Writer for page and screen, guru of short stories, editor of Fiction on the Web. Rumoured to have killed wife with Scrabble and married self. He/him.
Joined June 2011
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17 Nov 2024
Who here is migrating to Bluesky? I've started posting over there instead. Come follow me: buff.ly/3UW45HP
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Watched Devil Wears Prada: Comedy-drama about an aspiring journalist who gets a job for the unreasonably demanding editor of a fashion magazine. Pitch-perfect example of its genre, that actually makes you think about what it takes to be successful, and whether we're ok with that.
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Manhattan kingpin Leone needs an illegal operation to stay alive, but it may already be too late. "It's been a while since I've read some good cyberpunk. This story distances itself from the hoary cliches of that genre by turning the tale on its head." fictionontheweb.co.uk/2026/0…
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Watched Bringing Up Baby on BBC iPlayer. Madcap comedy from 1938 about an heiress trying to seduce an absent-minded palaeontologist by means of pure chaos. Lots of fun to watch. Hepburn's ADHD-riddled character steals the show, with Grant's nice-guy providing the perfect foil.
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Reader comments on Friday's short story by Karl Hyppolite: "Sounds like Mike's not going to let his dream dry up." "This story seems authentic and relatable." "Beautifully written sad story." fictionontheweb.co.uk/2026/0…
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Spilt Milk by Ya Lan Chang. "This story reminds me of something my writing professor liked to say: 'It's easy to write about those times that we love our mothers. It's more painful, and maybe just as important, to write about the times we hate them.'" fictionontheweb.co.uk/2026/0…
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Comments on Laura Huey Chamberlain's short story: "Lisa's charming voice--its combination of pragmatism and youthful longing--makes this story almost read itself." "Wonderful story." "So much love and wisdom in this gorgeous story! Bravo." fictionontheweb.co.uk/2026/0…
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A Romanian man looks back regretfully on his cruelty to his first wife & daughters in Eugen Oniscu's short story. Reader comments: "There is something of Bashevis Singer in this tale." "I really enjoyed reading this story. It feels very Eastern European." fictionontheweb.co.uk/2026/0…
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Saw Backrooms at the cinema. Surreal horror based on internet meme about an endless series of creepy corridors that exist just past the bounds of reality. The Backrooms themselves were the highlight; the eerie feeling of liminal spaces well captured. But the story felt episodic.
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I read The Right to Sex by Amia Srinivasan. Fascinating insights and analysis into the evolution of feminism, the intersection of sexual and racial politics, the moral numbing effect of porn, the pliability of desire and how patriarchal strictures constrain it, etc.
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Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web retweeted
Jun 8
Exciting news!! It is no small thing to receive an acceptance from Fiction On the Web🥰 Thanks @FishCharlie !! #writingcommunity
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Aaron F. Schnore's story about cats is honestly one of my favourites I've published so far this year. Reader comments: "A genuinely beautiful story." "The humorous tone didn't prepare me for the poignancy to come." "Wow, found myself in tears at the end." fictionontheweb.co.uk/2026/0…
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Reader comments on Ajayy Pattanshetty's story: "That was beautiful, straddling the line between the supernatural and the speculative so well." "A short story that touched my heart." "A rare kind of storytelling… a feast for the senses and the soul." fictionontheweb.co.uk/2026/0…
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What did readers think of Brian Clark's wacky comedy about refugee socks? "Brilliant and charming tale." "Awwwwwwww! So much humor and yet a lot of heart!" "Absurdist humor of the best kind." fictionontheweb.co.uk/2026/0…
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Saw Obsession at the cinema. Brilliantly horrifying take on entitlement and desire. Left me wrung out at the end. The best horror movie of the 2020s so far? This and The Backrooms feel like a revolution: native YouTubers are blasting into Hollywood and there's no going back.
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With these accolades, why *wouldn't* you submit your short story to Fiction on the Web? fictionontheweb.co.uk/p/subm…
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Just posted my monthly Fiction on the Web newsletter for Patreon members, including an audiobook, a list of literary magazines that provide feedback on every submission, and a discussion of lit mag policies around generative AI. You can join here: patreon.com/charliefish
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The FISH list of lively independent literary magazines allows you to filter by magazines that always provide feedback. Here are 9 of them:
Fiction on the Web
Flash Fiction Magazine
Beneath Ceaseless Skies
BULL
After Dinner Conversation
Milk Candy Review
TQR
Rat Bag Lit
The Woolf
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My daughter is studying for her mock GCSE and I love this mnemonic for compelling writing/speech: WE ARE STARS. It stands for We/you (direct address), Exaggeration, Alliteration, Rhetorical questions, Emotive language, Simile/metaphor, Triplets, Anecdotes, Repetition, Statistics.
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In Wednesday's story, a lonely young man has a condition that is causing him to gradually disappear. Reader comments: "This is brilliant. Funny, deep and clever." "It feels like a metaphor. It’s very well written." fictionontheweb.co.uk/2026/0…
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Watched Colossus: The Forbin Project on DVD. The US government divests its military capability to an artificial intelligence, which then goes rogue. Could not be more relevant in 2026, but this was released in 1970! A decent sci-fi.
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