March has been an exciting month, with Kathy Fish Fellowship applications and the Association of Writers and Writing Conference (AWP) in Boston. Thanks to everyone who stopped by our bookfair table at AWP. We had a great time seeing old friends and making new ones. And a wonderful end to the conference—at one of the last panel presentations we attended, a flash fiction panel looking back on the history of the Sudden and Flash Fiction anthologies, we found ourselves surrounded by flash fiction greats such as Ron Carlson, Tara Masih, Rob Shapard, James Thomas, Pamela Painter and Jennifer Pieroni. And more importantly, found ourselves suddenly part of that conversation—a humbling moment indeed.
And to our candy cigarette authors, thanks so much for your wonderful stories. The cigarettes were such a big hit, we may have to give out candy nicotine patches next year. Though all the candy stories have been distributed to the masses, we will be publishing the stories we chose on our blog over the next few weeks.
If you are interested or know someone who is interested in applying for the fellowship, please remember that applications close March 31.
As for this issue, we have some wonderful stories for you. I’m struck by the strong sense of place in these stories. In many of them, that sense of place that spills over into the title of the story: Oregon, Clearwater, Baltimore, the Sahara. We have stories by well-known flash fiction writers, such as “The Summer I Stole Joey’s Matchbox Car” by Tara Masih, and by previously unpublished writers, such as “Toska” by Manuela Silvestre. We even have a co-authored story, “With Dragon” by Carol Guess and Kelly Magee.
Finally, if you’re waiting for the ten year anniversary anthology, we are expecting it to be out in late spring, though we don’t have an exact date. Keep an eye on our mailing list. You are on our mailing list, right?
Nancy Stebbins
Senior Editor, SmokeLong Quarterly
March 25, 2013
A SmokeLong Summer 24!