SmokeLong Quarterly

Over the next few months, we’ll be introducing our submissions editors so that you, dear writers and readers, might have a clearer idea of who we are, who reads your work first at SmokeLong, and what they love to see in the SmokeLong submissions queue. We are all writers at SmokeLong, so we know that sharing work can be difficult. Our submissions editors are all experienced flash writers and participate in the discussion throughout the editorial process. Your work is assigned to two submissions editors and sent to the senior editors if at least one of the submissions editors votes MAYBE on the submission. At SmokeLong we are always rooting for you.  – Christopher Allen, Publisher

Continuing our series, I would love to introduce Dawn Miller – offering submitters insights into what works for her when reading the queue as well as sharing how flash inspires her longform writing. – Melissa Llanes Brownlee, Senior Submissions Editor

 

What excites you about a submission? 

A first line that draws me in, pulling me deeper into the story, so not only do I have to keep reading, but I also want to reread the story as soon as I’ve finished. It may be a surprising metaphor (but one that makes logical sense), an attention to line-level art, or an image that hits me emotionally and feels honest. I also adore a great title, but the story has to deliver.

What’s something about a submission that makes you want to give it a thumbs-up?

A story that feels confident, polished, and says something new or fresh about a topic/theme. One that makes me sit up and say, “I wish I’d written that!”

What is your advice for writers submitting to SmokeLong?

Number one, read various issues of the journal to see if your work is a good fit. Number two, follow the guidelines for submitting! I’m constantly shocked at how many writers either haven’t read the guidelines or have read them and then failed to follow. Not adhering to the guidelines makes for an easy submission queue pass.

What are you writing now?

Currently, I’m working on revisions of my most recent manuscript which is a character-driven upmarket story with magical realism. I generally write “darker” stories, so I challenged myself to write something more upbeat, and I’ve really enjoyed it!

How did you find your way to flash?

Years ago, I was visiting my mother at her apartment and saw an online posting about A SmokeLong Summer. I was flash-curious so signed up! Best thing I ever did for my writing, not only for short form narratives, but also for my novel-length manuscripts.

_______________________________

Dawn Miller is a writer living in Picton, Ontario, Canada. Her work has appeared in SmokeLong Quarterly, The Cincinnati Review, Fractured Lit, Vestal Review, among others. Awards include 2024 winner of the Toronto Star Short Story Contest, Forge Flash Fiction Competition, Fractured Lit Anthology Prize, Best Microfiction, and Bath Flash Fiction Award, Second Prize. A former SmokeLong Emerging Writer Fellow, she is the recipient of a Canada Council for the Arts grant and is currently working on a debut collection of short stories and a debut novel. Find her at dawnmillerwriter.com