Charlie Fish & Fiction on the Web
@charliefish.bsky.social
Writer for page and screen, guru of short stories, editor of www.fictionontheweb.co.uk. Rumoured to have killed wife with Scrabble and married self. He/him.
I've done the 2026 update of the FISH List of lively independent literary magazines! The list evaluates and ranks thousands of lit mags against 14 criteria to help you find your new favourite indie lit mag. And there's a new #1! www.fictionontheweb.co.uk/p/fish-list....
December 4, 2025 at 1:04 PM
I've done the 2026 update of the FISH List of lively independent literary magazines! The list evaluates and ranks thousands of lit mags against 14 criteria to help you find your new favourite indie lit mag. And there's a new #1! www.fictionontheweb.co.uk/p/fish-list....
Reader comment on Carrie Vaccaro Nelkin's recent story: "I started the story thinking it was going to be a Walter Mitty-style fantasy of violence, but then it took a much darker turn. I like these dark speculative tales that play with the fabric of reality." www.fictionontheweb.co.uk/2025/11/i-ca...
December 3, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Reader comment on Carrie Vaccaro Nelkin's recent story: "I started the story thinking it was going to be a Walter Mitty-style fantasy of violence, but then it took a much darker turn. I like these dark speculative tales that play with the fabric of reality." www.fictionontheweb.co.uk/2025/11/i-ca...
This is all excellent writing advice. And hilarious, to boot.
December 3, 2025 at 1:04 PM
This is all excellent writing advice. And hilarious, to boot.
Fiction on the Web occasionally partners with book box subscription company Your Paper Quest. They've paid a bunch of authors for permission to reprint stories originally published at Fiction on the Web - the latest being Alex Glebe's forest fantasy The Huldra's Girl.
December 2, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Fiction on the Web occasionally partners with book box subscription company Your Paper Quest. They've paid a bunch of authors for permission to reprint stories originally published at Fiction on the Web - the latest being Alex Glebe's forest fantasy The Huldra's Girl.
Rewatched Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse with the family - can't believe it's 8 years old now. 120 years of animation, and 60 years of Spider-Man, yet this movie manages to feel so new. Contains one of my favourite examples of screenwriting (pic).
December 1, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Rewatched Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse with the family - can't believe it's 8 years old now. 120 years of animation, and 60 years of Spider-Man, yet this movie manages to feel so new. Contains one of my favourite examples of screenwriting (pic).
How's this for a cool sci-fi movie you've never heard of: I watched British indie flick Frequencies, about a world where your "frequency" determines your status and how easy life is for you - until a very low-frequency person works out how to change his fate. Fascinating plot, stilted acting.
November 30, 2025 at 8:57 PM
How's this for a cool sci-fi movie you've never heard of: I watched British indie flick Frequencies, about a world where your "frequency" determines your status and how easy life is for you - until a very low-frequency person works out how to change his fate. Fascinating plot, stilted acting.
Rewatched Once with my daughters, about two lonely strangers who come together to record some songs in Dublin. A diegetic realist musical - I don't know of any other movies quite like it. My younger daughter in particular (12) was utterly captivated. I teared up at the end. Love it.
November 30, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Rewatched Once with my daughters, about two lonely strangers who come together to record some songs in Dublin. A diegetic realist musical - I don't know of any other movies quite like it. My younger daughter in particular (12) was utterly captivated. I teared up at the end. Love it.
I rewatched 1974 sci-fi Phase IV, in which ants rise up against humanity. The only movie directed by legendary poster designer Saul Bass. Powerful. The mindless inevitability of the ants is chilling. The filming of the close-up insect scenes is kind of mind blowing in places.
November 29, 2025 at 1:04 PM
I rewatched 1974 sci-fi Phase IV, in which ants rise up against humanity. The only movie directed by legendary poster designer Saul Bass. Powerful. The mindless inevitability of the ants is chilling. The filming of the close-up insect scenes is kind of mind blowing in places.
In Monday's story, a young girl confronts a mythical huldra - but is she more in danger from the huldra or the bears? Readers said: "Oooooo! Cool beings! Twists and turns! Terrific!" "Beautiful, and it accomplished so much within a very short space of time." www.fictionontheweb.co.uk/2025/10/the-...
November 27, 2025 at 8:57 PM
In Monday's story, a young girl confronts a mythical huldra - but is she more in danger from the huldra or the bears? Readers said: "Oooooo! Cool beings! Twists and turns! Terrific!" "Beautiful, and it accomplished so much within a very short space of time." www.fictionontheweb.co.uk/2025/10/the-...
Fiction on the Web now has a LinkedIn page: www.linkedin.com/company/fict...
November 27, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Fiction on the Web now has a LinkedIn page: www.linkedin.com/company/fict...
We went a bit left-field publishing this, but it got a great reaction from the readers! "I dearly loved this story, the voice, the dialect and the funny names." "This story is a lively, entertaining read. It would make a great SNL skit!" www.fictionontheweb.co.uk/2025/11/i-wi...
November 26, 2025 at 8:57 PM
We went a bit left-field publishing this, but it got a great reaction from the readers! "I dearly loved this story, the voice, the dialect and the funny names." "This story is a lively, entertaining read. It would make a great SNL skit!" www.fictionontheweb.co.uk/2025/11/i-wi...
My story is (finally) online at Flash Fiction Magazine. Yay! flashfictionmagazine.com/blog/2025/11...
November 26, 2025 at 7:09 PM
My story is (finally) online at Flash Fiction Magazine. Yay! flashfictionmagazine.com/blog/2025/11...
You can make a positive contribution to the vital literary subculture of online magazines and short story sites by voting for your favourites here: www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag... - and, of course, please include Fiction on the Web in your votes!
