Sometimes the best things in life come in small packages: Cadbury Creme Eggs, bonsais, the poetry of Kay Ryan. The same is often true of fiction, where in a few thousand words a great short story can convey emotional intensity in a way that a longer piece sometimes cannot.
Short Story Month wouldn’t be complete without some first-rate flash fiction. This morning, enjoy the following selections by Tara L. Masih, editor of The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction and author of the excellent collection Where the Dog Star Never Glows (Press 53, 2010) and the flash fiction chapbooks Fragile Skins [...]
In honor of the online literary community, which we discussed this week in Celeste’s blog post about Virtual Book Tours and my interview with flash fiction maven Meg Pokrass, we’d like to feature online literary journal Storyglossia this Thursday morning.
“Storyglossia” is a term coined by Editor Steven J. McDermott, with an impressive etymological explanation [...]
In Meg Pokrass’ debut collection of flash fiction, Damn Sure Right, each story gives the reader just enough to imagine a universe. Lee Thomas and Pokrass discuss first publication, the harmony between poetry and short short stories, and the soundtrack to the author’s creative process.
There’s something to be said for simplicity. An afternoon spent at the park. Only what you can fit in your pocket. A bowl of fresh apricots straight from the tree (sorry, New York has me dreaming of summer already).
Every time I visit Wigleaf, their clean design aesthetic, wide margins and punchy, brief stories of [...]
Here’s where my November resolution to read War and Peace over the last two weeks of December begins to look like so much bluster and brim. I’ve never been a huge fan of New Year’s Resolutions for this very reason: the likelihood of failure feels like the hulking beast perched atop the crumbling overhang of [...]
May is Short Story Month, and what better way to celebrate than by reading some short fiction by emerging writers? But I don’t have time, you say. National Public Radio has the answer: three-minute fiction. These stories can all be read aloud in under three minutes—little gems to surprise and delight you [...]
Boston-area readers know Harvard Book Store as one of the best independent bookstores in the country. The store hosts author events and readings nearly every night, and the knowledgeable staff is always ready to help should you need a recommendation. Now, they’re encouraging writers as well. In honor of the shortest month, [...]
The flash-fiction / short-short-short trend continues…
For Round II of this contest, NPR invites writers to submit an original work that begins with this sentence:
“The nurse left work at five o’clock.”
Instructions, via the site:
One entry per person, and no more than 600 words, please. Stories must be received by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Aug. 25.
We’ll [...]
