Linda M. Bayley
Different rubber duckies, same writer. @lmbayley at the other place. For now, this account only follows writers, editors, and lit mags. I like my echo chambers cozy!
I recognize and respect all pronouns. Mine are she/her.
- I'll be there at @tracieadams.bsky.social's book launch! I hope to see you there!! Sign-up link is in Matt's post below.
- Really excited to be hosting an online book launch for @tracieadams.bsky.social on the 21st Feb. "Not Finished Yet" is a brilliant book and we've got a really fun event lined up with readings, Q&As and a giveaway of some cool stuff: forms.gle/4vmgBsrQQdNQ...
- Reposted by Linda M. Bayley'A question of Family' is a great read. @fbereaud.bsky.social takes us on a quest, making us ponder about what makes a family and our human need for connection. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Today is the publication date of my first novel. What an honor to work with the amazing @stanchion.bsky.social. Please consider ordering a copy and, if you’re in San Diego, come celebrate with me this Sat! www.stanchionzine.com/product-page...
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- This is so brilliant! "as if there’s nothing we’d rather do than hop into Dad’s look-how-cool-I-am-mobile and be whooshed across town"! I love the narrator's voice and attitude here. Great #microfiction by @loricramerwriter.bsky.social out in @fictivedream.bsky.social this morning! #MicroMonday
- Delighted to be feat. "Every Sunday Morning at 9, Dad Honks the Horn of His Midlife-Crisis Mustang" by Lori Cramer @loricramerwriter.bsky.social #microfiction #MicroMonday. Please click on the link below and enjoy fictivedream.com/2026/02/02/m...
- Here's my Goodreads review of @fbereaud.bsky.social 's book "A Question of Family," available for pre-order from @stanchion.bsky.social . ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Bottom line: I was in tears at the end. Highly recommended. www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
- @fbereaud.bsky.social @stanchion.bsky.social I am enjoying this SO MUCH!! xoxo
- Look how beautiful this book by @fbereaud.bsky.social is! @stanchion.bsky.social you've outdone yourself!
- Why is this still relevant in 2026? Also, anybody else feel very old watching this? youtu.be/ShiShrR_nh8?...
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- I lied to so many people yesterday after getting this news. "How are you?" "I'm fine!" "I'm well, thank you!" "Great!" It made me wonder how many lies do we tell ourselves and others, just to get through the day? Who are we protecting by not admitting when we're sad?
- I just learned that a former coworker was killed in a car crash 3 days ago. 62 years old. She was always kind to me. #beautifulordinarypeople
- I voted! If you still need to catch up on stories before you decide, read them here: www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stories #microfiction @welkinprize.bsky.social
- Now that all the shortlist (barring my winners!) have been published, you can vote for your favourites in the PEOPLE'S PRIZE!! You've got until the 31st Jan to cast your vote. Vote for 3 stories. The 2 stories with the most votes share the crown!! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
- Oh. Goodness. #microfiction
- Today's shortlisted story is "If we'd said yes when you rang home to borrow four hundred dollars" by @gilloshaughnessy.bsky.social. A one-sentence marvel full of so much sadness and yearning: www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stori...
- Thanks for the giggle first thing in the morning, @emilyrinkema.bsky.social and @welkinprize.bsky.social ! #microfiction
- HIGHLY COMMENDED in the Welkin Writing Prize 2026, "Time for Tom to Go" by @emilyrinkema.bsky.social. A wonderfully original relationship exploration with so much verve at the level of words: www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stori...
- Reposted by Linda M. BayleyJanuary will come to an end - no, it will, promise - and then it's off to the thrift store after you have a big spring clean! Well, between Feb 1st and 14th - we are the thrift store. Send your preloved stories for our recycling bin. All the info is here: trashcatlit.com/spring-2026/

- I just learned that a former coworker was killed in a car crash 3 days ago. 62 years old. She was always kind to me. #beautifulordinarypeople
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- Two things make it worth my while to get out of bed on Mondays; one of them is #MicroMonday. This piece by Louella Lester makes me think of so many people from my past, not just exes, wondering whether I'll find out when they die, wondering whether they ever think of me. #microfiction
- "People spoke more carefully, as if their words might bruise in the dark." #microfiction by Bill Nwonwu in @welkinprize.bsky.social!
