A.R. Bender
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arambender.bsky.social
A.R. Bender
@arambender.bsky.social
980 followers 940 following 280 posts
- Multi-genre author of German heritage. Recent words in: Guilty Crime Mag, Chiron Review, Hidden Peak Press, Bristol Noir, Pulp Modern, Mystery Tribune, Thriller Magazine, Close To The Bone

- THE BLACK BOW now out on https://amazon.com/dp/B0DD6YX6FJ/
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by A.R. Bender
bathflashaward.bsky.social
Two weeks until our 32nd Award closes on Sunday Feb 1st. Judge Ingrid Jendrzejewski. @lunchontuesday.bsky.social
Up to 300 words
Double & triple entries discounted
£1460 prize fund
Results out end of Feb
Anthology publication offer god 50 longlisted
Bathflashfictionaward.com/enter
two birds are standing next to each other and looking at each other in a mirror
ALT: two birds are standing next to each other and looking at each other in a mirror
media.tenor.com
January 18, 2026 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by A.R. Bender
theberlinreview.bsky.social
The submission window is now open to 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐲, and 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬.

Guidelines are on the site.

Link in bio. ❤️
January 13, 2026 at 3:17 PM
Reposted by A.R. Bender
newohioreview.bsky.social
Just 5 days left to submit to our Ellis Prizes! Visit us at newohioreview.org
January 9, 2026 at 2:14 PM
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writestats.bsky.social
Most readers never read your blurb.
They decide based on the cover first.

Our latest WriteStats blog explores the psychology behind Book Cover Design, using eye tracking research and KDP data to explain what actually drives clicks: writestats.com/book-cover-d...
#writingcommunity
Book Cover Design Psychology: What Makes Readers Click Buy
Discover how Book Cover Design psychology influences reader buying decisions, with data driven insights on eye tracking, typography, genre signaling, and proven cover redesign strategies for authors.
writestats.com
January 7, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by A.R. Bender
boulevardlitmag.bsky.social
Deadline extended! We are now accepting submissions to our Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers through January 8. The winning entry will receive $1500.

Head to the link in our bio to submit your work!
January 1, 2026 at 8:18 PM
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cincinnatireview.bsky.social
"In dreams it feels natural to make terrible decisions, evil decisions, careless decisions, or have no decisions to make at all..."

@gingerko.bsky.social reviews Daisuke Shen’s VAGUE PREDICTIONS AND PROPHECIES in our recent Horror Folio.

Link in thread.
A graphic with the text "In dreams it feels natural to make terrible decisions, evil decisions, careless decisions, or have no decisions to make at all. No matter what we do, or don’t do, the dream decides everything."
December 26, 2025 at 12:01 PM
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inventingreality.bsky.social
#writingq #writer #writing #amwriting #writingcommunity inventingrealityediting.com/2...
Pay attention to your author’s bio pic
One of the elements of a self-published book that shouldn’t be overlooked is the author’s photograph. While the photo often is a thumbnail or even smaller, it can subtly affect a reader’s deci…
inventingrealityediting.com
December 24, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Reposted by A.R. Bender
killershorts.bsky.social
❗️Horror Writers❗️Don’t miss the EXTENDED DEADLINE on December 31st! Less than 2️⃣ weeks away from the last chance to submit your #horror scripts to Season 7! ☠️

Submit 👉 killershorts.com/submit/, @filmfreeway.bsky.social, @networkisa.bsky.social, @stage32.bsky.social + Scrybe!
December 19, 2025 at 9:19 PM
arambender.bsky.social
Now re-reading: The Phillip K Dick Reader. A great collection of Sci-Fi stories.

#WritingCommunity #WritingAndBooks #PhillipKDick
December 16, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Reposted by A.R. Bender
theberlinreview.bsky.social
The current submission window for fiction, poetry, and essays will close on December 15th.

✍️
December 8, 2025 at 4:12 PM
arambender.bsky.social
Classic scenes: the Omar Little / Brother Mouzone standoff in season 3 of The Wire

#FilmSky #TheWire #OmarLittle #Brother

www.youtube.com/watch?v=20G1...
December 11, 2025 at 2:19 AM
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driftwoodpress.bsky.social
Submit your short story for a chance to win $400 AND publication. Use the link in our bio to submit! #shortstorycontest
December 6, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by A.R. Bender
apexmag.bsky.social
"@shereereneethomas.bsky.social and @lesleyconner.bsky.social have put together a solid group of stories that focus on place in very different ways, and the level of talent they brought together makes this a very worthy journey." 🗺️🔍✨

Thank you @locusmag.bsky.social and @gabino.bsky.social!
The Map of Lost Places edited by Sheree Renée Thomas & Lesley Conner: Review by Gabino Iglesias
The Map of Lost Places, Sheree Renée Thomas & Lesley Conner, eds. (Apex 978-1-95576-526-8, $27.95, 306pp, tp) April 2025. Cover by Marcela Bolívar. Much has been written about place as characte…
locusmag.com
December 5, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Reposted by A.R. Bender
electricliterature.com
“They don’t sanitize the disorientation, the self-doubt, the breakdowns that follow breakdowns; they resist turning mental illness into a metaphor or exotic spectacle.”
10 Books That Refuse to Dramatize or Sanitize Mental Illness - Electric Literature
These authors resist turning mental illness into a metaphor or exotic spectacle
buff.ly
December 2, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Reposted by A.R. Bender
chillsubs.bsky.social
The brilliant @charliefish.bsky.social's second annual FISH list is out! 4,000 magazines, 14 different criteria, all indie lit goodness.

