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Mike Fox

@polyscribe70.bsky.social

230 followers 150 following 570 posts

Short story writer, delinquent poetry reader. Fictive Dream, The Lonely Press, Confingo, Fragmented Voices, Structo, Nightjar Press, Salt Publishing, Exacting Clam polyscribe.co.uk

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Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · Jun 19

Huge thanks to Joe Darlington and Manchester Review of books for this stunning review of my collection Things Grown Distant, still available from @confingopublishing.bsky.social manchestereviewofbooks.wordpress.com/2024/10/15/t...

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Reposted by Mike Fox

Tony Williams @tonywilliams.bsky.social · Nov 19

Hi new followers 👋 I write poetry and fiction, most recently Cole the Magnificent, which is a novel with bits of verse tucked in here and there, such as this song about a dismembered housecarl
#books #writing #poetry

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Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 4h

That's really kind, Eleanor. A personal recommendation is a thing of value. Hope your writing's going well.

Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 4h

Thanks very much, Ian. I haven't entered a competition for years, but perhaps I should reconsider. More and more it seems to be the normal entry point.

Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 5h

Thanks, Vicky. A publisher told me recently she's noticed a trend for writing shorter and reading shorter, so maybe the novella form is due for a comeback!

Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 5h

If thirty thousand words makes a novella, then I seem to have written one. Never thought to submit, until a writer I admire asked to read it and said I should. Is there a home for a 30K novella in this world?

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Reposted by Mike Fox

Caroline Clark @cclarklewes.bsky.social · Jan 31

My thanks to @minorliteratures.bsky.social and editor @roughghosts.bsky.social for publishing this essay and giving me such a boost at the start of the year.

minor literature[s] @minorliteratures.bsky.social · Jan 9

"Still, you were a poet. If you ever tried to write a line of narrative it bored you so intensely you felt drained. You could only do what you could do. You came to your notebook and wrote what came to you ..."

The Compliment — @cclarklewes.bsky.social

minorliteratures.com/2025/01/09/t...

The Compliment — Caroline Clark

1. The compliment came in swift and stayed with you your whole life. You in your blue sweater with the cowl neck. You with your dark hair. Montreal’s Grande Bibliothèque: glass fronted, deeper and …

minorliteratures.com

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Reposted by Mike Fox

Peter Devonald @pdevonald.bsky.social · 14h

Delighted to have work in the group show ‘SEASONS’ at The Addenbrooke’s Gallery/ Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ 11 October 2025 – 31 January 2026 .

Huge thanks to Monica Perez Vega and the Small Works Gallery

www.cambridgedrawingsociety.org/.../seasons....
smallworksartgallery.com/.../seasons-...

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Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 13h

I should imagine so Nicola. It's fair to say she wasn't restrained in her language!

Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 13h

By chance I've just read Margery Kempe's graphic thoughts on this subject. Oh god...

Reposted by Mike Fox

Sherry Morris 💙🇺🇦💛 @uksherka.bsky.social · 15h

I've been away but September's excellent episode of Sherry's Shorts has played on! Listen Again to cracking stories from @ruthabrandt.bsky.social, Nazifa Islam, Cynthia Rogerson & me with the link⬇️. It's all change on Friday with a new show so catch this one now. www.mixcloud.com/invernesshr/...

Sherry Morris 💙🇺🇦💛 @uksherka.bsky.social · Sep 13

Gather round yer...er...phone, folks, for the September episode of Sherry's Shorts on @highlandhradio.bsky.social. Titled 'Tricky Talks' & featuring dynamite stories by @ruthabrandt.bsky.social Nazifa Islam, Cynthia Rogerson & me. Click the Listen Again link & enjoy www.mixcloud.com/invernesshr/...

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Reposted by Mike Fox

Fictive Dream @fictivedream.bsky.social · 1d

ICYMI we're open for #submissions of #shortstories #flashfiction #microfiction #translations and looking fwd to reading your work #callforsubmissions. Please click on the link for our guidelines fictivedream.com/submission-g...

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Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 1d

For that reason I doubt Hildegard would disappoint, Justine.

Reposted by Mike Fox

Lucie McKnight Hardy @lmcknighthardy.bsky.social · 1d

Should you be that way inclined, you can pre-order Night Babies from today until Friday 17th October from Waterstones and get 25% off

Just use code OCTOBER 25

www.waterstones.com/campaign/oct...

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Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 1d

There's no value in describing a character's appearance. Good grief...

Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 1d

It's a biography, so in that sense no, but still very much a story in FM's hands. Hildegard is thought to be the first woman to write a book. She was a force of nature in the Margery Kempe mould, but of higher status. Also a genius - author, composer, apothecary and so on. It's a terrific read.

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Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 1d

Have you read Hildegard of Bingen by Fiona Maddocks?

Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 1d

'Most mobile devices, as a result of the digital bonding that develops following proximity to a user, are imprinted with a sense of loyalty.' Love this tale of low-level empathy (man + phone, man + dog) by @niamhmaccabe.bsky.social. Some of Niamh's sentences are to die for...

Niamh Mac Cabe @niamhmaccabe.bsky.social · 2d

I'm very excited to be published in the exquisite 3:AM, and grateful to editor Daniel Davis Wood.
My story, about gates, hounds, and bottomless lakes.
www.3ammagazine.com/3am/tracker-...

Tracker on R***** – 3:AM Magazine

www.3ammagazine.com

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Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 2d

Pleasure, Vicky.

Reposted by Mike Fox

Rabih Alameddine @rabihalameddine.bsky.social · 2d

Vincent van Gogh, Bowl with Daisies, 1888

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Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 2d

Me too, Cathy. Some authors try to impose a modern sensibility on the medieval mind. I thought Victoria avoided that really skilfully.

Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 2d

Margery Kempe and Dame Julian of Norwich share the narrative in this exquisite novel by @vickymackenzie.bsky.social
Contrasting medieval lives, each with the same intent, their circumstances and inner worlds rendered with deep insight and authenticity. A wonderful book.

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Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 2d

Thanks, Niamh. Glad it's not just me. I'll keep an eye out for when it's back.

Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 2d

Alas, the site's not letting me in, Niamh.

Mike Fox @polyscribe70.bsky.social · 2d

Clearly it's made you the woman you are today, Cathy!

Reposted by Mike Fox

David Frankel @daveyfrankel.bsky.social · 3d

It's been tough going for small publishers for a while, but they continue to publish a lot of the most exciting new work, and are the main supporters of the short story as a form. Support indie publishing when you can!
www.thebookseller.com/comment/open...

Open letter on the future of small press publishing in the UK

The industry must work together to ensure the longevity of the UK’s independent presses.

www.thebookseller.com

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