May 2013
7 posts
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Jules Archer for #shortstorymonth
To celebrate Short Story Month, we’ve asked some awesome writers, editors, and other literary types to weigh in on their favourite stories and collections, and what makes a piece of short lit great. Today, writer Jules Archer.
What makes a short story great?
For me, a great short story has an instant hook. Whether it’s a character, a sentence, or a plot, something always hooks and draws...
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Shawn Syms for #shortstorymonth
To celebrate Short Story Month, we’ve asked some awesome writers, editors, and other literary types to weigh in on their favourite stories and collections, and what makes a piece of short lit great. Today, writer and editor Shawn Syms.
What do you love about reading short stories?
A short story allows you “To see a world in a grain of sand” (Blake). They are at once models of precision and vast...
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Thomas Michael Duncan for #shortstorymonth
To celebrate Short Story Month, we’ve asked some awesome writers, editors, and other literary types to weigh in on their favourite stories and collections, and what makes a piece of short lit great. Today, writer Thomas Michael Duncan.
I was working a dead-end job, one that now appears to be the beginning of a sprawling series of dead-end jobs, spending my half-hour lunch break reading a short...
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Trevor Corkum for #shortstorymonth
To celebrate Short Story Month, we’ve asked some awesome writers, editors, and other literary types to weigh in on their favourite stories and collections, and what makes a piece of short lit great. Today, writer Trevor Corkum.
What makes a short story great?
For me, what makes a short story great is the element of emotional risk, feeling a sense of urgency or that something is at stake at...
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Will Johnson for #shortstorymonth
To celebrate Short Story Month, we’ve asked some awesome writers, editors, and other literary types to weigh in on their favourite stories and collections, and what makes a piece of short lit great. Today, writer Will Johnson.
The best story I’ve read in a long while was published in The Walrus. It’s called “Flesh by Numbers”, and it’s by Stephen Marche. You can read...
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Leesa Cross-Smith for #shortstorymonth
To celebrate Short Story Month, we’ve asked some awesome writers, editors, and other literary types to weigh in on their favourite stories and collections, and what makes a piece of short lit great. Today, writer and editor Leesa Cross-Smith.
Best Short Story Collections I Read In The Last Year:
DAMN SURE RIGHT by Meg Pokrass
BREAK ANY WOMAN DOWN by Dana Johnson (my full review @ The Female...
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Jay Hosking for #shortstorymonth
To celebrate Short Story Month, we’ve asked some awesome writers, editors, and other literary types to weigh in on their favourite stories and collections, and what makes a piece of short lit great. Today, writer Jay Hosking.
LF: What do you love about reading short stories / essays?
JAY: Something to unsettle the status quo, some truth I knew but hadn’t told myself yet.
LF:...
April 2013
4 posts
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The Goddess Lisa.
According to Erin Frances Fisher’s blog, her story (and Little Fiction debut) The Goddess Lisa was inspired by a simple piece of graffiti etched into a sidewalk between her home and work.
How she goes from those few words to the story about expectant parents at the end of the world is the work a true talent. Told with compassion, fear and honesty, The Goddess Lisa is as much about...
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Again and.
When Again and by Eileen Mary Hokowka first came to Little Fiction we weren’t even sure what is about (and still might not be). But we loved it immediately. It’s a story full of vivid images, heartbreak, loss, and endings. One after another. Ending after ending. It’s a story as striking for its form as it is for its content.
Eileen has said that this is her first fiction...
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In Memoriam.
Trevor Corkum’s experimental short story In Memoriam is a tragic exploration of how well we really know each other, or—in this age of social networks and so-called friends—how we may not each other at all. It’s dark, funny, and sad. And often all at once.
Trevor’s fiction and non-fiction have been featured in numerous lit mags, journals and anthologies, including the 2012...
March 2013
5 posts
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February 2013
4 posts
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Coming March 6: Listerature Vol. 2.
