I have a review up for Apple & Palm, a stunning short story collection by Patricia Henley!
Check it out at MicroLit Almanac and then get your copy of the book!
“She wants to keep those secrets coming”: A Review at MicroLit Almanac
Author: Allison
National Flash Fiction Day Stories 2026
National Flash Fiction Day is one of my favorite days of the year. I treat it like a holiday, clearing my sschedule as much as possible so I can focus on reading and writing flash all day. This year, I also attended the anthology reading, and it was so wonderful to hear so many talented writers read their work! (I have a micro in the anthology.)
I wrote for 18 prompts (out of 25 – and I’m definitely keeping the others to inspire me later!) and submitted 12 pieces (11 were published). Prompts and constraints help me get out of my head when writing, and these was such a great list this year: check them out here!
A Stranger: Write a story set entirely on the banks of a river. Include two or more characters who interact in some way, but avoid using any dialogue, direct or reported.
The rain pummeled the ground too quickly to be absorbed: Write a story in exactly 15 words. Your title does not count towards the 15 words.
Exposed: Write a flash in which each sentence is at least one word shorter than the sentence before it.
Growth: Write a flash using no word more than once, and yes, this includes small words like the, and, I, and is. The minimum word count is 75 words.
On Trend: Write a story (inspired by this painting) about a group of people journeying toward a shared, unknown destination at either dawn or dusk.
Life’s a Beach: Write a flash from an unusual point of view, one that is neither human nor animal.
He holds my hand as we wait in line for the Zippin Pippin: Find a story published in the FlashFlood that you admire and choose five interesting words from it. (I chose ‘Coriolis Effect‘ by Mikki Aronoff.)
Meant for More: For this prompt, write a flash in which a bridge does something unexpected, means something unusual, or is used in a way bridges are not normally used.
Someone Else’s Treasure: Write a flash in which the past surfaces unexpectedly.
Anointed: Write a flash about forgiveness or reconciliation. Use water in your story in some way.
Reception: Write two separate flashes, each no more than 100 words (and shorter is fine), that can stand alone but are connected by a single element: an object, a phrase, a location, a gesture.
Head to The Write-In to read everyone’s vastly different responses to these five prompts!
(The featured post image showcases the badges I earned for the pieces I wrote and submitted.)
Mudlarking: 2026 NFFD Anthology
I previously announced that my piece “I’m Invited to Watch Them Feed Her Body Into the Incinerator” was highly commended in the 2026 National Flash Fiction Day Microfiction Competition, and now I’m excited to share my copy of this gorgeous anthology.
You can read the micros online HERE
and get your copy of the anthology now!
My (Un)Cool New Lit Mag
It might not be cool of me to act this excited but Forget Cool!
Melissa Fite Johnson and I are launching an online pop culture magazine called… Forget Cool!
We’ll publish two issues a year, September 1 (ala Back to School) and March 1 (ala Spring Fling). It all harks back to issues of Bop and Teen Beat during our tween and teen years – we want to capture that sense of fun, escape, and total pop culture immersion!
We’re open for submissions for our first issue now, so check out the guidelines and send something our way if it strikes your fancy!
Round 2 of March Sadness
My March Sadness essay about “Kiss the Rain” by Billie Myers is facing off against Melissa Faliveno’s fantastic essay about “Round Here” by Counting Crows in Round 2 of March Sadness!
The most special part of it all is that Billie Myers herself read my essay (WHAT?! Still in absolute shock and so flattered and grateful) and shared it on her Instagram!
But if you’re inclined to vote, there’s still time. (Well, depending on what time you’re reading this post.)
Voting is open until 11am CT on Saturday, March 14th.
Update: March Sadness was mentioned in the New York Times!
NFFD Highly Commended Microfiction
I’m so thrilled to announce that my piece “I’m Invited to Watch Them Feed Her Body Into the Incinerator” was highly commended in the 2026 National Flash Fiction Day Microfiction Competition!
You can read it online HERE and in the anthology released this summer!
“It Feels like You’re So Far”: March Sadness
Update: Made it through round one by the skin of my teeth! Stay tuned on social media for round 2 voting: @HowIFeelAboutBooks and @allisonwrites.bsky.social
Today’s the day! My March Sadness essay about “Kiss the Rain” by Billie Myers is LIVE and waiting for your votes!
Voting is only up for 24 hours, so if you don’t see this before March 3rd at 9am Arizona time, you’ve missed your chance, but you can still read the essay – plus all the other awesome essays in the competition (as strange as it feels to call sad essays about sad songs “awesome”…).
“Engagement, April 2010” published at Roi Fainéant
I’m happy to share that my flash CNF piece “Engagement, April 2010” is published in Issue 93 of Roi Fainéant!
I wrote this in Nancy Stohlman’s “Courting the Muse” workshop back in May 2023. We were asked to “plunder” another writer or story, studying what we loved about it and then trying to emulate that in our own work. I love “Egg Toss, August 1989” by Meagan Cass, so that was clearly my inspiration here!
“Washed Away” published at The Hoolet’s Nook
I’m excited to share that my micro “Washed Away” is published in Issue 3 of The Hoolet’s Nook! There are so many great pieces in here, including nanofiction, microfiction, and poetry, so go check it out.
I wrote this story in Meg Pokrass’s Surrealist Microfiction workshop back in summer 2023 and am so happy it found a home!
2025 Writing in Review
My biggest writing accomplishment this year was, of course, publishing Green Light… even though it was written back in 2022! I’m glad it wasn’t immediately picked up, though, because publishing it on the 100th anniversary of The Great Gatsby is too perfect. A lot of my “writing” life dealt with interviews, reviews, podcasts, and fun extras relating to the book and its release. Get quick links to those things here!
I did a lot of my usual favorite writing experiences, like National Flash Fiction Day and the Ekphrastic Marathon.
I only had 26 submissions this year, yikes! I slacked a lot earlier in the year, but with my birthday resolutions in September, I promised to submit 4 places each month, and have done so since then! I just needed to kick my own butt into gear. I had 8 acceptances from those submissions. (I submitted 45 times in 2024, 111 in 2023, 134 in 2022, and 52 in 2021.)
I wrote several reviews for MicroLit Almanac, plus three craft essays for Intrepidus Ink. (I also wrote and submitted my essay for March Sadness, which of course won’t go live until March, but it’s definitely an accomplishment and I’m really proud of it.)
I started a monthly Substack, posting an article on the 14th of every month. I’ll be honest, it’s mostly just me trying to harness my LiveJournal days, but I have ideas for next year that might truly orient the posts toward “the love of writing,” as the name suggests it should.
While not specifically writing related, I was accepted to be a Short Story/Flash Fiction reader for Split/Lip Press. I’ve missed working with that team and am glad to be back in some small role, and I really think this will help my writing and editing life so much to read amazing submissions during the reading period. I’ll also continue to be a contest editor for Flash Fiction Magazine throughout the year; it’s always inspiring to read stories and help writers revise them (if necessary!).
Speaking of that… I also celebrated the one year anniversary of Lightning Flash Writing!
If you need help polishing your work (flash fiction, short stories, novels – I do it all!), getting your ideas on the page, or marketing yourself or your book, I’m here to help!
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