Flash fiction is great. For those of you of recent vintage, it’s not connected to the flash mob phenomenon, it’s flashness comes from the fact that it’s so short it comes and goes in an instant, with any luck electrifying the reader in the process. I remember reading stories from the anthology Sudden Fiction when it came out in the 80s, soon followed by Sudden Fiction International and then (since the idea appealed to so many readers) to a handful of additional sequels, all edited by Robert Shapard and James Thomas, sometimes with a third editor thrown in. And now the Shapard and Thomas team (joined by Christopher Merrill of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa) are preparing a brand-new anthology of very short fiction by writers from all over the world. And they want to consider work you have been translating of late. Why don’t you send them some? Here are the details:
Call for submissions––writers, translators
For anthology Flash Fiction International forthcoming from distinguished publisher W.W. Norton, NY. The editors are looking for:
1.Recent very short stories from any country, in English translation, word limit 750 (1-3 pages). We usually reprint works that have already been published (send us a copy) but will also consider original, unpublished manuscripts.
2. We would be grateful if you would help us find very short fiction–send us the names of authors, translators, stories, or collections. We are also looking for brief quotes, or commentaries, relevant to very short fiction. (These could be from any field–aesthetics, philosophy, physics, music or visual arts, popular culture, etc.) We’ll send you a free copy of the book.
3. Deadline: March 15, 2013.
Contact: Robert Shapard, 3405 Mt. Bonnell Drive, Austin, TX, USA, 78731, or by e-mail.