nora's story, and also her interview (she calls me out for not writing as much as her). So proud of this girl!
www.smokelong.com/stories/anim...
www.smokelong.com/stories/anim...
Reposted by Amy Barnes
It wasn't easy, but here are our nominations for Best of the Net 2026!
September 12, 2025 at 3:46 PM
It wasn't easy, but here are our nominations for Best of the Net 2026!
Reposted by Amy Barnes
Thanks to Hema Nataraju, Lakshmi Iyer, and @lumchanmfa.bsky.social for including my new story in this fantastic new issue of @lit-namjooning.bsky.social alongside many great pieces!
literarynamjooning.wixsite.com/litnam/post/...
literarynamjooning.wixsite.com/litnam/post/...
Dog by Michael Czyzniejewski
If the only way that I can exist is to make sure that I take the dog on his walk and feed the dog and then feed the cats and make sure the dog doesn’t eat the cat food, or the cats, for that matter, a...
literarynamjooning.wixsite.com
September 12, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Thanks to Hema Nataraju, Lakshmi Iyer, and @lumchanmfa.bsky.social for including my new story in this fantastic new issue of @lit-namjooning.bsky.social alongside many great pieces!
literarynamjooning.wixsite.com/litnam/post/...
literarynamjooning.wixsite.com/litnam/post/...
Reposted by Amy Barnes
I updated my website judehiggins.com after 4 years of it languishing ! Now includes details of my books ‘Clearly Defined Clouds’ & ‘The Chemist’s House’ plus info on all my projects — @bathflashaward.bsky.social @flashficfestuk.bsky.social &
Ad Hoc Fiction
Ad Hoc Fiction
Jude Higgins
Writer, Tutor, Writing Events Organiser
judehiggins.com
September 12, 2025 at 5:13 AM
I updated my website judehiggins.com after 4 years of it languishing ! Now includes details of my books ‘Clearly Defined Clouds’ & ‘The Chemist’s House’ plus info on all my projects — @bathflashaward.bsky.social @flashficfestuk.bsky.social &
Ad Hoc Fiction
Ad Hoc Fiction
Reposted by Amy Barnes
Oh, spellbinding storytelling. Loved this piece ❤️@arthurmandal.bsky.social
A short fiction of mine, “On the Outside of Something”, came out in the Southeast Review this week. @southeastreview.bsky.social . www.southeastreview.org/single-post/...
Fiction by Arthur Mandal
On the Outside of Something When the couple came to lease her studio, she could see they were rich. There was a…a…what was it? A languor…in the way they talked, the way they sat and stood and yawned, ...
www.southeastreview.org
September 9, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Oh, spellbinding storytelling. Loved this piece ❤️@arthurmandal.bsky.social