These pieces have been chosen because the writer has done something special with sense of place. They’ve eliminated the need for a distinction between foreign and familiar. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never seen that place, been to that spot. You...
I forget where I stumbled across your Twitter account (or when for that matter). But I do remember being struck immediately with how many emotions you were able to convey in such short word count, particularly within your Twitter stories. You have...
Flash is known for its tricks, the way it sneaks into our subconscious as an ‘easy’ task. Often when I’m reading through our queue I’ll come across cover letters from submitters who are just getting back into writing and think that flash is a...
Flash Myth #1: Smaller Is Easier Let’s debunk Myth #1. Housed in the Chicago Institute of Art are the Thorne Miniature Rooms, tiny replicas of actual historic rooms painstakingly crafted on a scale of one inch: one foot. You press your face...
I’ve always thought of flash fiction as conversations where each exchange reveals or obscures, builds layers, introduces intimacy, teaches, grows curiosity. “The Bitter Kind” authors Tara Lynn Masih and James Claffey take that conversational flash...
What are your favorite things to write about? Those topics or items you can’t stop thinking about! Hmmm. Tough question. Animals, musicians, and skaters tend to show up pretty often. I suspect all three get at some kind of expression that’s...
We're proud to announce the 22 titles of our shortlist! The submissions we received were fresh, fierce, and so engaging that we've had a hard time narrowing down the list! From this list, judge Megan Giddings will choose her final 3 winners! Please...
What are your favorite things to write about? Those topics or items you can’t stop thinking about! “Favorite” implies that I have a choice about the content of my fiction, and frankly, I don’t believe that I do. I read an interview with George...
We're proud to announce the 56 titles of our longlist! The submissions we received were fresh, fierce, and so engaging that we've had a hard time narrowing down the list! From this list, 25 stories will make it to the shortlist for judge Megan...
There are collections that are so good that instead of ripping open the packaging they come in and reading until my eye sight’s blurry, I carefully set them aside. Knowing that one day soon, I’ll need them and they’ll be there. Yes, my TBR is out...
K Chiucarello: First, I want to say congratulations on your recent Paris Review publication. It is such an astounding essay. I was awestruck with the two lists you made, one in which you needed to make to stay alive and the other of what you wanted...
Stories about endings and stories about beginnings cannot be mutually exclusive. Every ending is a new beginning and every beginning is the end of what came before. This means that the pieces below could be placed in the opposing category with nary...