This time around, our annual compilation of stories in list form will feature fourteen titles from fourteen outstanding writers (well, thirteen and yours truly).
They are, in no particular order:
Deficit by Curtis Leblanc How to Fly a Plane by Jason Lee Norman He Said, She Said by Philip Simondet How to be a Writer by Angela Palm Two Swans by Clare Kirwan Things Megan Regrets by Samuel Best...
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New at Little Fiction.
New this month at Little Fiction: Grievances by Liz Harmer and Thing Full of Poison by Jimmy Newborg.
A man becomes a paranoid version of himself, a woman loses her body to disease, a teenage boy struggles with the next part of his life, and another boy becomes something unimaginable. In a way, both of these stories are about metamorphosis. But instead of growing into what comes next, the...
January 2013
3 posts
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The Most Serene Republic.
Another new story for 2013, The Most Serene Republic by Teri Vlassopoulos is a wonderfully understated story of love and trust. And of the pieces of yourself you decide not to give away.
The story takes place over a couple’s visit to Paris, and the cover was inspired by a moment they share on the iconic Ponts des Arts pedestrian bridge.
Teri’s currently at work on a novel that she...
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Fall From Oysters.
One of two new stories to kick off 2013 at Little Fiction, Fall From Oysters by Susan Sanford Blades has everything: hot dog vendors, Judge Judy, three sons (all named Tony), breasts like hamster balls, oysters, sex, Sylvia Plath, masturbating to Nirvana, reverse seasonal affective disorder, a warm gooey sock, that thing where you take your hair and pull it across your face like a moustache, and...
December 2012
9 posts
“She unlocks the door and lets me in. As I stand in the middle of the cafe,...”
– New short story from Little Fiction managing editor Troy Palmer.
NEW STORY POSTED: “Funeral Crowd” by Troy Palmer (via whiskeypaper)
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Little Fiction Top Tens.
We’re wrapping up the year the only way we know how.
With lists. From some of our favourite writers, editors, shopkeepers, and thing makers.
Specifically: Leesa Cross-Smith’s Top Ten Favorite Things I Watched on Netflix This Year.
Danny Goodman’s Top Ten Reads of 2012, or Why My Cat Eats Bookmarks.
Jeremy Hanson-Finger’s Ten Amazing 1950s Cop Slang Phrases I Learned from James Ellroy Crime...
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Chaser.
Another new story this month is Chaser by Toronto writer Daniel Perry. Our first introduction to Chaser was hearing Dan read it at Jess Taylor’s always amazing Emerging Writers reading series. Maybe it was the boozy atmosphere of a summer night, or Dan’s late night reading of it, (actually it was the great writing) but we knew instantly Chaser would make a excellent Little Fiction...
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If They Had Music.
New this month at Little Fiction is Will Johnson’s If They Had Music. It’s a story about islands, leper colonies, bluegrass music and dropping your anchor, only to cut the rope. It’s also the third story from Will to appear on Little Fiction, not counting his Little (flash) Fiction piece Lucky.
It’s no secret that we’re big fans of his work and we can honestly say...
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“She was never sure whether he meant to stop her from leaving, or whether he was...”
– - from Daniel Perry’s late night and cigarette smoke-filled short story Chaser. New today at Little Fiction, along with Will Johnson’s story of music, lovers and dropping anchors in the ocean, If They Had Music.
Head on over to the Little Fiction to download / read the stories.
November 2012
6 posts
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Children of Perpetua.
One of our two new titles for November is Children of Perpetua by the lovely and talented Amarie Fox. It’s a strong and poignant story of motherhood, marriage, saints and faith, and of giving yourself to something else.
This is Amarie’s first story for Little Fiction and we feel privileged that she gave something of herself to us.
You can download Children of Perpetua for free at...
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Firebombs.
Earlier this month we released the story Firebombs by Heidi Reimer. It’s a story of love, isolation, intimacy, fear, packing and not truly ever unpacking. It reads like heartbreak, or like a great sad song (because all the great songs are sad).
