Climate fiction about rising sea levels

Clevedon Harbour photographed at sunset when the water is goldenMy new job is devouring almost ever hour, but I’m still carving out some time to write and share my words.
On Saturday 22nd March, I’ll be reading one of my hopeful dystopian flash fiction ‘Fishing For Green and Blue’ at Climate & Nature in Poetry and Prose, a morning of reading in the Waverley Room at Clevedon Library (37 Old Church Road, Clevedon BS21 6NN) as part of the Green Shift Festival.
The event is free, happens from 11am to 12.30, and there’s no need to book, just turn up.
There will be readings including The World Is Too Much With Us by William Wordsworth, an extract from ‘Aerth’ by Deborah Tomkins, ‘Healing the planet / Healing ourselves’ by Ben Okri, ‘Birthday’ by Simon Armitage), and a short extract from ‘Islands of Abandonment: Life in the post-human landscape’ by Cal Flynn, as well as my flash about rising sea levels.
The readers are all local activists and writers. It should be a great, thought-provoking morning.
And from 2pm, Annie, a psychotherapist and counsellor, will be running a workshop on finding resilience in a time of climate uncertainty.
Both events are free, but you need to register for the workshop by emailing sustainableclevedon@gmail.com.
I’d love you to come along if you’re available and fancy a trip to beautiful Clevedon.

Published stories

View between two trees showing other trees
I relish writing and editing short stories and flash fiction, and have a self-imposed rule of submitting every month. If you write, I highly recommend this trick. It ensures that for every rejection, there are still a handful of tales out in the world that may yet be published, plus a gentle flurry of successes to bolster your writing mojo.

Here are some of my recent and upcoming publications.

Upcoming

Waterslides and Other Snakes – Decadent Serpent

February 2025

Bellis PerenisWordpeace

December 2024

To trust the hungry sea – Flash Frontier, CIRCLE | POROWHITA issue. This story was nominated for a Best Microfiction award.

Dad has received his festive trim – Paragraph Planet

75-word story written by Judy Darley, published by Paragrah Planet on 24-12-24: Dad has received his festive trim: eyebrows pruned of their miraculous reach; nostril hairs freshly sheared; beard reduced to bristles that prickle when Cordie kisses his cheek. From the Care Home’s depths, a rich aroma heralds roasting meat. Dad blinks awake. “All right, Dad? Ready for a feast?” She ushers him into the dining room where fairy lights scratch shadows. Gravy awaits its chance to congeal in the corners of mouths, and nostalgia hangs in gleaming tatters.

FledglingNeither Fish Nor Foul

Dusk at the Marine Lake – Writers’ Journal Vol. 1: Live & Learn

November 2024

A 1,500 word excerpt of my hybrid memoir ‘The Tree Inside’ was shortlisted and highly commended for the Laurie Lee Prize.

October 2024

Tall Girl and Lazlo the Terrible – Frazzled Lit. This story was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

August 2024

Giraffe Families – Epoque Press

July 2024

All the Lives we Almost LiveTrash Cat Lit

June 2024

Moon JelliesNational Flash Fiction Day Write In

Reasons to Rescue Strangers – National Flash Fiction Day Anthology 2024

Why We Dance on the PierGooseberry Pie Lit Magazine

May 2024

CleaveTiny Molecules

February 2024

Blue-naped Parrots See More Than They SayNew Flash Fiction Review Issue 32 Family Life

January 2024

A Bright Day – winner of the New Writers UK Winter Story competition

October 2023

Mycorrhiza – Flash Frontier GARDEN / MĀRA issue

A Still, Golden Light – The Simple Things Magazine issue 136

What Was Lost & How Insects Signal Their Love – Flash Boulevard

June 2023

Windowledge Archives – National Flash Fiction Day Flash Flood UK 2023

The Long Way Home – National Flash Fiction Day NZ Micro Madness

April 2023

This is Not a Story About Chickens – The Hooghly Review issue 1

February 2023

How Many is 80? Paragraph Planet (scroll to Feb 23rd)

January 2023

Life Hacks – 12 Fragile Things Not to Use as a Doorstop – Wensum Literary Magazine issue 1/Winter 2023

