When it comes to my sister, Dani, it was much less so the content of her answer and much more the how in which she said it: the way her words dropped like birds from the sky, one right after another, as she stood with her palms flat, pressed at her sides. She didn’t blink, not once, as she faced the entirety of her classmates. No one could have known then what they know now; it’s difficult to understand just...
We’re currently open to fiction submissions. What do we look for? Our editors have a wide and diverse range of tastes, but, above all, we want to read stories that do something that no story has ever done before. We want stories that blow us away. We want stories that wow us, that awe us, that captivate us, that capture us. We want words that jump off of the page and pull our hair down and poke out our eyes...
My stalker stops me in the street, hands me a self-help guide and a jar of homemade cookies, says I haven’t been myself lately. He’s invested a lot of hours in me, he’s not going to sit back and let me let myself go. I find myself talking about Simon. It’s tricky, I murmur. He knows (duh). I shuffle my feet, rotate the misshapen biscuits beneath the glass. I can sense his disappointment, imagine following someone for months only to...
In this divided, technology-driven era, I’ve seen a lot of cautionary articles about the risks of getting stuck in silos. I’m here to echo those warnings. It can happen to any of us, in any number of situations. Maybe you feel isolated during the pandemic and have started spending more time on the internet. Maybe a friend invites you into a private Facebook group that begins to shape your news intake to the exclusion of other, less partisan sources. Or...
Dear Mother Goose, I ran through the first draft of your short story collection. Great rhyme and riveting action! As with any book we publish, we want it to be as polished as possible. I’ve tracked questions, notes, and suggestions in your manuscript (attached) to help guide you through revisions. If it’s helpful, I’ve also summarized my major recommendations and places where I stumbled below: What if the dish ran away with the water goblet instead, and the spoon cried...
SmokeLong Quarterly is dedicated to bringing the best flash narratives to the web quarterly, whether written by widely published authors or those new to the craft.
December 2021
I have so much to tell you. This year the SmokeLong staff have read nearly 12,000 submissions and have published 58 narratives–each one our favorite. We are also thrilled to have published 12 cuentos in the first three editions of SmokeLong en Español, which comes out each quarter the week before the usual issue. Before… Continue reading New Front (continue reading)
A SmokeLong Summer
From May 30 to August 28 2022, SmokeLong is going to host a superworkshop. We want to spend the summer with you, the flash community. Our workshops take place on a devoted website where you can create a profile, interact with the flash community, and take part in group discussions on craft, but A SmokeLong Summer will be much more.
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Now in the shop
Important: Once you have paid for this service, you will receive an email from us, at which time you will have the opportunity to attach your draft for critique. This is not an automated response, so please don’t be alarmed if it takes a few hours. We will respond. Please add any information you think… Continue reading Senior Editor Critique
