Messages
5/5/2024
9 : 34
“TONGUE” (SHORT STORY)
A young boy hurtles through a thick forest, pursued by a pack of angry boys. “Tongue” is a chilling short story about blindly following rituals and traditions, about the secrets that bind us together.
5/2/2024
1 : 34
Starting a fire
John August reminds you that as a writer it's your job to burn the house down. Splash metaphorical or real gasoline all over the place, strike a match and let it fly. You need to burn down houses.
4/28/2024
9 : 34
“CNN” (SHORT STORY)
Another day another presentation for creative director Philip Morris. Philip is holed up in a luxury hotel suite, sweating the details for a major strategy presentation to the new chairman and chief
4/24/2024
1 : 34
Review: “I Hear You’re Rich”
Diane William's short story collection of flash fiction is sure to take your breath away. Quick, slight, incisive. Like ribbons of dreams flung into the air. Softly coloured paper ribbons unfurling
4/21/2024
9 : 24
“ENNIO FLAIANO HAS A DREAM” (SHORT STORY)
Ennio Flaiano hasn't been sleeping well. The celebrated writer and poet - and occasional screenwriter - is behind on several projects. Deadlines for two film scripts have come and gone. Production
4/16/2024
1 : 34
Scenes from the coast: For a few chips more
As the ten-piece band on stage roars through one classic Ennio Morricone track after the other, one woman keeps diving her hand into a large bag of potato crisps. Keeps pulling out one thin chip at a
4/14/2024
9 : 54
“IMPERIUM” (SHORT STORY)
It's been a long day. President Donald Trump and Steve Bannon have finally slipped out of their fat suits and are settling in for the night. Vintage champagne and imported sashimi are served in a
4/7/2024
21 : 34
Scenes from the coast: A Fistful of Chips
It's a coastal country hotel with a reputation for outstanding live music. Green hills rolling down to the sea and a low-key welcoming outdoor performance space that's drawn the likes of Ed
4/7/2024
10 : 54
“THE STAIRWELL” (SHORT STORY)
You've been trying to avoid them after you left your old life. But they've finally found you. And they're not going to let bygones be bygones. “The Stairwell” is a quick literary short
3/31/2024
10 : 4
“TEACHING PRIVATE SCHOOLGIRLS HOW ADVERTISING WORKS” (SHORT STORY)
Philip Morris stumbles into a classroom to give a talk on advertising. Critical thinking. Media literacy. Societal dynamics. Market analysis. Consumer behaviour. External factors. Internal drivers.
3/27/2024
0 : 34
Colonial drug dealers
Our modern world was built on imperial and colonial drug dealing. Trading in tobacco, sugar, tea, and opium was the foundation of our modern Western world. Britains's empire upon which the sun
3/24/2024
8 : 24
“MAESTRO” (SHORT STORY)
Bradley Cooper is desperate for an Oscar. Nominated for so many Academy Awards he's lost count, “Maestro” was to be his masterstroke. True to the title, the bombastic biopic was produced, written,
3/19/2024
0 : 34
Scenes from the coast: Birds on a wire
Up on the overhead electrical lines are four birds. Feathered dots against the endless silver blue sky. All looking north into the hot sun. STEFANO BOSCUTTI STEFANO BOSCUTTI Scenes from the coast:
3/17/2024
8 : 24
“X” (SHORT STORY)
Elon Musk is jetting across the world to yet another apology tour. With his companies on fire and public opinion turning against him, he's in the worst mood of his life - enraged that no one
3/15/2024
1 : 57
Do horses fly?
It was pioneering photographer Eadweard Muybridge who made history by proving that horses lift all four feet when in full gallop. On June 15, 1878, Muybridge used a bank of cameras and high-speed stop-
3/12/2024
7 : 14
Swamped by sadness
Even his late comeback couldn't save Ernest Hemingway from the depression that cursed his life. During the last decade of his life, his naturally dark mood deepened even further by a series of
3/12/2024
7 : 14
“INHUMANE” (SHORT STORY)
A new AI Pen is set to revolutionise writing. By interacting with authorised language models in real-time, this remarkable handheld technology promises to enhance productivity and elevate writing to
3/12/2024
7 : 14
“THE UNBEARABLE SADNESS OF JEFF BEZOS” (SHORT STORY)
Jeff Bezos stands on the top deck of his new superyacht as the sun sets low. Drifting across the Adriatic Sea after all his guests have drifted away. Only the onboard crew remains. Even his new fiancée
3/12/2024
7 : 14
“UP JUMPS THE KNIFE” (SHORT STORY)
Finally you've been released from prison after serving a life sentence. You've been bused to a small country town as part of a state-funded societal reintroduction program. Will you fall back
3/12/2024
7 : 14
Review: “The Elephant of Surprise”
Sit down and hang onto your goddamn hat. Joe R. Lansdale's “The Elephant of Surprise” is a Hap and Leonard novel that brings the unlikely pairing of a white-as-white ex-con and his gay best friend