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SmokeLong Quarterly

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Karen Kao

Karen Kao writes lyric essays. Her work has been chosen as a 2025 Special Mention by the Pushcart Prize, a 2024 Notable by The Best American Essays, and winner of the 2022 Kenyon Review Short Nonfiction Contest. A native Angeleno, Karen lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where she is at work on her debut essay collection. You can find her at swimmingupsidedown.substack.com.

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The March Micro Marathon 25

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We’re doing it again! We’re homing in on the micro: 100-word, 250-word, and 400-word stories. In March 2025 SmokeLong is hosting The March Micro Marathon, a 24-day workshop with a new writing task each day, peer review in small groups, 3 webinars, a reading and interview with Michelle Ross and the editors of 100 Word Story, and 3 competitions with cash prizes.