Tag Archives: Kathy Fish

Pre-order ‘Going Short—An Invitation to Flash Fiction’, by Nancy Stohlman now!

We’re thrilled that Ad Hoc Fiction, our small press dedicated to the short short form, is publishing Going Short a guide to writing flash fiction by Nancy Stohlman, well-known flash fiction writer, editor and teacher from the USA who was a judge for the Bath Flash Awards in 2019. Going Short is a marvellous guide to writing and perfecting flash fiction, acclaimed by fellow flash fiction experts Kathy Fish, Randall Brown and James Thomas and it distills Nancy’s many years of experience as a writer and teacher. It’s definitely a guide to add to your library if you are a beginner to flash, an experienced flash fiction writer or a creative writing teacher. Everyone interested in short or longer form prose will gain from reading this book which is immensely practical and engaging, like Nancy’s teaching style in general.

Pre-order now via Paypal or any card (from August 31st to October 14th) here from Ad Hoc Fiction with free worldwide shipping. Going Short is also available for pre-order as an ebook from Kindle and Kobo and will be available in hard copy from Amazon as well as on the Ad Hoc Fiction bookshop on 15th October.

The book covers all topics of interest to flash fiction writers from defining the form, getting started, sculpting drafts, building collections, flash novellas and novels and we particularly like the fact that it is written in short flash-fiction-like-chapters with titles that draw you in immediately. Here’s a few tasters: Found Forms: Literary Squatters;Flash Myth #1: Smaller Is Easier; Flash Myth #2: Readers Have Short Attention Spans;Flash Myth #3: Bigger Is Better;I Was a Flash Fraud; High-Wire Flips and Narrative Contortions; Bribing the Muse: The All-Night Diner of Inspiration..
We love the cover image too by artist and writer Janice Leagra. Read in Full

Writers and Their Dogs

At Bath Flash Fiction, a few winners have mentioned their dogs in interviews with me after their wins. So as we near the end of the October 2018 round of Bath Flash Fiction Award, judged by Nuala 0’Connor, we’re giving the winners’ dogs a spotlight. Dogs are inspirational and we know several other dog-loving flash fiction writers, whose dogs are essential to their writing lives.

Molia Dumbleton’s lovely dog, Huckle is pictured here with Molia. Molia won third prize in the February 2018 round of Bath Flash Fiction Award judge by Tara L. Masih, with her flash ‘Why Shit is Still Like This Around Here and Probably Always Will Be‘ In my interview with her, I asked her if her dog was her muse. She said. “I think my only muse might be a deadline. Ha! But sadly, kind of true. I go for very, very long walks with my dog and those are pretty essential, just for energizing and de-cluttering the head.” Read in Full

February 2017 Judge’s Report
Kathy Fish

First, I’d like to thank Jude for inviting me to judge this wonderful contest. What a tremendous honor! I’m so impressed with how organized and efficient all of the Bath contests appear to be, especially how quickly the long list is chosen and announced. The production of a beautiful anthology from the contest long list is also very impressive. This all takes hard work and demonstrates huge respect and appreciation for your contestants. Kudos to everyone involved!

I’m also very taken with the spirit of this particular contest. By that I mean the attitude of the contestants. There’s a feeling of camaraderie I picked up on on social media. A spirit of encouragement and high energy. A willingness to go for it and cross your fingers, but if you fail this time, never mind, there is always another great contest coming up. It makes me feel good for the writers involved. Writing is a tough gig! The best way to survive as a writer is to cultivate a sense of lightness, boldness, and playfulness around your work. Not lightness around your material (although that’s okay too), but lightness around the results. If you can keep showing up, keep playing and learning in the face of disappointment and rejection, it gives you a tremendous advantage in the long run. So kudos to everyone who submitted!
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Interview with Kathy Fish
Flash Fiction Award Judge
October 2016 – February 2017

kathy-fish We’re delighted that renowned American flash fiction writer and teacher, Kathy Fish is judging our next award, which opens on November 1^st.

Kathy teaches flash fiction for the Mile High MFA program at Regis University in Denver. She has published four collections of short fiction: a chapbook in the Rose Metal Press collective, A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness: Four Chapbooks of Short Short Fiction by Four Women (2008); Wild Life (Matter Press, 2011); Together We Can Bury It (The Lit Pub, 2012); and Rift, co-authored with Robert Vaughan (Unknown Press, 2015). Her story, “A Room with Many Small Beds” was chosen by Stuart Dybek for inclusion in Best Small Fictions 2016 (Queen’s Ferry Press).
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