- Today's shortlisted story is "What the darkness knew" by Bill Nwonwu. An atmospheric piece that shines so much light on the human condition: www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stori...
- #microfiction is hard to do well. #haiku is hard to do well. So Mary Harron says "hold my beer" and gives us a freaking incredible 100-word #haibun. I love this so much. Just sitting here shaking my head in wonder.
- Today's shortlisted story is "The empty fork, the empty place" by @morrisonmm.bsky.social. A poignant haibun about illness and aging: www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stori...
- @onmytangent.bsky.social 's piece is like a 100-word essay on why you should choose the bear. Brilliant. #microfiction @welkinprize.bsky.social
- Today's shortlisted story is "& men" by @onmytangent.bsky.social. A brilliant list piece with so much momentum and attack: www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stori...
- Such a stunning view of something I hope never to experience myself. We see all the pictures on TV, but we don't get the emotion. Shofiqure Rahman gives us the emotion, and I'm grateful to be able to understand a little bit more because of this piece. #microfiction @welkinprize.bsky.social
- Reposted by Linda M. BayleyToday's shortlisted story is "The Curator Who Counted Shadows" by Vaishnavi Pusapati. A beautifully crafted evocation of character and place: www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stori...
- How does Barnaby Wick evoke an entire way of life in 100 words? It's like magic. #microfiction @welkinprize.bsky.social
- And now I regret reading so many of the @welkinprize.bsky.social shortlisted pieces all at once because I need at least a day to think about this one. #microfiction
- Oh, wow, @cake-girl.bsky.social ! This piece is amazing. I love the structure and the carefully chosen details. Just beautiful. #microfiction
- Today's shortlisted story is "Because you want to understand, I describe how I once wore suffering on the outside of my body" by @cake-girl.bsky.social. A powerful piece about a difficult topic: www.mattkendrick.co.uk/welkin-stori...
- Oh, goodness. That's a bit of a reversal of expectations, isn't it, @welkinprize.bsky.social ! #microfiction
- Sunday morning, and I'm finally sitting down to catch up with the @welkinprize.bsky.social micros that I've missed. Exhibit A: "we’d built all this just to avoid saying what hurt." Yes, yes. How many ways do we do this to ourselves? #microfiction
- OMG, this story by @elissafield.bsky.social in @frazzledlit.bsky.social . I got to hear Elissa reading "Perfect Star" a few months ago and couldn't keep my face straight. I defy you to read it without sobbing. #shortstory #flashfiction www.frazzledlit.com/p/perfect-star
- "Somewhere over an ocean, the sun is rising like a hard ball of jawbreaker candy, dusting its cinnamon heat over waves. Remember this." Read this beautiful story and others by @tracieadams.bsky.social in her book Not Finished Yet!
- Holy cow... I'm on this list twice! Congratulations to everyone who made the list, and also to everyone who entered. We have all worked so very hard this past year. Thank you so much, @smokelong.bsky.social !
- The SmokeLong Workshop Prize Long List just went live. It has been a mountain of great work. We received just over 400 entries from our workshop participants in 2025. Congratulations to all! www.smokelong.com/the-smokelon...
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- Big thanks to @markburrow.bsky.social and @urbanpigspress.bsky.social for giving my story a home!
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- Somehow I'm only just discovering @vastchasmmag.bsky.social ! But I read this #shortstory by Marcie Roman today and I have to share it with you. (I'm still upset about the pink balloon.) vastliterarypress.org/2026/01/17/r...
- Look how beautiful this book by @fbereaud.bsky.social is! @stanchion.bsky.social you've outdone yourself!
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- "When I got home, the bag was empty, save for a few crumbs, which I poured into my cat’s bowl." This #microfiction by Mathieu Cailler, out today in @fictivedream.bsky.social. fictivedream.com/2026/01/19/m...