December 2022

Natural Miracles – Flash Frontier Wonder issue

October 2022

The Art of Pivot and Flit – Dually Noted, Brink Literacy Project

September 2022

The Bee Man’s Secret – Flash Fiction Festival Volume Five

August 2022

The Green-Gold of Wet Kelp – Fairlight Books

June 2022

The egret and I don’t belong here – The Phare Literary Magazine Summer 2022 issue

Tricks to uproot a guest who has outstayed their welcome – Tiny Molecules issue 13

After Dad Goes into Care – National Flash Fiction Day FlashFlood 2022

Bees Breathe Without Lungs – Honeyguide Magazine

How to Hook a Heart – And We Live Happily Ever After, National Flash Fiction Day anthology 2022

The Tempest Inside – Micro Madness

April 2022

Milk Tooth – Wyldblood Press

March 2022

Awkward Liaisons – Flash Fiction Festival Volume Four

Falling in a Forest Mslexia magazine issue 93

Oxblood – Flash Frontier

Fishing for Green and Blue – Retreat West 10th Birthday Anthology

December 2021

Reasons Your Kefir Might Sour – Litro Magazine Flash Friday

The Only Language He knows Now is Touch – Blink-Ink, Moonlight #46

The Finch in My Sister’s Hair – The Birdseed

The Sea Lives in Her Mum’s Head – Ellipsis Zine

November 2021

The Salt Sting of Learning When To Say No – Flash Frontier

September 2021

My Choice – Six Sentence Stories

Three Shades of Summer – Flash Fiction Magazine

Storm Beckoner – Bandit Fiction

June 2021

Leaf After Leaf – National Flash Fiction Day Write-In

The Hare I Miss – Thimble Literary Magazine

What’s That? – Spilling Cocoa Over Martin Amis

May 2021

Reaching (collaborate work – I wrote the first stanza) – 100 Words of Solitude

April 2021

Stretching Out – Hencroft

The Sideways House – Twin Pies Volume IV

March 2021

Unstill Life With Plums – The Pomegranate

Moth Magazine invites your stories for children

Caterpillar_Photo by Judy Darley

The Caterpillar Poetry Prize is an annual prize for  unpublished poems written by adults for children aged 7–11.

The closing date for entries in 31st March 2025.
Every year since 2015, The Caterpillar Poetry Prize has been awarded to a single poem by a single judge – among them John Hegley, Chrissie Gittins, Roger McGough, Michael Morpurgo and Michael Rosen.
Previous winners include Louise Greig, Coral Rumble, Laura Mucha, Carole Bromley and Ciara O’Connor.
What you could win
1st prize €1,000 plus a week at Circle of Misse in France
2nd prize €500
3rd prize €250
The winning poems will be published in the Irish Times online.
Your 2025 judge
Kate Wakeling’s work has been awarded the CLiPPA prize for children’s poetry and nominated for the Carnegie Medal and has been praised as ‘clever, funny, inspiring’ (The Sunday Times) and ‘both limpidly welcoming and profoundly meaningful’ (Guardian). Her collections have variously been selected as Books of the Month in the GuardianThe Scotsman and The Sunday Times.
How to enter
The Caterpillarar Prize is open to anyone (over 16), as long as the work is original and previously unpublished.The poems can be on any subject.

The entry fee is €15 per poem. You can ENTER ONLINE or send your poem(s) along with a cheque or postal order (Irish only) made payable to ‘The Moth Magazine Ltd.’ with an ENTRY FORM or a cover letter with your name and contact details and the title of your poem(s) attached to: The Caterpillar, Ardan Grange, Milltown, Belturbet, Co. Cavan, Ireland H14 K768.

**If you are concerned about formatting online, please go through the online process and then email your poem as a Word attachment with your entry number directly to enquiries@thecaterpillarmagazine.com.**

Please remember to READ THE RULES of the competition before you enter.
The winners will be announced in June 2025.
Moth Short Story Prize
You may also be interested to know The Moth Short Story Prize is open for entries until 30th June 2025, with Evie Wyld choosing the winner.
Email enquiries@thecaterpillarmagazine.com with any questions.