From what we know, Heidi is getting to back to fiction after a long time away from it. And we’re happy to lay down the welcome mat for such...
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New today at Little Fiction.
This month, we’re happy to welcome Heidi Reimer and Amarie Fox to our family of authors. Their stories, Firebombs and Children of Perpetua, respectively, deal with the theme of connectedness with simplicity and restraint. And equal amounts of heartbreak and hope.
Stop by the site to download the stories to read on your phone, tablet or eReader.
Cheers!
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Tourist Girls.
Tourist Girls by Lee Kvern is a boozy, ballsy and sexy story about competition, identity, and — okay, it’s really about a bikini contest in a seedy bar. We just wanted to sound all smart and stuff. Not that it’s not a smart story. It’s clever, punch and provocative.
But what else would you expect from a writer as accomplished as Lee. She’s produced several award-winning...
October 2012
6 posts
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Little Fiction turns one.
Swing by the site for a whack load of new stuff: stories from Andrew F. Sullivan and Lee Kvern (Andrew’s SATIN LIVES! is particularly fitting for this time of year. And Lee’s Tourist Girls is pretty damn great, too), some snazzy wallpapers for your desktop and Facebook page (see the above image), audio versions of our stories from voice artist Xe Sands, and… let’s see… oh yeah,...
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Feminine Hygienist.
Earlier this month, we had the privilege of welcoming the very talented Erin Lebacqz to Little Fiction. Erin is a writer from Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she also teaches English.
Her story Feminine Hygienist deals with three girls trying to find their place — at school, at home, at cosmetic counters, and at abortion clinics. It’s honest. It’s real. It’s funny. And it’s heartfelt. All of the...
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Inheritance.
From the extremely talented Jessica Kluthe comes Inheritance — a moving short story about generations past and those to come, and of the parts of ourselves we leave behind in the soil.
Jessica hails from Edmonton, Alberta (if there were a hockey season happening, this would be the time when I would proudly exclaim “Go Oilers!” but since there isn’t, I won’t).
If Jessica’s name is familiar, you...
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New at Little Fiction.
Our latest short stories come to us from Jessica Kluthe and Erin Lebacqz.
This is Jessica’s second appearance with Little Fiction. Her first came in last month’s Little (flash) Fiction compilation, with her story Aches. This time around she brings us Inheritance — a quietly devastating piece about family, loss and legacy.
For Erin, this is her first appearance with us. Her...
September 2012
8 posts
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Little (flash) Fiction Audio Project - Pt. 1 →
If you saw our last post about Xe Sands, the fantastic audio book narrator, you know a) how much we love her and b) that we alluded to an upcoming project with her and the fourteen writers in our Little (flash) Fiction compilation.
We’re happy to announce that the project is upcoming no more.
Starting with Amanda Leduc’s Good Friday, Xe delivers a powerful and emotional reading of our...
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Why we heart Xe Sands.
If you know (or know of) Xe Sands, you know she’s all kinds of amazing. Not just a wickedly talented narrator, but one who has no problem lending her craft to stories she’s loves. Just because she loves them.
A few months back, Xe lent her voice to a Little Fiction title, Sarah Flynn’s Little Birds. It’s a story in three parts and Xe recorded one of them called How The...
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One Year and Everything Changes.
Another new one this month is One Year and Everything Changes from Brooklyn writer and Specter Magazine editor Mensah Demary.
We’re pretty excited to have Mensah join the Little Fiction family and this story furthers what we (and most people who encounter his writing) already thought about him: the dude can write.
One Year and Everything Changes is a short, but moving, piece about...
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Dust.
Dust — new to Little Fiction this month — comes to us from Toronto poet, illustrator and fiction writer Jacqueline Valencia. In the most simple of terms, Dust is a story about seeing life, death, and dust particles through the eyes of a seven-year-old.
It’s gorgeous, sad, and vivid. Exactly how you think a story from a poet and artist would be.
For those of you paying close attention,...
