Bringing the Best Flash Narratives to the Web
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Interviewed by Helen Rye Tell us about your background and influences as an artist. If I had a backdrop, in the sense of a portrait, I’d primarily have Ankara, Hollandis, George, Aso Oke, and lace. I’d also have a tinge of rust, soot, clay, handprints of palm oil, and the final touch of singed edges.… Continue reading Artist Spotlight Interview – Martins Deep The post Artist Spotlight Interview –…
On September 12th we’re excited to have Sarah Fawn Montgomery leading a webinar/workshop for SmokeLong Fitness. Even if you’re not participating in SmokeLong’s year-round community workshop. You can still attend. If you’re a workshop leader or a teacher of creative writing, you can request a free ticket. Simply send us an email: editor@smokelong.com The writing… Continue reading September Online…
Each month we celebrate our current and previous workshop participants’ publications reported to us through Submittable (The SmokeLong Workshop Prize). Each of the publications below, with the exception of those reported by SmokeLong staff members, is eligible to win The SmokeLong Workshop Prize, which is awarded in January of the following year. At the moment,… Continue reading The SmokeLong…
Reviewed by D.E. Hardy On page one of Scrap: Salvaging a Family, A Memoir in Flash [ELJ Editions, 2026], Luanne Castle declares her father Rudy a bastard. The word has three apropos definitions according to this hermit-crab flash: one, Rudy was born out of wedlock, a bastard in the parlance of the early 1900s; two,… Continue reading “What Can I Do with the Anger He Leaves Behind?”: A Review of…
The following is part of the SmokeLong Quarterly Five from the Archive series. This series is meant to be a resource mainly for creative writing instructors in search of flash narratives on a certain topic or dealing with a particular narrative device. Check out the entire series HERE. _________________________ by Christopher Allen The very brief narrative… Continue reading Five from the Archive –…
Join SmokeLong for 90 minutes with Amy Hempel on July 26th! We can’t wait to talk to one of our heroes in the very brief narrative form. All participants of A SmokeLong Summer 26 and SmokeLong Fitness will automatically receive an invitation to this event, but you can attend even if you’re not participating in… Continue reading Master Series Reading and Interview with Amy Hempel! The post Master…
Reviewed by Emily Webber “Memory Box” opens JR Fenn’s chapbook of flash fiction, Tiny Vessels [Red Mare Press, February 2026], with a sentence that evokes an ordinary image of kids left to play outside on their own. Fenn writes, “It’s a cold week, the atmosphere thin, but like children everywhere, they refuse to acknowledge that… Continue reading Review of JR Fenn’s Tiny Vessels The post Review of…
Reviewed by Brett Hymel Jr. I have Redshirts Sometimes Survive [Off Topic Publishing, 2026] opened in a tab on my computer. My other tabs: the Wikipedia page for Wesley Crusher, the Wikipedia page for Kathryn Janeway, and a Google search that says, “Spock is the guy with the ears?” Before you close the tab on… Continue reading Read Short and Prosper: Review of Finnian Burnett’s Redshirts Sometimes…
SmokeLong‘s “Flash, Back” series asks writers to discuss flash fiction that may be obscure or printed before the term “flash fiction” became popular, and tell us how these older or not widely known works are meaningful. In this edition, Brandon McNeice discusses Lucia Berlin’s story “My Jockey.” Submit your own “Flash, Back” or other flash-related… Continue reading Flash, Back Series It Was…
Each month we celebrate our current and previous workshop participants’ publications reported to us through Submittable (The SmokeLong Workshop Prize). Each of the publications below, with the exception of those reported by SmokeLong staff members, is eligible to win The SmokeLong Workshop Prize, which is awarded in January of the following year. At the moment,… Continue reading The SmokeLong…
