J. Ashley-Smith
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spooktapes.bsky.social
J. Ashley-Smith
@spooktapes.bsky.social
Author of dark fiction. Shirley Jackson Award winner. Co-host of the Let The Cat In podcast. Also: father, insomniac, moth dust gatherer. he/him. spooktapes.net
Reposted by J. Ashley-Smith
Fantastic thread, thank you! 🙏🏻 I loved “The Beautiful Thing You One Were” by @spooktapes.bsky.social in Bourbon Penn. I also have a FUBF “Bird’s Eye View of the Old City” (magpies again) upcoming in Drabblecast in a few months 🖤

www.bourbonpenn.com/issue/33/the...
J. Ashley-Smith > The Beautiful Thing You Once Were > Bourbon Penn
Perhaps I should have been surprised when the magpie first spoke. Strange as it may seem, I had become quite used to the mimicries of those curious backyard birds, with their pristine black-and-white ...
www.bourbonpenn.com
August 18, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Meant every one of them.
July 11, 2025 at 2:55 PM
A chapter, for sure. I stop noticing it after a para or two.
May 22, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Ha ha, yup. Still writing for Cody. ❤️ (Thanks, Celia!)
May 15, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Huge congrats!
May 6, 2025 at 8:00 AM
It was pretty close for me. (Didn't recognise that I would always put Libs bottom on principle, but otherwise all good.)
April 17, 2025 at 7:13 AM
It's now made of carcinogenic sugar alternatives, sawdust and my childhood tears.
April 16, 2025 at 1:45 AM
It's the 30-year anniversary of the Awards, too, so doubly special to get a nod.

Congrats to all on the shortlist, especially the many good friends and colleagues! (I'll spare you all another round of multi-tagging – know that I love you all and think you're ace.) 2/3
April 16, 2025 at 1:43 AM
They’re fucking awful. What were we like as kids that that shit tasted like fucking ambrosia?
April 14, 2025 at 7:58 AM
So glad it arrived safe and sound!
April 2, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I can almost taste it.
March 13, 2025 at 2:10 AM