Ali McGrane
@alimcg.bsky.social
Flash fiction in various places | Welkin win, Bath SLs | "The Listening Project" flash novella Ad Hoc Fiction bit.ly/3ohYf67 (Special Mention '22 Sab Awards) | South West UK🦻🌱🌊
alimcgrane.com
alimcgrane.com
Reposted by Ali McGrane
Submission details: www.ellipsis-zine.com/submit
September 13, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Submission details: www.ellipsis-zine.com/submit
Mizzle and cloud so the views weren't great walking in the Malvern Hills today, but there was this beauty...
September 13, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Mizzle and cloud so the views weren't great walking in the Malvern Hills today, but there was this beauty...
Reposted by Ali McGrane
This is really a long shot, but one of the writers who was due to come to the second week of our retreat (Monday-Sunday next week) has had to pull out, so we unexpectedly have a free room. Anyone interested, please get in touch.
@ruthabrandt.bsky.social and I are having the best time hosting an inspiration of writers deep in the Yorkshire countryside. What an incredible group already writing some incredible words! We had a lovely welcome session yesterday. Today I've taught a workshop called...
September 10, 2026 at 4:40 PM
This is really a long shot, but one of the writers who was due to come to the second week of our retreat (Monday-Sunday next week) has had to pull out, so we unexpectedly have a free room. Anyone interested, please get in touch.
Reposted by Ali McGrane
"and when I woke up, I told her about it, how real it seemed. Roland Barthes, for Pete’s sake."
This is easily one of the best micros of all time. ❤️⚡ Such superb writing from @alimcg.bsky.social in @fictivedream.bsky.social
This is easily one of the best micros of all time. ❤️⚡ Such superb writing from @alimcg.bsky.social in @fictivedream.bsky.social
"That dream where Marianne said she’d found a reference to one of my stories in a Roland Barthes essay" by Ali McGrane @alimcg.bsky.social #microfiction #MicroMonday. Please follow the link and enjoy fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/m...
https://fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/microfiction-72/
fictivedream.com
September 7, 2026 at 1:39 PM
"and when I woke up, I told her about it, how real it seemed. Roland Barthes, for Pete’s sake."
This is easily one of the best micros of all time. ❤️⚡ Such superb writing from @alimcg.bsky.social in @fictivedream.bsky.social
This is easily one of the best micros of all time. ❤️⚡ Such superb writing from @alimcg.bsky.social in @fictivedream.bsky.social
Reposted by Ali McGrane
1/ "Every fraction of a degree of warming matters." True, and a dangerous platitude.
It quietly suggests warming is a smooth dial, where each tenth of a degree costs about the same as the last. It doesn't. The later ones cost far more.
Here's why. 🧵
It quietly suggests warming is a smooth dial, where each tenth of a degree costs about the same as the last. It doesn't. The later ones cost far more.
Here's why. 🧵
September 9, 2026 at 7:32 AM
1/ "Every fraction of a degree of warming matters." True, and a dangerous platitude.
It quietly suggests warming is a smooth dial, where each tenth of a degree costs about the same as the last. It doesn't. The later ones cost far more.
Here's why. 🧵
It quietly suggests warming is a smooth dial, where each tenth of a degree costs about the same as the last. It doesn't. The later ones cost far more.
Here's why. 🧵
Reposted by Ali McGrane
Reposted by Ali McGrane
My #CraftArticle for September is all about research - what counts as research, how to do it and how much to do:
prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com/p/the-resear...
prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com/p/the-resear...
The Research Rabbit Hole
Yesterday I got so frustrated with myself.
prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com
September 8, 2026 at 10:08 AM
My #CraftArticle for September is all about research - what counts as research, how to do it and how much to do:
prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com/p/the-resear...
prattlefogandgravelrap.substack.com/p/the-resear...
