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Reading/Interview with Patricia Q. Bidar

January 29, 2026

We’re going to be hosting a reading and interview with Patricia Q. Bidar on January 31st at 9pm NYC. We hope you’ll come and help us celebrate the publication of Patricia’s debut short fiction collection, Pardon Me for Moonwalking.

Date: January 31
Time: 9pm NYC. Please check for your particular time zone
Duration: around 90 minutes
Zoom Link: Request the link by sending an email to editor@smokelong.com

Dive into the bittersweet, beautifully peculiar world of Patricia Q. Bidar’s Pardon Me for Moonwalking, a collection of short stories that illuminate the offbeat, the tender, and the painfully human. Each story offers a glimpse into the extraordinary moments of seemingly ordinary lives, from fleeting encounters with strangers to lifelong battles with identity and connection.

Bidar’s characters grapple with isolation, unspoken longing, and the complex tangle of relationships in settings that range from suburban living rooms to shadowy city streets. With sharp prose, wry humor, and poignant insights, this collection explores themes of love, regret, and the elusive search for meaning in a chaotic world.

Pardon Me for Moonwalking is a literary kaleidoscope of modern life, showcasing the subtle beauty of human resilience and the power of small, unexpected connections.

Patricia Quintana Bidar is a Los Angeles native whose first publication came at age 58. Her short works have appeared in Waxwing, Wigleaf, Smokelong Quarterly, The Pinch, Atticus Review, and Moon City and have been widely anthologized including in Flash Fiction America (W.W. Norton), Best Small Fictions 2023 and 2024 (Alternating Current), and Best Microfiction 2023 (Pelekinesis Press). Patricia’s novelette, Wild Plums (ELJ Press) is available from Amazon. Her collection of short works, Pardon Me For Moonwalking, is coming in 2025 from Unsolicited Press. Patricia Bidar lives with her family and unusual dog outside of Oakland, California. Visit patriciaqbidar.com

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As always, at the heart of A SmokeLong Summer is our peer-review workshop in small groups of around 15 writers, drafting to 3 writing tasks each week. Our peer-review workshop is all in writing, so you can participate from anywhere, anytime. This summer our writing tasks will be generative and thematically leaning towards community. Our theme this year: “The Global Flash Village”. Writing doesn’t have a be a game of Solitaire; it can be a team sport.

Our participants often say their writing has dramatically increased in community. A SmokeLong Summer 26 will take you around the world, introducing you to writers from every corner of our beautiful planet.