Wild Seas, Wilder Cities raises £5,500 for Solent Seagrass Restoration Project

EXCITING NEWS!

My short fiction piece, ‘Prolific,’ was published in the Pens of the Earth Anthology, Wild Seas, Wilder Cities, alongside some wonderful authors in 2025. Since then, a whopping £5,500 has been raised for the Solent Seagrass Restoration Project. The money raised comes both from book sales and related activities. Find out more about the collection.

ABOUT THE COLLECTION

Wild Seas, Wilder Cities is a “wild-seeded” collection of short stories, poems, memoirs, environmental articles and illustrations from 54 unique contributors, all concerned with showing the positive side of our relationship with the earth.

Wild Seas, Wilder Cities is a “wild-seeded” collection of short stories, poems, memoirs, environmental articles and illustrations from 54 unique contributors, all concerned with showing the positive side of our relationship with the earth. 

Dive into the depths of Wild Seas, Wilder Cities and let your imagination be fired by the many wonderful projects already making a difference to our world, by stories of hope, celebrations of nature, inspirational people (both real and fictional) and by the local action that every one of us can undertake. A few small differences in your life will ensure you are part of the ever-growing global community dedicated to protecting our precious planet. Let us inspire you!

RESTORATION PROJECT

“The many writers and poets represented in this book have all given their work freely to support the vital work of the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust in its repair and maintenance of the Solent seagrass meadows.” Pens of the Earth

The Restoration Project is working towards a vision of a wilder future and 30% of land and sea restored for nature. Seagrasses do as much to keep the planet cool as rainforests, so raise your spirits and help us plant the seeds of change.

All profits from this book are donated to the Solent Seagrass Restoration Project.

REVIEWS

‘Bursting with inspiring and hopeful visions’ Carys Bray, author of A Song for Issy Bradley

‘A lyrical force for change’ Nicola Chester, writer for The Guardian

‘Full of love, enlightenment, practicality and poetry’  Toby Litt, author of Patience

‘This collection, evolved from the inspirational Pens of the Earth, shows how meaningful, themed narratives can make a shift towards change’ The London Magazine Review, by Judy Waite, Award-winning author and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, University of Winchester.

‘We bear witness to the natural world in many ways, and the pieces come in all shapes and sizes, carrying messages of determination, love for nature, positive actions and the power of community.’ Sarah Jane Butler, author of Starling

A delightfully encouraging collection of writings on the ways we can help make the world wilder again, how we can change the narrative on climate change. Vibrant and alive, these are wonderful tales told of renaturing – of striving to support life in all its glorious forms on the earth, of restoring hope for the future.’ Dr James Canton, Director of Wild Writing, University of Essex

Pens of the Earth have a number of activities coming up this year, including online and in-person workshops (check out Tamsin’s Mar 2nd Portsmouth BookFest workshop), the launch of an audiobook, and further book sales, to continue to raise money.  

In the meantime, listen to Pens of the Earth in conversation on Radio Victory‘s Between the Lines, this Sunday, at 6pm. Rachel Birchley will be chatting with Loree and Matt about environmental writing, Tamsin’s forthcoming BookFest workshop and what it takes to put a good anthology together. It will also be available on catch up: https://radiovictory.co.uk/betweenthelines.

Wild Seas, Wilder Cities

21ST OCTOBER ’24

More publication news!! I’m thrilled to be a contributor to WILD SEAS, WILDER CITIES from Pens of the Earth. Wild Seas, Wilder Cities is a “wild-seeded” collection of short stories, poems, memoirs, environmental articles and illustrations from 54 unique contributors, all concerned with showing the positive side of our relationship with the earth.

Dive into the depths of Wild Seas, Wilder Cities and let your imagination be fired by the many wonderful projects already making a difference to our world, by stories of hope, celebrations of nature, inspirational people (both real and fictional) and by the local action that every one of us can undertake. A few small differences in your life will ensure you are part of the ever-growing global community dedicated to protecting our precious planet. Let us inspire you!

All profits from this book go to the Solent Seagrass Restoration Project. Seagrasses do as much to keep the planet cool as rainforests, so raise your spirits and help us plant the seeds of change.

