A driver lures a young girl into his car. A woman recalls a not-so- innocent childhood game. A man reveals much more than he'll ever tell the police. After a high school girl is murdered, everyone has an opinion. A girl wakes beside a dumpster to find slut scrawled on her body--and that's not the worst thing that happened last night. A girl speaks up after a crime--but is she telling the truth? And could you blame her if she's not? The girls who populate Jacqueline Doyle's THE MISSING GIRL have vanished. Or their childhoods have gone missing. In Doyle's collection of flash fictions, the voicelessness of the missing is palpable, the girls' stories whispered into a vacuum or recounted from the point of view of a predator, murderer, or voyeur. Violence lurks below the surface here, haunts the back pages of newspapers, takes up residence in your dreams. You know a missing girl. "Full of sex, lies, and vivid insights into the human compulsion to do the wrong thing, these stories go down easy but hit hard. A powerful and provocative collection."--Frances Lefkowitz "In these dark and edgy stories, Jacqueline Doyle has made a dispassionate study of the degradation of girls and the twisted hearts of those who harm them. Most chilling is the ease with which these characters fall prey to violence and how quickly depravity finds its way past the surface of ordinary situations. Prepare to be very disturbed."--Elizabeth McKenzie "Jacqueline Doyle knows where you live. The stories in her collection, THE MISSING GIRL, have your address and even after the first read (and you will be back, she knows that), these stories will be moving in to stay. Whatever your usual role in a culture with an undeniable instinct for violence, Doyle's writing lures you to do more than dismiss it, more than abhor it, and yet this isn't a welcome to merely spectate, there is nothing gratuitous here unless life itself is gratuitous. In fact, Doyle has found the thread through that menace that surrounds us and is in us and is calling you in to hold onto your bit of it, to witness. Here, Doyle choreographs the everyday dance between safety and terror, between taking the chances we need to live and not living at all. THE MISSING GIRL is a masterful work and a must read."--Tupelo Hassman "Dark, haunting, relevant, cohesive, and incredibly well conceived. I absolutely loved THE MISSING GIRL."--Simone Muench

    This acclaimed new annual series, hailed as a “milestone for the short story,” continues to honor contemporary masters and emerging writers of short-short and hybrid forms from across the globe. Guest editor Amy Hempel chose the winners from a pool of 105 finalists: “They conjure and seduce, they startle and haunt, they are funny and searing, short and shorter.” The 2017 volume includes Pamela Painter, Brian Doyle, Ian Seed, Frankie McMillan, Karen Brennan, Stuart Dybek, and W. Todd Kaneko, and spotlights Joy Williams and SmokeLong Quarterly.Featuring Small Fictions by: Nick Admussen ~ Nick Almeida ~ Lydia Armstrong ~ Matthew Baker ~ Amy Sayre Baptista ~ Karen Brennan ~ Larry Brown ~ Randall Brown ~ Erin Calabria ~ Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello ~ Carrie Cooperider ~ Emily Corwin ~ Christopher DeWan ~ Brian Doyle ~ Stuart Dybek ~ Kathy Fish ~ Sherrie Flick ~ Scott Garson ~ Jesse Goolsby ~ Michael Hammerle ~ Hannah Harlow ~ Allegra Hyde ~ W. Todd Kaneko ~ Joy Katz ~ Jen Knox ~ Len Kuntz ~ Tara Laskowski ~ Oscar Mancinas ~ Ras Mashramani ~ Frankie McMillan ~ Heather McQuillan ~ Cole Meyer ~ Eugenie Montague ~ Pamela Painter ~ Alvin Park ~ Kimberly King Parsons ~ Gen Del Raye ~ Mona Leigh Rose ~ Na’amen Gobert Tilahun ~ Cameron Quincy Todd ~ Matt Sailor ~ Rebecca Schiff ~ Robert Scotellaro ~ Ian Seed ~ Alex Simand ~ Julia Slavin ~ Michael C. Smith ~ Phillip Sterling ~ Anne Valente ~ Harriot West ~ Joy Williams ~ Keith Woodruff ~ William Woolfitt

    Each of these tiny stories was inspired by an event, an overheard conversation, a piece of art or just a fleeting glance of something worth thinking about further.Collected in one volume, Carson's postcards present a panoramic view of contemporary Belfast -- its coffee shops, streets and museums and airports -- and offer it to the wider world. Even as they seem to spring from a writer's solitary perspective, taken together, these observations and their distribution speak of human connectedness. Like a pleasant surprise in the mail, this collection reminds us how many friendships are born and strengthened in a story shared.Illustrated by Benjamin Phillips.

    It might be what they’ve left behind or what lies ahead, but whatever it is, it won’t leave them alone. Regret and marvel, trouble and love—it’s Everything, Then and Since.

    What a pleasure to read SHOW HER A FLOWER, A BIRD, A SHADOW. In story after story Peg Alford Pursell creates vivid characters and piercing situations. Nothing is too small for her imagination--a wren on a branch, a hole in a sock, ginger tea--and nothing too dangerous--a girl hit by a stone, a mother and daughter struggling. In a matter of a few words, a few lines, Pursell transports us into vivid situations of loss and longing. This is a dazzling and lovely collection.

    creates a brilliant picture window through which we see a loving but deeply wounded family trying to survive more tragedy.A Safer Way to Fall by Joanna Campbell... stakes are high and violence becomes a reliable companion. One realises that there simply is no safe way to fall.Things I Dream About When I’m Not Sleeping by Ingrid Jendrzejewski... beautifully detailed portraits, thrusts us into a world of emotional limbo, watching the asymmetry of a couple grappling with mismatched wishes and obsessions."Meg Pokrass, writer, poet, editor, tutor. Author of Bird Envy, Damn Sure Right, The Dog Looks Happy Upside Down and Here, Where We Live.

