Talestack News - ISSUE 49
[May 19th - June 2nd]
✒ Editor’s Note
Welcome back, Talestack Readers!
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New Season, New Logo, New Fiction News!
It’s June, and with that: it’s officially summer here at Talestack HQ! If you’re a regular reader, you may have noticed that our spring-y yellow daffodil logo has been retired in favor of warm summer blue as we move into a new season of news. But regardless of the weather where you live, if you’re looking to add some goodness to your TBR so you can take a mental vacation whenever you please, you’ve come to the right place.
This particular issue features a diverse cross-section: a handful of projects and pieces to keep your eye on, an exciting award opportunity, prompt challenge, and even some published work that you can purchase or pre-order right now!
As always, please hype each other up in the comments. Go visit, explore, give virtual high-fives, and let your colleagues know that you’re with them.
Have a lovely week, and happy writing!
S.E. Reid Editor of Talestack News
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📣 Announcements!
Finished Projects:
- recently concluded his nine-part fantasy/adventure serial, The Samyuzot. Blurb: “The story follows the life of a cursed exile, seeking a redemption that he knows is beyond his reach. While each anecdote is stand-alone, the series rewards returning readers, and the finale brings together disparate threads from the whole story.” Jump into Episode One here, or check out the completed list of tales to explore further!
New Projects:
- will be launching her summer season serial on June 6th, an episodic supernatural adventure called Ivy On The Trail. Synopsis: “It’s summer on Ferris Island. Now freshly sixteen, Ivy Cole is thrilled to finally be old enough to volunteer as a staff trainee at Fort Ferris State Park where she spent happy summers as a camper. Side by side with her friend Bailey, she can’t wait to balance new responsibilities with summer fun in the sun, until some strange events in the acres of dark woods threaten the safety of staff and campers alike…events that have an eerie similarity to scars in the island’s past. Ivy’s blossoming connection with Ferris Island and its hidden supernatural denizens puts her in a prime position to step in, but can she really help? Or is the evil lurking in the summer woods too powerful for her to face on her own?”
Awards:
- recently announced an exciting new award opportunity for indie authors: the first-ever Samuel Richardson Prize for the best self-published literary novel or short story collection. Learn more about the prize, background, and submission guidelines at the contest page here!
Milestones & Wins:
- has recently unveiled the cover art for Book One of her novel, The Legend of Sinardia, created by . An exciting step in the journey to publication!
- would like to invite the Talestack News community to check out his latest haiku, called The Circus of Life.
📚 The Bookshelf
(Titles listed in order of release date.)
- ’s science fiction short story collection, An Orb Over The Strawberry Moon, is now available for purchase as an ebook or paperback on Amazon! Release Date: 5/8/25
- ’s short story, The Hard Road Home, was recently published in an anthology through called Rawhide Revenants: Wyrd West. The anthology is available for purchase on Amazon! Release Date: 5/15/25
- ‘s collection of microfiction, A Quick Myth, is now available for purchase as an ebook or paperback on Amazon! Release Date: 5/21/25
- ’s contemporary coming-of-age novel, Lamb, is currently available for pre-order on Amazon with a release date coming tomorrow! Those who purchase the book can also receive a 6-month comp to Ford Knows, so check out this post for details. Release Date: 6/3/25
🫱🏻🫲🏾 Connection Corner
For those who like a little scare and suspense in their summer,
is hosting the perfect challenge! The 30 Days of Fright is a horror prompt event available to anyone with a Substack—fiction or nonfiction writer alike—who wants to be inspired in their writing this month. From the event post: “Every day, from 1st June 2025, I will post a prompt, and anyone who wants to can write a story or poem about it in any style or genre you want to, but ideally there should at least be something creepy or unsettling in it. Horror is in the eye of the beholder, after all. For example, to a vegetarian, a hamburger is horror. If you're not a fiction writer as a rule, you could write about something factual that the prompt reminds you of, or take creative liberties with some real events to fit them to the prompt and change identifying details. There is plenty of horror in real life, after all.” You can learn more about the challenge at the official event page here.
Got something you want us to publish? Have any questions, comments, or feedback? Send it all to:
talestack.editor@gmail.com
¡Thanks a lot for the mention!
Thanks for the mention! I'm glad you liked it!