BWG Roundtable
banner
bwgroundtable.bsky.social
BWG Roundtable
@bwgroundtable.bsky.social
The online literary journal for Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC.
Submissions for our Winter 2026 issue are now open.
The theme for our Winter 2026 issue will be Ordinary People. https://bwgwritersroundtable.com/submissions-contacts/
Reposted by BWG Roundtable
Issue 82, Autumn 2025 bwgwritersroundtable.com
Bethlehem Writers Roundtable
The Magazine of Bethlehem Writers Group
bwgwritersroundtable.com
October 1, 2025 at 5:21 AM
(Honorable Mention, 2025 BWR Short Story Award)

Alto was not having a good day, though not many had been since his Master forced him to work for a magic delivery app to get some “perspective.” Alto felt the entire thing was dumb and frankly beneath him.
Delivering A New Perspective
(Honorable Mention, 2025 BWR Short Story Award) Alto was not having a good day, though not many had been since his Master forced him to work for a magic delivery app to get some “perspective.” Alto felt the entire thing was dumb and frankly beneath him. When Alto found out he had magic, he thought he would be working at a high-end Mage Academy, or a major firm, like Merlin’s Mastery. His Master had other ideas. Apparently, Alto was “not ready” and “too immature.” So here he was, doing gig work for tips like a street magician.
bwgwritersroundtable.com
October 1, 2025 at 4:43 AM
(Honorable Mention, 2025 BWR Short Story Award)

The Kind Who Soar and The Kind Who Weave weren’t always so different. Before there were legs for climbing and wings for flying, there were just thoughts for thinking. Therein dichotomy commenced.

We developed eight tiny eyes, well-suited for scrutiny
Peaches
(Honorable Mention, 2025 BWR Short Story Award) The Kind Who Soar and The Kind Who Weave weren’t always so different. Before there were legs for climbing and wings for flying, there were just thoughts for thinking. Therein dichotomy commenced. We developed eight tiny eyes, well-suited for scrutiny. The other kind couldn’t resist attempting to take everything in, all at once. Their greed earned them two enormous eyes instead. Just like that, two different thoughts evolved into two opposing worldviews. Over many lifetimes, our differences and animosities grew. But The Kind Who Soar went too far when they claimed the skies on incandescent wings, and we never forgave them.
bwgwritersroundtable.com
October 1, 2025 at 4:03 AM
(Honorable Mention, 2025 BWR Short Story Award) 

Milt Wurtzman didn’t think anything of it when he saw Larry Gaines’ boat missing from the dock the day he disappeared. It was just past dawn on a Sunday morning in September, when the trout in Mahoney Creek were revving up to spawn and ready . . .
The Fish Man of Mahoney Creek 
(Honorable Mention, 2025 BWR Short Story Award)  Milt Wurtzman didn’t think anything of it when he saw Larry Gaines’ boat missing from the dock the day he disappeared. It was just past dawn on a Sunday morning in September, when the trout in Mahoney Creek were revving up to spawn and ready to lunge for anything that looked like food. And this particular morning was perfect for fishing—air crisp but not too cold, a low overhang of clouds threatening rain, and the Steelers didn’t play until four. Plenty of time to get in a few hours on the water and get anything he caught ready to throw on the grill at Donnie Puett’s house when he went over to watch the game.
bwgwritersroundtable.com
October 1, 2025 at 4:03 AM
Featured Story

By Any Other Name Kilmeny MacMichael Irina’s roses should cascade over her garden wall. Only, while she was out, someone came and tore the flowers to pieces. When Irina reached to rescue what remained, a hidden thorn pierced her finger. Still, she gathered a bouquet from the savaged…
Featured Story
By Any Other Name Kilmeny MacMichael Irina’s roses should cascade over her garden wall. Only, while she was out, someone came and tore the flowers to pieces. When Irina reached to rescue what remained, a hidden thorn pierced her finger. Still, she gathered a bouquet from the savaged vines, took them inside. Her mother claimed to know nothing about their destructive visitors.
bwgwritersroundtable.com
July 2, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Issue 81, Summer 2025 bwgwritersroundtable.com
Bethlehem Writers Roundtable
The Magazine of Bethlehem Writers Group
bwgwritersroundtable.com
July 2, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Blurred Details

by Andrew Rucker Jones In an upscale Chinese restaurant—the kind with two stone lions flanking the entrance, dragons weaving up the columns, and a decorative fish tank bubbling insinuations of wealth—in the private function room before twenty pairs of eyes, the guests of honor…
Blurred Details
by Andrew Rucker Jones In an upscale Chinese restaurant—the kind with two stone lions flanking the entrance, dragons weaving up the columns, and a decorative fish tank bubbling insinuations of wealth—in the private function room before twenty pairs of eyes, the guests of honor called the Hispanic waiter, who called the Chinese owner. The guests of honor, Finlay and Eloise, spoke their wedding vows twenty-five years ago today, and Finlay would not celebrate his wife with beer.
bwgwritersroundtable.com
July 1, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Reposted by BWG Roundtable
Walk me through
your cave

show me the petroglyphs
the stories
you have laboriously pecked on the walls
with your hammer stone,
carved in the light of a lantern
where shadows cast gloom.
In the Flickering by Neetu
Walk me through your cave show me the petroglyphs the stories you have laboriously pecked on the walls with your hammer stone, carved in the light of a lantern where shadows cast gloom.
www.asliceoforange.net
June 26, 2025 at 4:07 AM
Reposted by BWG Roundtable
First Loves…

