James Montgomery
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jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
James Montgomery
@jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
940 followers 930 following 1.1K posts
Flash writer ✍️ | Latest: Gooseberry Pie, Fractured Lit, FlashFlood | 📖 Best Small Fictions ‘25, Wigleaf Top 50 ‘25 | 💫 Welkin People’s Prize ‘25 | 🌟 HC Bath Flash Award ‘23 | 🥈 Micro Madness ‘24 | He/Him 🌈 www.jamesmontgomerywrites.com
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James Montgomery @jamesmontgomery.bsky.social · Jun 28
I cannot fathom that a story of mine is in the @wigleaf.bsky.social Top 50…! Like, what?! 🤯 Thank you to @splonk.bsky.social and @nualaoconnor.bsky.social for publishing this micro of bare, gleaming bones 🦴 And @stillsquirrel.bsky.social, for the workshop in which this was born 🤍
wigleaf.bsky.social Wigleaf @wigleaf.bsky.social · Jun 28
new on our mainpage: THE WIGLEAF TOP 50 VERY SHORT FICTIONS 2025 (selecting editor @samanito.bsky.social )
Reposted by James Montgomery
welkinprize.bsky.social
This week for #WelkinWindbackWednesday, "
We built a time machine in your ward " by @jamesmontgomery.bsky.social :
The Welkin Writing Prize | Shortlist 25
Shortlisted pieces for the 2025 Welkin Mini
www.mattkendrick.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 10:01 AM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘After I told him how sorry I was, he said, "Want to come?" I joked, "It's too soon but take me to the next one."’

All the humanity in this one from @anniejowrites.bsky.social in @havehashad.com 🪦

www.havehashad.com/hadposts/our...
Our second date was meant to be unconventional and unromantic by Anna Vangala Jones
—we thought we were funny when we suggested meeting at the laundromat because we bonded on the first date about putting it off so long we'd almost reached the bathing suits as underwear stage. But whe...
www.havehashad.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:56 AM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘The out-of-work actress finds a mastodon in her bathtub. Her thirty-five-year-old hands are beginning to show blue veins and instead of staring at them all night long, she has someone to talk to.’

Pure magic from @megpokrass.bsky.social in Ghost Parachute 🦣

ghostparachute.com/issue/novemb...
Paradise — Ghost Parachute
The out-of-work actress finds a mastodon in her bathtub. Her thirty-five-year-old hands are beginning to show blue veins and instead of staring at them all night long, she has someone to talk to. She’...
ghostparachute.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:53 PM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘I like to listen to the people around me panting, groaning, moaning. I always wonder if they make those same noises when someone is fucking them.’

What a triptych from @dawnsteffler.bsky.social - love how the PoV gets progressively closer and more intimate 🧘‍♀️

ghostparachute.com/issue/novemb...
Sex In Public: A Triptych — Ghost Parachute
Hustling She is ten and obsessed with porn. Been around it her whole life. Her uncle, who still lives with her grandmother, has stacks of it under his bed. And he wallpapers the back of his many fish ...
ghostparachute.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:49 PM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘I eventually pretended I could see the solitary wild thing, just so we could at last drive on, trundling through dust and grandeur of the Masai Mara in our rusty van.’

A superbly written micro from @olgapoet.bsky.social in @fictivedream.bsky.social 🐆

fictivedream.com/2025/11/10/m...
MicroMonday #31
Hidden Leopard by Olga Dermott-Bond Driving back from work today I remembered a time, long ago, I couldn’t see the leopard right in front of me.  I was a student backpacker, unprepared for saf…
fictivedream.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:37 PM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘He chooses a brie baguette (I have a dairy intolerance) and I order a bacon cob (he’s a vegetarian).’