The breathing before speaking, the passage of those tears past smile lines and into her ears - oof, the constrictive weight of this piece 👏 Congrats, Fiona! 🎉🎉🎉
bendinggenres.com/rx/
I was away last month when this came out and didn’t get to post. So, thank you to @bendinggenres.bsky.social for publishing my piece, Rx ❤️❤️❤️
I was away last month when this came out and didn’t get to post. So, thank you to @bendinggenres.bsky.social for publishing my piece, Rx ❤️❤️❤️
Rx
bendinggenres.com
September 8, 2026 at 11:45 AM
The breathing before speaking, the passage of those tears past smile lines and into her ears - oof, the constrictive weight of this piece 👏 Congrats, Fiona! 🎉🎉🎉
Reposted by Ali McGrane
"I realised I may never have said that name out loud before, only read it silently, the way some words exist without form in a reader’s mind"
Brilliant micro from @alimcg.bsky.social, wonderfully contemplative and full of truth
Brilliant micro from @alimcg.bsky.social, wonderfully contemplative and full of truth
ICYMI today we're featuring "That dream where Marianne said she’d found a reference to one of my stories in a Roland Barthes essay" by @alimcg.bsky.social #microfiction #MicroMonday. Please follow the link and enjoy fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/m...
https://fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/microfiction-72/
fictivedream.com
September 5, 2026 at 12:21 PM
"I realised I may never have said that name out loud before, only read it silently, the way some words exist without form in a reader’s mind"
Brilliant micro from @alimcg.bsky.social, wonderfully contemplative and full of truth
Brilliant micro from @alimcg.bsky.social, wonderfully contemplative and full of truth
Reposted by Ali McGrane
ICYMI today we're featuring "That dream where Marianne said she’d found a reference to one of my stories in a Roland Barthes essay" by @alimcg.bsky.social #microfiction #MicroMonday. Please follow the link and enjoy fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/m...
https://fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/microfiction-72/
fictivedream.com
August 31, 2026 at 5:02 PM
ICYMI today we're featuring "That dream where Marianne said she’d found a reference to one of my stories in a Roland Barthes essay" by @alimcg.bsky.social #microfiction #MicroMonday. Please follow the link and enjoy fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/m...
Reposted by Ali McGrane
Our prose poetry call is open until the 10th.
Some ideas that fit the theme of tenacity and difference...
A plant surviving in a hostile environment 🌱
A spider whose web is repeatedly broken 🕸️
A street dog helps a lost child get home 🐕
trashcatlit.com/call-for-pro...
Some ideas that fit the theme of tenacity and difference...
A plant surviving in a hostile environment 🌱
A spider whose web is repeatedly broken 🕸️
A street dog helps a lost child get home 🐕
trashcatlit.com/call-for-pro...
Call for Prose Poems
Jimothy, the Seattle trash cat with short spine syndrome, has taken the internet by storm. We obviously love how adorable he is with his squished-up body and cheeky scamper, but also how incredibly…
trashcatlit.com
September 4, 2026 at 11:13 AM
Our prose poetry call is open until the 10th.
Some ideas that fit the theme of tenacity and difference...
A plant surviving in a hostile environment 🌱
A spider whose web is repeatedly broken 🕸️
A street dog helps a lost child get home 🐕
trashcatlit.com/call-for-pro...
Some ideas that fit the theme of tenacity and difference...
A plant surviving in a hostile environment 🌱
A spider whose web is repeatedly broken 🕸️
A street dog helps a lost child get home 🐕
trashcatlit.com/call-for-pro...
Reposted by Ali McGrane
Web submissions are open for historical fiction. 14th-20th September, 1,000 words or fewer.
The usual guidelines apply and can be found here: ellipsis-zine.com/submit
The usual guidelines apply and can be found here: ellipsis-zine.com/submit
September 4, 2026 at 7:56 AM
Web submissions are open for historical fiction. 14th-20th September, 1,000 words or fewer.
The usual guidelines apply and can be found here: ellipsis-zine.com/submit
The usual guidelines apply and can be found here: ellipsis-zine.com/submit
Reposted by Ali McGrane
“… or the link she’d sent to the essay with my unwritten story referenced, a story dealing with some difficult shapeless thing, my son perhaps, his name being another kind of ghost word we fear to say out loud …”
@alimcg.bsky.social in @fictivedream.bsky.social fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/m...
