Editor Interview: In a Flash

Taut true flash

We love the world of flash creative nonfiction, and there’s so many incredible publications to admire. Some of our favorites for stunning emotional punches in short packages are Brevity, Split Lip, In Short, River Teeth’s Beautiful Things, Hippocampus, and the New York Times’ Tiny Love Stories.

We love writers who make the flash form fresh: Kathy Fish, Tommy Dean, Diane Zinna, Diane Gottlieb, Sarah Freligh.

We publish only one piece per issue, ten issues per year. Each issue (and submission call) is anchored around a one-word theme, such as COURAGE, GOODBYE, HEART, or PORTAL. (We’re consistently blown away by the creative takes on each theme, and how each featured author subverts our expectations and surprises us.) We read work blind, and also include an interview with the issue’s featured author. Each of our five editors leads the selection process for two issues each year, allowing us to publish a wide variety of incredible work.

Read our Substack! You’ll see how each writer’s take on the theme is vividly fresh and thought-provoking.

Gripping and emotional, with an unexpected turn at the end.

We only accept submissions for one theme at a time - many folks submit for the wrong theme, or submit flash fiction. We’re strictly creative nonfiction of 500 words or less.

We read blind! The work matters most to us.

With flash, it’s easier to read through to the end, but if by the halfway point the piece hasn’t held our attention, it will likely not be selected.

Typically, the lead editor for each issue personally reads each and every submission (on months when we have an unexpectedly high volume, we split the list). The lead editor selects their top submissions (usually 3) and as a group, we rank the top submissions and help the lead editor select the final featured piece.

It depends on the piece! We’re willing to work with authors if a piece is very close. We approach each piece based on its own needs.

We nominate for Best of the Net.

We’re currently self-funded, and we pay each of our featured authors a $25 honorarium per issue.

We’ve built a Substack community of which we’re very proud - often our featured authors return to read, comment, and share. It’s a beautiful microcosm of the world of flash literature, and we’re delighted to be a growing part of it.