A writer in total command of her craft; @laurabesley.bsky.social in @fictivedream.bsky.social 🫖

fictivedream.com/2025/11/07/l...
Love (a journey)
by Laura Besley AFTER WE SIGN the divorce papers, my soon-to-be ex-husband and I decide to go for lunch. We’re in an unfamiliar neighbourhood, but we spot a café across the road from the lawyer’s o…
fictivedream.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:32 PM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘…and she says no, it’s not a goddamn metaphor, and grabs my Camp TakaWaka tank top from my hands and folds it as if she works at GAP…’

That final image - oof! @emilyrinkema.bsky.social in @bathflashaward.bsky.social 🐻

www.bathflashfictionaward.com/2025/10/2nd-...
2nd Prize, October 2025 Award: Emily Rinkema
Vagina First by Emily Rinkema Two weeks after my twentieth birthday my mother begs me not to move to Montana by myself because she says I will be eaten by a grizzly bear, vagina first, and I laugh …
www.bathflashfictionaward.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:05 PM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘The fat man next door is swimming nude again. He also stays up late. Night owls.’

What an atmosphere this @bathflashaward.bsky.social winner from Adam Brannigan, chosen by @kazbarwrites.bsky.social, conjures 🏊

www.bathflashfictionaward.com/2025/10/1st-...
1st Prize, October 2025 Award: Adam Brannigan
Two Nude Night Owls by Adam Brannigan Its past midnight, and I’m sitting at my fire pit, burning old letters from old girlfriends. Old photos. Old birthday cards. Trinkets and whatever. It’s time t…
www.bathflashfictionaward.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:01 PM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘…I light two pear candles five days apart, to sit with the feeling of them in flickers and whispers…’

Just love the poetry of these details - @kathrynsilverhajo.bsky.social in @tinymolecules.bsky.social 🍂

www.tinymolecules.com/issues/twent...
twenty-five — Tiny Molecules
www.tinymolecules.com
November 4, 2025 at 9:56 PM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘I like being in Wendy, darling’s house because she is capable.’

@pleomorphic2.bsky.social absolutely lands that ending in this new flash in @tinymolecules.bsky.social ⏰

www.tinymolecules.com/issues/twent...
twenty-five — Tiny Molecules
www.tinymolecules.com
November 4, 2025 at 9:52 PM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘…because you craved salt, flavor, feeling, something.’

That brilliant, insistent ‘because’… @christinaltudor.bsky.social in @tinymolecules.bsky.social 🃏

www.tinymolecules.com/issues/twent...
twenty-five — Tiny Molecules
www.tinymolecules.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:11 PM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘…she’d just hung there with her hair sweeping the woodchips and eyes shut tight like she was sleeping.’

What a central image to this fantastic flash from @mbarrettwriter.bsky.social in @fracturedlit.bsky.social 🦇

fracturedlit.com/first-they-f...
First, They Fall | Fractured
fracturedlit.com
November 1, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Reposted by James Montgomery
welkinprize.bsky.social
**ATTENTION WRITERS** This is your ONE MONTH warning. Entires open for the #WelkinWritingPrize 2026 on the 1st Dec. 100 words. Rolling subs. Free entry. Publication for shortlistees. Prizes for top 5.
THE WELKIN MINI. For micros up to 100 words. Free to enter. Deadline = 2nd January 2026. 1st prize = £75, 2nd prize = £40, 3rd prize = £25, HC = £10.
November 1, 2025 at 11:01 AM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘You can’t remember where you were on the night of the tenth.’

What an original piece from @woodardwriter.bsky.social in the new issue of @tinymolecules.bsky.social - brilliant! 🕵️‍♂️

www.tinymolecules.com/issues/twent...
twenty-five — Tiny Molecules
Autumn 2025
www.tinymolecules.com
October 31, 2025 at 6:23 AM
Reposted by James Montgomery
tinymolecules.bsky.social
Our Autumn Issue is here. 11 spooky stories to chill your bones. Read, enjoy, and share widely!
www.tinymolecules.com/issues/twent...
October 30, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Reposted by James Montgomery
natflashfictionday.bsky.social
Things are happening in NFFD land! We’ve got our anthology guest editor & our 4 microfiction comp judges lined up & we’ve decided on a theme for our next anthology!Watch this space!
a man in a vest is dancing in a living room with a couch and chairs
ALT: a man in a vest is dancing in a living room with a couch and chairs
media.tenor.com
October 24, 2025 at 5:44 PM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘Making love was dangerous. We blew the candle out like a dandelion.’