@alimcg.bsky.social in @fictivedream.bsky.social fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/m...
Microfiction #72
by Ali McGrane That dream where Marianne said she’d found a reference to one of my stories in a Roland Barthes essay and when I woke up, I told her about it, how real it seemed. Roland Barthes, for…
fictivedream.com
September 4, 2026 at 2:33 AM
“… or the link she’d sent to the essay with my unwritten story referenced, a story dealing with some difficult shapeless thing, my son perhaps, his name being another kind of ghost word we fear to say out loud …”
@alimcg.bsky.social in @fictivedream.bsky.social fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/m...
@alimcg.bsky.social in @fictivedream.bsky.social fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/m...
Reposted by Ali McGrane
Our August stats ⬇️
Here are our August stats:
627 received
12 accepted
1.91% acceptance rate
We're open for subs. Free option always available. We pay $30/piece.
www.trampset.org/submissions
627 received
12 accepted
1.91% acceptance rate
We're open for subs. Free option always available. We pay $30/piece.
www.trampset.org/submissions
submit to trampset | literary journal submissions
Submit fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and translations to trampset. Read guidelines and share your best work with our literary journal.
www.trampset.org
September 2, 2026 at 10:18 AM
Our August stats ⬇️
Reposted by Ali McGrane
“The fiction writer is trying to create a false memory with the force of history." —Samuel Delany, About Writing
I love both of these similar ideas!
I love both of these similar ideas!
Holy smokes. Could be the best description I have ever heard:
"She once, brilliantly, described novel-writing as 'trying very hard to remember something which has not yet taken place'."
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s...
"She once, brilliantly, described novel-writing as 'trying very hard to remember something which has not yet taken place'."
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s...
Anita Brookner by Hermione Lee review – an enigmatic literary great given her due
This exhaustive biography of the Booker winner brings her properly out of the shadows for the first time
www.theguardian.com
September 2, 2026 at 3:27 AM
“The fiction writer is trying to create a false memory with the force of history." —Samuel Delany, About Writing
I love both of these similar ideas!
I love both of these similar ideas!
Reposted by Ali McGrane
@smokelong.bsky.social Do you know about The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest? It's an annual comp now, open to fiction, CNF, prose poetry, previously published and unpublished, and also translations. We want it all. Deadline Nov 15. 250 words or fewer. www.smokelong.com/the-smokelon...
The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest 2026 - 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
September 1, 2026 at 8:53 AM
@smokelong.bsky.social Do you know about The SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest? It's an annual comp now, open to fiction, CNF, prose poetry, previously published and unpublished, and also translations. We want it all. Deadline Nov 15. 250 words or fewer. www.smokelong.com/the-smokelon...
Reposted by Ali McGrane
Will be turning this stunner over in my mind for some time. @alimcg.bsky.social in @fictivedream.bsky.social ❤️
"That dream where Marianne said she’d found a reference to one of my stories in a Roland Barthes essay" by Ali McGrane @alimcg.bsky.social #microfiction #MicroMonday. Please follow the link and enjoy fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/m...
https://fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/microfiction-72/
fictivedream.com
September 1, 2026 at 11:48 AM
Will be turning this stunner over in my mind for some time. @alimcg.bsky.social in @fictivedream.bsky.social ❤️
www.faber.co.uk/journal/sara... Sold out in Manchester but £5 online tickets still available to Faber members (free membership) for the London event 26.11.26.
Sarah Hall will deliver the 2026 Faber Lecture
Titled Burning Snowflake: Nature. Writing. Rebellion, it is a clarion call for the literary imagination as a vital weapon in the fight for climate survival.
www.faber.co.uk
September 1, 2026 at 11:53 AM
www.faber.co.uk/journal/sara... Sold out in Manchester but £5 online tickets still available to Faber members (free membership) for the London event 26.11.26.
