This is an email from The Narrative (Age of Empathy), a newsletter by The Narrative Collective.
Narration Station — The Narrative Collective Newsletter, 19th June
A round up of the month so far

First things first…
A very happy Father’s Day to all the fathers in our community, and to all those mothers who are filling the role of ‘dad’ too! Wishing you a day to celebrate you and all that you do!
I know!! It’s been three weeks since our last “bi-weekly” newsletter. I didn’t forget, honest! I just did that to keep everyone on their toes! 😉
Okay, that’s not exactly the case. Life has gone full pelt for the last couple of weeks and I have been strrrrrreeeetchhhed to the max. From hanging out with a bunch of yogis in a beautiful setting (not as tranquil as it sounds for I was actually running around, making sure they had everything they needed and plenty to eat, as well as doing my normal life on the side) to keeping up with my own reading and writing marathon on Medium.
Oh, and we have also had hot weather in the UK, and that meant life as we know it went on hold. For all those who live in parts of the world where hot weather is a common occurrence, let me explain:
In the UK, when the weather is hot and sunny, we stop everything in order to take advantage of it because we never know when the next hot day may come. Hence, I was invited for lunch at the beach a few days back and stayed on for a long swim. All my good intentions to spend the afternoon writing went to pot. And, yesterday, I went back to the beach in the daytime with my daughter, I went to a local swimming pool in the early evening with my son, and then we had a barbecue in the garden to finish the day.
It was busy!
Anyone would think it’s the holidays or something! But, mark my words, the entire summer holidays can pass without a single perfect, summer’s day in the UK, so we treat every hot day like the precious commodity that it is.
FYI, rain is forecast today and so I can resume normal life again…phew 😥
Welcome to all the new writers
In addition to my personally busy schedule, life is nonstop fun at Suite 1984 headquarters.
Last week, we did our monthly add of new writers. Wow! What a humbling number of applications from amazing and keen writers, all of whom are now added.
Welcome to everyone. There are too many to name individually but we are excited to have you aboard and to publish your great stories.
If you are new (or, even, not so new) and have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out and ask.
New publication for foreign language writers
We also have an exciting new announcement!
The well-oiled cogs in the brain of the Ideas Man himself, Gaurav Jain, gave birth to another new pub — ’84 Internationale — a publication dedicated to stories, poems and articles written in languages other than English. Quite honestly, it has been much-needed. Already, since launching a couple of days ago, we have seen plenty of keen interest among non-native English-speaking readers to consume in their mother tongues, as well as writers choosing to share their content in a second language.
Until now, it has been hard to publish non English Language content in publications since owners and editors may not understand or be able to edit. Gaurav has put together a small team of editors who can, so far, edit in a number different languages.
If you are interested to learn more, check out all of the details here.
A round-up of our recent stories
We have had some lovely and thoughtful responses so far to our monthly prompt “If I could change…” Check them out:
The Skeletons In My Closet by KiKi Walter
If I Could Change One Thing… by Barbara Carter
How I Changed ‘Time’ to Stretch My Life Out a Little More by Sally Prag
I’m Done Acting Out Traditional, Gender-Role Stereotypes in My Relationships by Anne Shark
From our Creative Corner Author Interview Series by Aimée Gramblin:
Hang Out With Pro-Marketer Turned Pro-Writer Ash Jurberg, Author of Sex Research Book Come Again
And a selection of our other published stories:
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Trial is Bringing Out Abusers by Ira Robinson
Home-cooked Meals Are an Act of Love by Tre L. Loadholt
Millions of Emotions on My Last Day of School by Mike Butler
The Colors of the Heart: My Wife’s Painting Powers My Own Writing by Cliff Hightower
Who’s Number One? by David Martin
Teaching Kids To Fish by David Todd McCarty
That Time You Became a Tree in Cádiz by Bob Merckel
I Was Supposed to Get Botox But Got Effing COVID Instead. Now What? by KiKi Walter
Mid-Life Crisis or Gen X Imposter Syndrome? by Christopher Robin
For the Love of Zelda by Mona S Gable
Kicking Off The Summer Tourist Season by Jocelyn Gerard
I Wrote a Personal Essay About My Ex and He is Now Comparing Me to Amber Heard by Sally Prag
Rich Guy Roofies Girl at Party by Deb Groves Harman
D-Day Was 78 Years Ago Today by Mandy McElroy
Someone I Know Lied on Their Job Application and Went on to Have a Successful Career by Sofia Chen
I’m Three Months Into Perimenopause and I Want A Refund by Danielle Loewen
She’ll Make a Good Doctor, Someday by Hope Rising
If You’re Disabled, You Are Supposed To Be Poor by Ira Robinson
A Yoga Teacher Put His Hand On My Butt During Class. I Never Went Back. by Amanda Kay Oaks
Escape from Gel Nail Manicure Hell by Bonni Brodnick
How to Pee on the Beach by Laurel B. Miller
The Skin Care Routine Every Person Needs To Have by Preeti Ramachandran
In other news…
Our reading club got off to a fantastic start this month. Round one consists of a dynamic group of talented writers who are enjoying supporting one another, consuming, and learning from one another’s different styles and topics.
If you would like to see the essays that have been published so far, check them out here.
And don’t forget that you can already apply to be part of Round Two which will be starting in August. Apply here.
Not a writer but would like to be?
We publish high-quality creative nonfiction and personal essays. If that sounds like your jam and you aren’t yet a writer with us, we would love to welcome you aboard.
That’s all for this week, folks. I am looking forward to an amazing end to the month filled with plenty of great reading.
Until the next time…XOX