Evocative writing from Christopher Locke in @moonparkreview.bsky.social 🕯️

moonparkreview.com/issue-33-fal...
Verified #6
By Christoper Locke The school bus held us like breath. At stops in the jungle, barefoot girls walked the aisle selling armloads of socks, tubs of batteries clicking like teeth. A speared fish, cur…
moonparkreview.com
October 29, 2025 at 10:54 PM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘…she spends far too much time sunk in her old corduroy La-Z-Boy watching Matlock and Murder She Wrote and Colombo with all the shades drawn, not getting a lick of sunlight…’

Powerful and breathless from @bdiggswrites.bsky.social in @moonparkreview.bsky.social 📺

moonparkreview.com/issue-33-fal...
Invisible Lines
By Barbara Diggs And here they go again, the family insisting that she accompany them to the beach this summer because Walt says she spends far too much time sunk in her old corduroy La-Z-Boy watch…
moonparkreview.com
October 29, 2025 at 10:50 PM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
Absolutely loved this tonight! Such incredible variety, and beautiful readings from everyone involved. Bravo, @saloneurope.bsky.social 👏 Keep your eyes peeled for the next one in January! 👀
saloneurope.bsky.social European Writers Salon @saloneurope.bsky.social · 15d
One place left for the online salon tonight!
Join 50 writers from across the globe and an amazing line-up of readers, incl @taniahershman.bsky.social @kazbarwrites.bsky.social @sylvialeatham.bsky.social @sjfrideswide.bsky.social @donalconaty.bsky.social and more! All hosted by @kiklodge.bsky.social
Poster for the online salon
October 28, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Reposted by James Montgomery
splitlipthemag.bsky.social
Celebrating the work of our trans and queer contributors today and every day! Check out a few pieces from our archive we hope stay with you beyond the blog. buff.ly/554vznz
A variety of LGBTQ+ flag pins on a table.
October 22, 2025 at 3:15 PM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘“There are consequences to all things,” said the mad scientist.’

Two dazzling new micros from @ezhang77.bsky.social in @hexliterary.bsky.social 🦋
hexliterary.bsky.social hex @hexliterary.bsky.social · 22d
"In this movie, Jesus and my mother are at a bar drinking mojitos."

God, we are SO stoked to have @ezhang77.bsky.social back in hex this week with another surreal one-two punch! Elena is such a master of dream-like imagery infused with the human, and always surprising. Two new, up now on the site!
Two by Elena Zhang
Butterfly Wing The mad scientist sewed a butterfly wing onto my left shoulder, nerves spliced together like rope. I fluttered it once. My muscles ached with the effort. “There are consequences to a...
hexliterary.com
October 21, 2025 at 8:08 PM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘Put evil in front of your name and see how it makes you feel. Not great, right?’

So much to love in this darkly humorous piece from @willmusgrove.bsky.social in @hexliterary.bsky.social 🧍🧍

hexliterary.com?p=2135
Evil Twin by Will Musgrove
I’ve known you since you were born, which was when I was born. I’m your evil twin. Everyone has one. I was a part of you until I wasn’t. Then I watched you from the shadows—alleyways, unfurnished bas...
hexliterary.com
October 16, 2025 at 8:28 PM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘…there’s not even enough room for their hands holding tight to the hem of her skirt, not even for their overtired tears, not even for the sound of the word ‘Mama.’’

Amazing flash from the equally amazing @rosaleenlynch.bsky.social in Milk Candy Review 🧳

milkcandyreview.home.blog/2025/10/09/t...
The Suitcase of Lost Belongings ~ by Rosaleen Lynch
She can’t take her children in the suitcase. They would fit if she emptied it. They could top and tail in the folds of the quilt she made of their clothes, but there’s not even enough room for thei…
milkcandyreview.home.blog
October 16, 2025 at 8:05 PM
jamesmontgomery.bsky.social
‘She doesn’t smell old spice on his collar. He doesn’t taste cherry gloss on her lips.’

Lovely from @karenc.bsky.social in @thecitronreview.bsky.social 💄

citronreview.com/2025/10/05/w...
Why They Still Make Sense
by Karen Crawford She doesn’t hear the sneeze-fart before he butchers “Heartbreak Hotel” in the shower. He doesn’t see her wiry grays clogging the drain. She doesn’t smell the Vicks in …
citronreview.com
October 12, 2025 at 7:04 AM