Flash fiction stories – generally considered to be short stories under 1,500 words, or even under 1,000 – provide the writer with a great opportunity to both practice conventional narrative frameworks and test-drive new techniques. In this workshop, we’ll consider examples of a number of different forms: short stories as Google searches, academic texts, recipes, and more. We’ll spend some time executing our own short story ideas within at least one of these forms, and we’ll also spend a few minutes talking about specific markets that seek flash fiction.

Mary Berman is a Philadelphia-based writer of speculative fiction and horror. She earned her MFA in fiction from the University of Mississippi, and her work has been published in Fireside, Cicada, Shoreline of Infinity, and elsewhere. She is also the 2022 winner of the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship, an alum of Viable Paradise, and an alum of the Pitch Wars mentorship program. Find her online at www.mtgberman.com.