Interview The Publishing World & Art Galleries: An Interview with Shaun Levin Valerie Fox: What are some ways, for you, that your drawing and writing interact, are connected? Shaun Levin: My drawing is an extension of my writing. Maybe because I’ve always written by hand, drawing feels like an expansion of that gesture, the hand making marks on the page. Drawing lets me go big, big gestures, big sheets of paper, and I love that, even if the writer’s tools – pencils, pens, markers – are still what I feel most comfortable with. Drawing allows me more colours to work with. I keep tryi ..read more

Interview Galaxies as Genres: Matt Kendrick Interviewed by Shane Larkin Matt Kendrick discusses telling the hard stories, his own process (in depth), and the experimental nature of the flash form. Shane Larkin: How did you get started writing flash fiction? What appealed most to you about it? Matt Kendrick: I stumbled upon flash fiction almost by accident (I guess this might the case for many writers!) and found myself intrigued by the challenge of crafting a full story in so few words. I started reading as much as I could, mesmerised by writers like Kathy Fish, Gaynor Jones, Christoph ..read more

Issue 33 Mom’s new boyfriend is a liver fluke by Cole Beauchamp Farmland by Elizabeth Conway Gallows Pole by Kathy Hoyle On the Morning Dance Floor by Alex Juffer The Subtle Light by Hetty Mosforth You, Visitor by Jane O’Sullivan Gentian Violet by Liz Rosen When Bebe and Kumar Met Halloween Night at the Lizard Lounge in Vegas by Kathryn Silver-Hajo The End & Unwritten by Shaun Levin The post Issue 33 appeared first on New Flash Fiction Review ..read more

Unwritten by Shaun Levin My creations fit into my mouth to be birthed out of it, the way all forms of life come into the world, melting like chocolate, hard as earth. Moving between soft and solid, hardening like boiled sugar in water. From blood to ink, spit to ink, dribbling onto the page. This is how my four-eyed friends are born. Sometimes they have two. Things repeat themselves. The yes at the end of eyes. A muddle of breasts and beasts. The mouth the same, cheeks. Some of us have wings some of us have nothing. The rest, we have arms. All of life is obsession, all that matters, repetit ..read more

The End by Shaun Levin We have nothing left to say but neither of us wants to get up. Tell me a joke, I say. You say you’re bad at jokes, you never remember them, especially not in English. I say, when is a door not a door? You say, what? So I repeat the question. It’s a riddle, I say. Which is when you learn the word “riddle.” When it’s a jar, I say, and explain. Another riddle, you say. What can run but can’t walk? And: What building has the most storeys? And: What’s brown and sticky? You like the simplicity of that one, the satisfaction of an unexpected yet obvious answer. What’s brown a ..read more

Welcome to NFFR #32, Animal Life Dear NFFR Readers, Welcome to NFFR #32, Animal Life. Thank you to everyone who submitted works. As usual it was incredibly hard to make our selections due to the stellar quality of the writings you shared with us. We sincerely appreciate all of you who support the journal by continuing to trust us with your writing. Appearing in this issue: a spider, a cat, several dogs, glass flamingos, a donkey, a pig, a dragonfly, blue-naped parrot, a snake, trout, and many more creatures. Featured writers are L. Acadia, Guy Biederman, Tim Craig, Judy Darley, Laura Grant ..read more

Rosetta Post-its by Guy Biederman Los Gatos Tienen Hambre, says the post-it on the fridge. Since when did the cats learn Spanish, since when did they learn to write? The same could be asked of you, says another post-it. You tighten the belt on your bathrobe. You were House Samurai in a previous life, but the cats as writers, now roommates who borrow your stuff and leave snarky notes? Stick to what you know, says a post-it: thank you-notes, grocery lists, and poems that rhyme with dime. Leave speculative fiction to the pros. You take back your pen. The post-its you stole from work sit on the ..read more

Pet Shop Boys by Tim Craig Dayne’s on-off-off-on stepdad, Kel, says stay away from that new pet shop. He says, what’s a Pakistani want with opening a pet shop in this town anyway? There’s something not right about that, I’m telling you. He’s not Pakistani, we say; he’s Afghan. What’s that got to do with the price of custard creams? Kel says, pulling the ring on another Stella. But you might as well tell a nail to stay away from a magnet as tell the three of us to stay away from a pet shop, especially when the only other places still open on the high street are two hairdressers, the Sue Ryde ..read more

Nymph of Appalachia by Laura Grant “The nymph is a lie you tell the fish. The better you tie the lie, with feather and thread and hook, the quicker the bite.”  —Alma Reed, Nymph Fishing Skills Pull yourself up, bright and thrashing, from the river. Pull yourself up by the hook. Stand in the river, in the stream, blood streaming from the slit in your mouth, but the hook, look, it’s out. Be not fish but fisherman. Stand naked in the river. The stones that once grazed your belly are now beneath your feet. Curl your new fist around the reel. Cast your line. Breathe the air that comes crash ..read more

2024 Best Small Fictions Nominations NFFR is pleased to announce that we have nominated the following stories to the Best Small Fictions anthology competition: “The Good Prizes” by Daniel Addercouth “Fucking John Wayne” by Sara Hills “Fulfilling” by Fiona McKay “Bog Iron” by Shane Larkin “Boilermaker” by JW Goll Also, just a reminder that we will open for submissions on December 15th and will be accepting submissions through January 15, 2024. The post 2024 Best Small Fictions Nominations appeared first on New Flash Fiction Review ..read more