What books kicked off your love of reading? Welcome to my Quarter Day's post! If you're a fan of A Slice of Orange, I have to assume you love books and you love reading. How did your romance with books get started? This topic came up in a recent discussion in the Belles Brigade…
First Loves…
What books kicked off your love of reading? Welcome to my Quarter Day's post! If you're a fan of A Slice of Orange, I have to assume you love books and you love reading. How did your romance with books get started? This topic came up in a recent discussion in the Belles Brigade Facebook Group. My first book binge was the…
www.asliceoforange.net
June 28, 2025 at 8:00 AM
BWG member Peter J Barbour’s FIFTEEN KEYS is an Amazon #1 hot new release. Congratulations Pete, we are thrilled for you.
In the year 1890, from a remote village in the Pacific Northwest, three teen-aged boys undertake a challenge, a rite of passage, to find fifteen "keys" that will help them grow into responsible adults and enable them to return home to become leaders in their community.
New Release: Fifteen Keys by Peter J Barbour
In the year 1890, from a remote village in the Pacific Northwest, three teen-aged boys undertake a challenge, a rite of passage, to find fifteen "keys" that will help them grow into responsible adults and enable them to return home to become leaders in their community.
www.asliceoforange.net
June 3, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Reposted by BWG Roundtable
The painter stares at the canvas waiting for an image to appear. Patiently, he waits until a faint imprint of a landscape or a face emerges. He then grabs a brush and dabs it into the paint on his palette, making haste to reach the canvas with his brush to capture the image.
MIRROR, MIRROR: A WRITER’S REFLECTION BY VERONICA JORGE
The painter stares at the canvas waiting for an image to appear. Patiently, he waits until a faint imprint of a landscape or a face emerges. He then grabs a brush and dabs it into the paint on his palette, making haste to reach the canvas with his brush to capture the image.
www.asliceoforange.net
May 22, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Reposted by BWG Roundtable
I can’t think of a better way to welcome Spring and celebrate Earth Day than with a new book, especially one about nature and the earth, and following after Women’s History Month.
GREEN PROMISES: GIRLS WHO LOVED THE EARTH by JEANNINE ATKINS—A REVIEW BY VERONICA JORGE
I can’t think of a better way to welcome Spring and celebrate Earth Day than with a new book, especially one about nature and the earth, and following after Women’s History Month.
www.asliceoforange.net
April 22, 2025 at 4:28 AM
Reposted by BWG Roundtable
I am but dust
a grain of sand
blowing whichever way
the wind blows
in the universe
Traveler by Neetu
I am but dust a grain of sand blowing whichever way the wind blows in the universe
www.asliceoforange.net
April 26, 2025 at 4:46 AM
Reposted by BWG Roundtable
The accountant opened the folder and skimmed the stack of documents it contained. A W-2, 1099s, receipts, investment summaries, it was all there, Annie hoped.
Financial Fore-cast
The accountant opened the folder and skimmed the stack of documents it contained. A W-2, 1099s, receipts, investment summaries, it was all there, Annie hoped. Matt always left it up to her to compile the papers needed before they sat down with Tom, their CPA. Her business was laden with supply orders, customer invoices, and back-end pay-outs. Matt worked in analytical statistics for a pharma company: salary, health insurance, 401(K), easy-peasy.
www.asliceoforange.net
April 30, 2025 at 4:15 AM
Reposted by BWG Roundtable
🌻COVER REVEAL🌻
Coming May 27th!!
🏔️ Small Town Romcom
🍎 Rival Apple Farms
🌶️ Spicy Spice
🌻 All the Banter
geni.us/LALD-C
April 9, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by BWG Roundtable
“Why don’t you write about it?” my therapist said.

It sounded cliche. Trying to process what had just happened through writing felt like trying to bail out a sinking cruise ship with a thimble.
WHY DON’T YOU WRITE ABOUT IT?
“Why don’t you write about it?” my therapist said. It sounded cliche. Trying to process what had just happened through writing felt like trying to bail out a sinking cruise ship with a thimble.
www.asliceoforange.net
April 19, 2025 at 4:01 AM
Reposted by BWG Roundtable
BWG is seeking never-published stories of 2,500 words or fewer on the theme of Speculative Fiction. The contest deadline is April 30, 2025.
2025 Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Award
BWG is seeking never-published stories of 2,500 words or fewer on the theme of Speculative Fiction. The contest deadline is April 30, 2025.
www.asliceoforange.net
April 18, 2025 at 4:00 AM