    A lonely old widower sits at home and participates in conversations he records whilst riding the bus. Curled up like a comma, a woman lies in bed and remembers the exclamation-mark man her partner once was.These brief, vivid glimpses into the lives of others lay bare the ugliness and absurdity — but also the beauty — of existence. In his flash fictions Gary Duncan explores what it means to be human with insight, compassion and humour.

    From taxidermy fascinators and robot lawnmowers to the bewildering things children say, each of these flashes offer perspectives on life as only these characters know it. Some of these stories will shock, others will amuse, but all will leave you wondering how intriguing life and the world around us really is. Authors include: Robert Shapard, Etgar Keret, Bobbie Ann Mason, Meg Pokrass, Tim Stevenson, Nuala Ní Chonchúir, Stuart Dybek, Santino Prinzi, Kevlin Henney, Pamela Painter, Angela Readman, Robert Scotellaro and NFFD Director, Calum Kerr. The editors are Santino Prinzi and Meg Pokrass.

     A girl tortured by the world within her. A boy powerless to escape his home. A mother doomed to live with her greatest mistake. A man lost in a maze of grief. Each raindrop provides a microscopic mirror of ourselves and those around us. But we can’t always trust what we see. The distorted images disorient the mind, altering our view of reality. This second collection of flash and micro fiction explores the depths of the human condition and the fragile surface of our perceptions. Dive into these tales of darkness and discover what life is like On the Edge of a Raindrop Each selection is approximately 100 words, with a bonus section of Microbursts in which each story is told in 50 words or less.

    Higgins’ stories reveal moments where small truths, and lies, dwell. Understated and quiet, these small fictions paint lives gently, but oh so colourfully.” Michelle Elvy“In interconnected, finely wrought flash fiction stories, Jude Higgins creates a coming-of-age tapestry — of family love and conflict; and of a girl’s passage into womanhood. Higgins' flash pieces blend into one masterly and moving whole: poignant, loving, and profound in emotional impact.” Meg Pokrass

    A riveting and deep journey into the minds of a terminally ill man, a battered wife, a mysterious teacher amongst other flawed but ever so human protagonists. Surprise endings, cheeky resolutions and thought provoking finales are characteristic of this anthology. Ranging from one line to full length, each story leaves a lingering impact that resonates long after the page is turned.

    The very short fiction featured in this magnificent collection runs the gamut from kitchen sink realism to outrageous farce to horror and fantasy. Covering a wide range of genres and styles, these short short stories invite the reader into myriad unforgettable lives and situations, offering among their many gifts lessons in balloon swallowing, powerful memories from the day the moon was conquered, and wedding flowers for the taking.

    In each of these 24 very short fictions, novelist and poet Jennifer Tseng explores the limits and limitlessness of our ability to see. A museum worker meets her wife from a previous life in the form of a security guard; a mouse believes she and a lion share a covenant; newlyweds who speak two different languages make love without understanding one another. With its host of unforgettable characters, the collection accumulates into a work of elegance and daring from a writer whose intuitive leaps and emotional intelligencemake her one of the most compelling voices writing across genres today.Contest judge Amelia Gray writes: “The Passion of Woo & Isolde does unique work that might seem natural to Jennifer Tseng but feels stunning to the rest of us; it presents a series of moments that aspire to illuminate life itself.”

    This anthology of flash fiction—stories that impact quickly and don’t take up much space—proves once again that very good things do come in very small packages. Flash Fiction Magazine’s magnificent compilation demonstrates that there are no limits to where flash fiction can take you. This 3 book bundle combines Issues 1-3 with a combine total of 60+ 5 star reviews. Buy the box set to get three books you won’t want to put down!

    1,000 words or fewer from 57 of the best contemporary flash fiction writers. Read three over a cup of coffee. Read four on your daily commute. Read one that will make you think twice. "There’s a blooming in my chest that spreads like calla lilies clutching at sunlight. The change is underway." From ‘Calla Lillies’ by Stephen Jackman "Outside is black, the blackest we’ve ever seen. We look out the window for any lights that aren’t the moon, aren’t the stars." From ‘Girls’ Night In’ by Cathy Ulrich "I’ve drunk too much. I don’t usually drink. Vodka veiled in orange juice. ‘Let your hair down, it’s a party,’ a stranger says. We share more than just a dance." From ‘1 for Sorrow...’ by Lee Hamblin "Yesterday you were still zero, a not-person, a tiny ghost made of promises, human in the making. Today you are one." From ‘Scar’ by Victoria Richards

    From perilous journeys and strange encounters to tales of love of loss, the stories challenge, linger after reading and evoke the full range of emotions. So much is covered in these page long pieces."unique landscapes, with unusual words, startling sentence fragments and odd characters... remarkably crafted stories... truly international with heartfelt prose, playful poetics and taking literary risks"Robert Vaughan, writer, poet and editor, author of Addicts & Basements and co-author of RIFT.