Reviews

“Wild Seas, Wilder Cities is a delightfully encouraging collection of writings on the ways we can help make the world wilder again, how we can change the narrative on climate change. Vibrant and alive, these are wonderful tales told of renaturing – of striving to support life in all its glorious forms on the earth, of restoring hope for the future.” Dr James Canton, Director of Wild Writing, University of Essex

“Bursting with inspiring and hopeful visions.” Carys Bray

“A lyrical force for change.” Nicola Chester

“Carrying messages of determination, love for nature, positive actions and the power of community.” Sarah Jane Butler, author of Starling

“Full of love, enlightenment, practicality and poetry.” Toby Litt, author of Patience

Solent Seagrass Restoration Project: https://www.hiwwt.org.uk/seagrass-restoration

Pens of the Earth book page: https://pensoftheearth.co.uk/the-book/

Launching on Monday 21st October, 6:30 – 8:30, at Portsmouth Guildhall: https://www.portsmouthguildhall.org.uk/whats-on/event/pens-of-the-earth-book-launch/

PUBLICATION DAY

The day has arrived. It’s the release of my long-awaited second collection of short stories. Lots of you have asked when they will be available to buy and the wait is over. I’m thrilled to announce the release of a new collection of stories, many of which have been placed in competitions and published in international literary journals. Two of the stories can be found in anthologies – You Fold Yourself into Tiny Spaces was Longlisted in the Reflex Press Quarterly International Flash Fiction Competition and published in In Defence of Pseudoscience: Reflex Fiction Volume Five. Prolific was published in Pens of the Earth and is forthcoming in a Pens of the Earth Anthology in October 2024. Some of my favourite stories are new to this collection.

“Intense, beautifully realised and ice-sharp”

ABOUT THE COLLECTION:

The sentences we leave unfinished, questions surrounding sudden loss, a decision on a train. This second collection covers themes of relationships and memory, exploring what happens when memory fails. It looks at beginnings and endings, weaving through themes of generations, family, uncertainty, and what happens when experiences change us.

“F C Malby’s stories capture characters teetering on the edge of precipices in their lives, sometimes literal, sometimes metaphorical, as they decide whether or not to take a leap of faith into the unknown. These intense, beautifully realised and ice-sharp stories momentarily suspend us over an Everestian abyss.” Jonathan P Taylor, author and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, University of Leicester

“In this impressive collection of 65 short and very short stories, F C Malby gives us sharply honed glimpses into the profundity of the ordinary and the impact of the extraordinary. Malby’s characters deal with choices and their consequences, with themes of life passages, nature and the sea. Her prose is strong with much implied and left to the interpretation of the reader. Highly recommend.” Barbara Byar, novelist, short story author and Fiction Editor, Variant Literature

You can purchase my second collection of short stories, A Place of Unfinished Sentences, in paperback and as an eBook https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DFW6BPMW

Review copies have arrived!

Opening a hard copy of your work is always a thrill. This is my fourth book (or seventh, nearly eighth, if you count the anthologies which include my work) and my second anthology of short stories; and it’s no less exciting. These are review pre-publication copies to go out to reviewers. I can’t wait to share my stories with you. Many have been placed in competitions and published in international journals, and many are new to this collection.

This collection covers themes of relationships and memory, exploring what happens when memory fails. It looks at beginnings and endings, weaving through themes of generations, family, uncertainty, and what happens when experiences change us. I’m looking forward to hearing what might resonate with you and to discovering how these stories land.

I have dedicated two stories to those who are no longer with us: one to my dear friend, Meriel, gone too soon, and the other is in memory of Sarah Everard. These stories are important to me because their memories must live on. If you’d like to read more about what inspired these stories and much of my writing, you can read more in this recent post.

While you’re here, don’t forget to find out about these two wonderful bookshops in Italy. Also, you can sign up to my mailing list for pre-publication news and subscriber bonuses, and follow me on social media and subscribe to my blog at the bottom of this post. Thanks for journeying with me. Drop a comment below and tell me a little about yourself. Are you a book lover? What do you enjoy reading?

Dead Drop – 1 Year Anniversary Giveaway

Dead Drop was published a year ago today by Linen Press. To celebrate the one year anniversary of its publication, I’m giving away 3 free copies. Leave a comment on why you like to read thrillers and names will be drawn at random. #thrillers #thrillerbooks #amreading

A lyrical, daring thriller that hurls you into the dark world of art theft with unexpected insights. Stephanie Carty, author of Shattered

Malby’s novel proves once and for all that thrillers can be both hugely compelling and beautifully written. This is virtuosic storytelling, as vibrant as a Klimt painting, as lyrical as a Viennese waltz, as atmospheric as a Carol Reed film. I loved it. Jonathan P Taylor, author and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, University of Leicester

An exquisitely written, poetic journey through the underbelly of Vienna’s artworld, Dead Drop is littered with secrets and laced with tension. F C Malby is a writer to watch! Jane Isaac, best-selling author of crime thrillers