November 26, 2025 at 1:04 PM
You can make a positive contribution to the vital literary subculture of online magazines and short story sites by voting for your favourites here: www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag... - and, of course, please include Fiction on the Web in your votes!
My story "You Ok?" is published at Flash Fiction Magazine today! It's a great magazine and I really glad to have got into it. You can leave a comment there to tell me what you think. flashfictionmagazine.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:57 PM
My story "You Ok?" is published at Flash Fiction Magazine today! It's a great magazine and I really glad to have got into it. You can leave a comment there to tell me what you think. flashfictionmagazine.com
Watched Wicked double bill (cinema). Mostly good as a single film, albeit with much padding. Less of an "exploration of evil" than the original novel - more an exploration of the toll of ambition on a friendship. So cool that Baum's universe is still going strong 125 years later.
November 24, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Watched Wicked double bill (cinema). Mostly good as a single film, albeit with much padding. Less of an "exploration of evil" than the original novel - more an exploration of the toll of ambition on a friendship. So cool that Baum's universe is still going strong 125 years later.
This is so cool! A TfL poster from 1926 predicting London's cityscape 100 years in the future - in 2026. Seen in the London Transport Museum's depot in Acton. Very steampunk. www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/...
November 23, 2025 at 1:04 PM
This is so cool! A TfL poster from 1926 predicting London's cityscape 100 years in the future - in 2026. Seen in the London Transport Museum's depot in Acton. Very steampunk. www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/...
PLEASE VOTE for Fiction on the Web in the 3rd Annual Chill Subs Community Favorites Best Lit Mag Awards! www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag...
November 22, 2025 at 8:57 PM
PLEASE VOTE for Fiction on the Web in the 3rd Annual Chill Subs Community Favorites Best Lit Mag Awards! www.chillsubs.com/best-lit-mag...
Looking for a simple-to-play fun family game as a Christmas gift, that works for all ages and a variety of player counts? I recommend co-operative tower building game Towerbrix boardgameprices.co.uk/item/show/80... and clever set collection game Money! boardgameprices.co.uk/item/show/83...
November 22, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Looking for a simple-to-play fun family game as a Christmas gift, that works for all ages and a variety of player counts? I recommend co-operative tower building game Towerbrix boardgameprices.co.uk/item/show/80... and clever set collection game Money! boardgameprices.co.uk/item/show/83...
I watched Festen, the first Dogme 95 movie. Chilling stuff. Made me think of what it must be like to have dinner with all the rich people implicated in Epstein’s sex trafficking - the doublethink of knowing of their evildoings while playing along with the polite small talk.
November 21, 2025 at 8:57 PM
I watched Festen, the first Dogme 95 movie. Chilling stuff. Made me think of what it must be like to have dinner with all the rich people implicated in Epstein’s sex trafficking - the doublethink of knowing of their evildoings while playing along with the polite small talk.
Watched both versions of The Running Man (1987 and 2025). There's a certain reckless charisma to 80s films - they just don't make 'em like that anymore. The 2025 version is more faithful to the Stephen King novel, but took itself a bit too seriously (surprising for an Edgar Wright movie!).
November 20, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Watched both versions of The Running Man (1987 and 2025). There's a certain reckless charisma to 80s films - they just don't make 'em like that anymore. The 2025 version is more faithful to the Stephen King novel, but took itself a bit too seriously (surprising for an Edgar Wright movie!).
I rewatched Who Framed Roger Rabbit: 1988 comic noir set in a world where humans and cartoons co-exist. This has aged well. The toons are so chaotic - delightful to watch, but yikes that would be stressful to live with! The ending with Judge Doom freaked me out as a kid. Still pretty scary now.
November 19, 2025 at 1:04 PM
I rewatched Who Framed Roger Rabbit: 1988 comic noir set in a world where humans and cartoons co-exist. This has aged well. The toons are so chaotic - delightful to watch, but yikes that would be stressful to live with! The ending with Judge Doom freaked me out as a kid. Still pretty scary now.
I watched Harvey on DVD. A cheery alcoholic freaks out his friends and relatives by having in-depth conversations with a six-foot tall rabbit they can't see. Most films I've seen from this era (1950s) feel twee, and this is no exception - although it manages to turn that into a virtue.
November 18, 2025 at 8:57 PM
I watched Harvey on DVD. A cheery alcoholic freaks out his friends and relatives by having in-depth conversations with a six-foot tall rabbit they can't see. Most films I've seen from this era (1950s) feel twee, and this is no exception - although it manages to turn that into a virtue.
I watched Boyhood on DVD - Richard Linklater movie about growing up, filmed over 12 years so the child actors actually grew up. Kind of astonishing. Gives you a sense of time passing, with all the nostalgia and regret and water under the bridge, like nothing else I've seen.
November 18, 2025 at 1:04 PM
I watched Boyhood on DVD - Richard Linklater movie about growing up, filmed over 12 years so the child actors actually grew up. Kind of astonishing. Gives you a sense of time passing, with all the nostalgia and regret and water under the bridge, like nothing else I've seen.
I bought a batch of old Heinlein books on Vinted. That's my winter sorted.
November 17, 2025 at 8:57 PM
I bought a batch of old Heinlein books on Vinted. That's my winter sorted.
I'm planning to close Fiction on the Web submissions in December to give the hard-working readers a break, so if you want to send in a short story do it soon! (Patreon supporters will still be invited to submit even when the submission window is closed www.patreon.com/c/charliefish)
November 17, 2025 at 1:04 PM
I'm planning to close Fiction on the Web submissions in December to give the hard-working readers a break, so if you want to send in a short story do it soon! (Patreon supporters will still be invited to submit even when the submission window is closed www.patreon.com/c/charliefish)