Reposted by Ali McGrane
An amazing micro. The hairs are still lifting on my scalp. Superb.
"That dream where Marianne said she’d found a reference to one of my stories in a Roland Barthes essay" by Ali McGrane @alimcg.bsky.social #microfiction #MicroMonday. Please follow the link and enjoy fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/m...
https://fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/microfiction-72/
fictivedream.com
September 1, 2026 at 11:25 AM
An amazing micro. The hairs are still lifting on my scalp. Superb.
Reposted by Ali McGrane
Okay, I followed the advice reposted below and stopped what I was doing to read the micro by alimcg.bsky.social.
And... yeah. Damn.
I pass the recommendation on to you.
And... yeah. Damn.
I pass the recommendation on to you.
🛑 Stop whatever you’re doing RIGHT NOW and read one of THE best micros I’ve ever read!! 🛑
Congratulations to @alimcg.bsky.social for this brilliant piece of writing 🎉🎉🎉
Congratulations to @alimcg.bsky.social for this brilliant piece of writing 🎉🎉🎉
"That dream where Marianne said she’d found a reference to one of my stories in a Roland Barthes essay" by Ali McGrane @alimcg.bsky.social #microfiction #MicroMonday. Please follow the link and enjoy fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/m...
September 1, 2026 at 9:47 AM
Okay, I followed the advice reposted below and stopped what I was doing to read the micro by alimcg.bsky.social.
And... yeah. Damn.
I pass the recommendation on to you.
And... yeah. Damn.
I pass the recommendation on to you.
Reposted by Ali McGrane
Hey lit mag editors. We've been worried about AI companies scraping Split Lip's site to train their models. We just learned that our web host, SquareSpace, has a native feature that allows us to stop some of this. It was quick & easy for our web editor to put in place. I encourage you to do the same
August 17, 2026 at 1:32 PM
Hey lit mag editors. We've been worried about AI companies scraping Split Lip's site to train their models. We just learned that our web host, SquareSpace, has a native feature that allows us to stop some of this. It was quick & easy for our web editor to put in place. I encourage you to do the same
Reposted by Ali McGrane
Ten years ago, ‘You Took the Last Bus Home’ was published. It was my first collection of poetry and incredibly, it’s still going strong. To celebrate the anniversary, I thought I’d share a poem from it every day this month, starting with the title poem.
September 1, 2026 at 9:31 AM
Ten years ago, ‘You Took the Last Bus Home’ was published. It was my first collection of poetry and incredibly, it’s still going strong. To celebrate the anniversary, I thought I’d share a poem from it every day this month, starting with the title poem.
Reposted by Ali McGrane
Very sorry to learn of the death of poet Wendell Berry. Such an important advocate for our relationship with the natural world, the beauty of wild things & the value of small, individual actions.
September 1, 2026 at 7:12 AM
Very sorry to learn of the death of poet Wendell Berry. Such an important advocate for our relationship with the natural world, the beauty of wild things & the value of small, individual actions.
Reposted by Ali McGrane
🛑 Stop whatever you’re doing RIGHT NOW and read one of THE best micros I’ve ever read!! 🛑
Congratulations to @alimcg.bsky.social for this brilliant piece of writing 🎉🎉🎉
Congratulations to @alimcg.bsky.social for this brilliant piece of writing 🎉🎉🎉
"That dream where Marianne said she’d found a reference to one of my stories in a Roland Barthes essay" by Ali McGrane @alimcg.bsky.social #microfiction #MicroMonday. Please follow the link and enjoy fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/m...
https://fictivedream.com/2026/08/31/microfiction-72/
fictivedream.com
August 31, 2026 at 3:32 PM
🛑 Stop whatever you’re doing RIGHT NOW and read one of THE best micros I’ve ever read!! 🛑
Congratulations to @alimcg.bsky.social for this brilliant piece of writing 🎉🎉🎉
Congratulations to @alimcg.bsky.social for this brilliant piece of writing 🎉🎉🎉