Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web

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.

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

Who here is migrating to Bluesky? I've started posting over there instead. Come follow me: https://t.co/IoXgFawWHc

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

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." https://t.co/Lekh5L7PfE

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

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.

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

With these accolades, why *wouldn't* you submit your short story to Fiction on the Web? https://t.co/AuJJO4VMmu

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

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: https://t.co/EqYotQLIuc

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

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

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

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.

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

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." https://t.co/Rkn5ivcJZ8

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

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.

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

Rewatched You Only Live Twice. Bond movie written by Roald Dahl starring Sean Connery. My kids watched it fully braced for the misogyny and racism, but it still grated. The actual plot is fun - I imagined Dahl writing these wacky scenes thinking, "Ha! They'll never film THIS!"

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

David considers a radical image overhaul at Hologram Sam's, in John McAuliffe's comic sci-fi short story. "This was wild." "This was brilliant! Laughed a lot through it but also felt for the main character. The message is relevant for the age we live in." https://t.co/ZBaVwrG8mF

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

Readers loved Philip Graubart's short story about a rabbi preparing her skeptical daughter for bat mitzvah. "It’s a beautiful story." "A very pretty, well-conceived and well-written story." "Rabbi Judith is a compelling, credible narrator." https://t.co/Y8o8JqU52p

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

Last Wednesday's short story Emile by Philip Cesario got a great reaction from readers: "A short but impactful story about ageing, the human condition, the immigrant experience, a love of books." "A quiet, tender story. Well done." "A beautiful story!" https://t.co/zFtfLdtdqj

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

The Albion Inn in Savannah teems with ghosts, but they don't bother the innkeeper Jesse Hawthorne, until a TV crew comes to investigate. "This was a great read!" Read short story The Albion Inn by Alyx Barter here: https://t.co/7uUYx5tNYA

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

Rewatched Jam (free on YouTube). Transgressive sketch show that managed to make me laugh about the most taboo subjects. Presented with Lynchian surrealism, it satirises power dynamics and social norms. Watch if you enjoy horrified discomfort, and giggling at inappropriate times.

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

A simple-minded young woman is sold by her impoverished mother to a brutish circus performer. A gentle tragedy. Great performance from the two leads. A strange balance of realism and artifice. Fun fact: I have only 2 degrees of separation with Federico Fellini.

[Charlie Fish and Fiction on the Web @FishCharlie]

Watched Jacques Tati's Playtime. Presented as farce, but farce usually disguises how carefully choreographed it is until the chaos builds to a climax. Conversely, this movie was conspicuous about the clockwork precision of its set pieces, but then didn’t build towards anything.