Check it out here: www.fictionontheweb.co.uk/p/fish-list....
→ The 2026 FISH List (Finest Indie Story Houses) of lively lit mags • Flash Fiction Magazine - One flash story a day • The Lascaux Review - Beautiful language is meant to be heard • Beneath Ceaseless Skies - Literary adventure lantasy with flair and impact • Consequence - Human realities of war and geopolitical violence • trampset - Work with lost and wandering hearts • The Sunlight Press - Moments that give birth to epiphany • Okay Donkey - Home for the odd, off-kilter, or just plain weird • Pangyrus - Stories connect here • SmokeLong Quarterly - Honesty, emotional resonance, and vulnerability • McSweeney's Internet Tendency - Daily humor since 1998 • BULL lit mag - Rewriting modern masculinity • The Forge - Where literary excellence is the only criteria • Emerge Literary Journal - Growth, change & experimentation • Radar Poetry - Interplay between poetry and visual media • Terrain.org - Work focused on place, climate, and justice Painstakingly scored by Charlie Fish with data provided by Chill Subs and awards data by Brecht de Poortere.
December 2, 2025 at 5:01 PM
arambender.bsky.social
Now listening to:

#MusicSky #KillerJoe #QuincyJones

www.youtube.com/watch?v=A106...
Quincy Jones – Killer Joe – 1969 [HQ REMIX/REMASTER]
YouTube video by Bob Zwolinski
www.youtube.com
December 2, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Reposted by A.R. Bender
baltimorereview.bsky.social
Just a heads-up that November 30 is the last day of our current submission period. Then we'll be catching up and getting the winter issue together. baltimorereview.org
The Baltimore Review
A journal of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction
baltimorereview.org
November 24, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Reposted by A.R. Bender
electricliterature.com
Thanksgiving is a perfect time to celebrate the many stories and experiences of Indigenous people and remember the true history and legacy of settler colonialism.
Celebrate Indigenous Literature With These 13 New Books by Native Writers - Electric Literature
Explore books by acclaimed and debut Native American writers
buff.ly
November 23, 2025 at 8:00 PM
arambender.bsky.social
now watching an excerpt from The Street of Crocodiles, a stop-motion animation short by the Brothers Quay, inspired by the Bruno Schulz short story.

#Filmsky #WritingCommunity #BrothersQuay #BrunoSchulz
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW3d...
Street of Crocodiles (1986) clip | On BFI Blu-ray on 10 October | BFI
YouTube video by BFI
www.youtube.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Reposted by A.R. Bender
chillsubs.bsky.social
It’s back 😏

Nominate Your Favorite Lit Mags of 2025 through this form ⬇️

www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag...

Let’s love on some editors, folks. They freakin’ deserve it!
Writers! Who are the best litmags of 2025? CHILL SUBS®
November 17, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by A.R. Bender
uncertainstories.com
Happy birthday to Robert Louis Stevenson!
Drawing of Robert Louis Stevenson (by Lucy Scott), with caption “RLS 13/11/1850”.
November 13, 2025 at 1:51 PM
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apexmag.bsky.social
Everyone, quiet! 🤫 It's time to announce November's flash fiction theme!

This month's theme is...CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE! 👅🐱 The theme can be literal (a cat and a tongue) OR the metaphorical meaning of the saying (incapable of communication). Deadline is Nov. 30th!

www.patreon.com/posts/novemb...
a close up of a cat 's face looking to the side
Alt: A Pallas's cat sticking his lil tongue out
media.tenor.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:00 PM
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smokelong.bsky.social
You now officially have something like 11 days to get your micros in! Grand prize: $1000! Previously published and unpublished work considered! Guidelines: www.smokelong.com/the-smokelon...
The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest 2025 - SmokeLong Quarterly
The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest (The Mikey) is now an annual competition celebrating and compensating the best micro fiction and nonfiction online. The grand prize winner of The Mikey is automatical...
www.smokelong.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:26 PM
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cincinnatireview.bsky.social
You read that right! miCRo submissions are OPEN! Send us your best work of 500 words or fewer.
A miniature basset hound stands in front of a miniature bone in the middle of a palm of a hand. A thought bubble with a drawing of a dog reading a book hovers above its head.
November 1, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by A.R. Bender
driftwoodpress.bsky.social
Winner of our Short Story Contest gets $400 and 5 copies of the anthology they appear in. Use the link in our bio to submit! #shortstorycontest #writersky
November 1, 2025 at 5:02 PM