Flash Fiction Online Columns

May Flash May Entertain You

1 May 2008 00:00:00 EST

Great stuff this month. Two-time Hugo nominee Bruce McAllister's “Game”. New writer John Moran's “Select Your Champions”. A bit of microfiction from Ron Richardson called “Bus Ride”. And a classic from H.P. Lovecraft called “Ex Oblivione”. Dive in!

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We’re Fools For April

1 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST

Welcome! Our April Fools issue gives you some of the crazy stories we get that are good, but a little more zany than we’d normally publish. Carl Frederick’s here—you may have read his stories in Analog—as is Kurt Bachard, and newcomer Dalton Keane. And if you haven’t groaned by the time you’re done with those, be sure to check out “Fast Living” by Hank Quense. (It’s a Feghoot, people. It’s supposed to be that way.)

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Small Suns and Cold Deserts

1 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST

We have an intriguing set of flashes this month. Miracles are mundane, truth is strange, and hard topics are great reads. I discuss more in the full article. We also have our St. Patrick’s Day special, “Lucky Clover”. And don’t miss the interview with Eric Garcia, and the Classic Flash from Mark Twain.

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Interview with Eric

1 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST

Eric Garcia is a novelist and screenwriter who writes insane things. Interestingly, he seems to be able to make a living selling them. Nobody’s quite sure how this works.

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Pro Prose and New Names

1 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST

This is a great month. Just go read new stories.

Veteran Dave Hoing lets us see the “Souls of the Harvest.” We have two first-class first sales: “Apologies All Around” by Jeff Soesbe and “Masquerade at Well Country Camp” by Ann Pino. Our Classic Flash #3 is a science fiction story from 1962 — when communications were a little more primitive. And Bruce Holland Rogers discusses deadlines, genres, and the state of writing.

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An Interview with Bruce Holland Rogers

1 Feb 2008 00:00:00 EST

Bruce Holland Rogers is an award-winning fiction writer and teacher, best known for his short — sometimes extremely short — fiction. Among many other places, his stories were included in both the original 1992 Flash Fiction anthology that coined the term and its 2006 follow-up, Flash Fiction Forward . The Keyhole Opera , a collection of his short stories, won the 2006 World Fantasy Award for best collection. He also wrote Word Work: Surviving and Thriving As a Writer , and is on the faculty of the Whidbey Writers Workshop MFA program. His “Reconstruction Work” appeared in Flash Fiction Online’s inaugural issue.

Though he bases himself in Eugene, Oregon, we caught up with him in London, where he’s living until July, 2008.

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Allegory vs. Symbolism — What’s It All Mean?

3 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST

In this article, Mark Freivald uses Boleslaw Prus’s "Mold of the Earth" and other stories to discuss the difference between allegory and symbolism.

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Flashes for a Happy New Year

1 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST

Skip this and just read great new flashes, if you like. (If you want more detail than you get on this page, click here.)

There’s something in this issue for everyone: Eric Garcia, author of the Anonymous Rex series, contributed a demented little ditty called "The Materialist", Stefanie Freele brings us down to earth with "James Brown is Alive and Doing Laundry in South Lake Tahoe", Beth Wodzinski takes us on a side trip with "The Human Clockwork", and Rod M. Santos gives us a delightful modern fantasy called "Speed Dating and Spirit Guides". And, of course, we’re still mining the archives of publicly accessible Classic Flashes: this month’s "Mold of the Earth", written by Boleslaw Prus and translated by Christopher Kasparek, comes from 1884.

And for the writers among you, be sure to check out our interview with Liberty Hall founder Mike Munsil.

Happy reading!

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Liberty Hall Writers: An Interview with Mike Munsil

1 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST

This issue we sit back, spit on the mat, and talk to Mike Munsil. He’s founder and proprietor of Liberty Hall, talks about his writers’ workshop and how it helps writers like this issue’s Beth Wodzinski and Rod M. Santos.

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Our Inaugural Issue!

1 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST

You can skip the details and just read stories, of course!

But if you want to know what’s coming, here it is. We have stories by an established pro, Bruce Holland Rogers, as well as an up-and-comer named Suzanne Vincent. And a Classic Flash from H.P. Lovecraft rounds us out.

You can tell us what you think, too, on the Flash Forum. Log in and discuss the stories, or, if you’re a writer, discuss your own works in progress.

All of this means that this is your new source for quality flash fiction—complete stories at 1000 or fewer words—starting right now.

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Don’t Miss It!

1 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST

We’re sponsoring Liberty Hall’s end-of-year "flash challenge", and interviewing proprietor Mike Munsil.

Eric Garcia, the only guy I know who could pull off three complete novels about dinosaurs who disguise themselves as people, will provide us with a new story.

Plus more classic flash, more great art, and more stuff that hasn’t even been thought of yet!

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