I followed guest editor Robert Olen Butler's recommendation to take my time, reading only "a few at a sitting." Although many of these short short stories cover less than a page -- the shortest is a Twitter story -- they are all dense with feeling, and packed with potent images. Among my favorites are "Scarlet Fever" by Stefanie Freele, in which sickness becomes surreal; "The Intended," by Dawn Raffel, which captures the weirdness of preemies exhibited in incubators during the World's Fair; Mist...

I've always liked short-short fiction (aka flash fiction and many other names). I don't know if another term is really necessary, but the editor has given the form yet another name, "small fictions." Some of the pieces are a little longer than the usual flash. I liked the stories fairly well. As with any collection of this type, there were some that I liked a lot, others less so, a couple not at all. I'd give a few of the individual stories 4 stars for sure, but never felt that any were 5-star a...

I teach a flash fiction class titled "The Brilliance of Brevity." This excellent and compelling anthology captures just that. At a mere six lines, Stuart Dybek's "Inland Sea" is masterful. Then there's the gritty glory of Leesa Cross-Smith's "All That Smoke Howling Blue." Yennie Cheung's "Something Overheard" is resonant, honest, and rich with twisted expectations. Danielle McLaughlin's "Shaping Air" is so keenly observed it elevates the mundane to the extraordinary. The anthology is studded wit...

Guest editor Robert Olen Butler and series editor Tara Masih's Best Small Fictions 2015 is a delightful and important anthology. For those who know or write flash fiction, those startling and often delightful little stories that range in size from 140-character Tweets to two- or three-page stories edging up to 1,000 words, this book is a must-have. Those unfamiliar with the form will find themselves enlarged and most likely enthralled by it. Some of the stories, like Dan Gilmore's "Happiest Blac...

Other than occasional stories, this is the first collection of flash or small fiction I have read. And this has been an interesting, exciting, and, in some ways, educational experience. I'm learning that, as in so many other things in life, I have much more to learn about this story form, but I will not let that inhibit my enthusiastic review of this book.When I began reading, I had decided to use post it markers to mark those stories I enjoyed. Well, that didn't work as I quickly realized that

I like that The Best Small Fictions 2015 is as important as Best American Short Stories 2015. It should be.Who says it’s as important? I do.I won’t go into the number of New Yorker and Atlantic stories that have populated the Best American Short Stories series for the past several decades. That would be almost as boring as reading most of those same stories.Let’s be clear – the most exciting literature being written today is landing in the small literary journals, mostly online. The day of the 7...

I'm proud to have served as Consulting Editor for this excellent book. It is a brilliant compilation of "small fictions" from some of the best writers of the form. I plan to use this book as a teaching tool at the Mile-High MFA program at Regis University in Denver. I highly recommend it for all creative writing teachers, workshop leaders, etc. But also this is just a fantastic read. Kudos to Tara Masih, Robert Olen Butler, and all of the contributors!

LOVED and not just bc my little story is in here. There are lots of little stories in here and lots to love. I love small fictions and having a bunch of small fictions in a book like this is aces. Faves include: "Marriage" by Anna Lea Jancewicz, "For The Wheels To Nullify" by Brent Rydin, "Eat Beetroot" by Jane Swan, "The Third Time My Father Tried To Kill Me" by James Claffey, "It Will Never Be Deep Enough" by Jane Liddle, "At Home With Rapper's Delight" by Chris L. Terry, "Chicken Dance" by Mi...

I always have trouble giving short story collections a rating. I felt like some of these stories were trying too hard, but I really liked a few of them. Looking back over the TOC, I feel like Dan Gilmore's story about the drummer and the one by Yennie Cheung about the upstairs neighbor will stick with me. Those didn't feel like stories, they felt true.

(Nearly 4.5) In this very strong anthology of flash fiction, stories range from Tweet length to a few pages, but are always under 1,000 words. Titles and first lines carry a lot of weight. One of the best openers is “I didn’t recognize her without her head” (“Before She Was a Memory,” Emma Bolden). In genre the stories run the gamut from historical fiction to whimsical fantasy — a boy who turns into a bear and a dead office employee who keeps showing up for work.You’ll be introduced to a wealth

From "Now Reading" by Literary Mama staff:Fiction Editor Suzanne Kamata adds, "I've been happily dipping into the anthology The Best Small Fictions 2015, edited by Tara L. Masih, following guest editor Robert Olen Bulter's recommendation to take my time, reading only 'a few at a sitting.' Although many of these short short stories cover less than a page―the shortest is a Twitter story―they are all dense with feeling, and packed with potent images. Among my favorites are 'Scarlet Fever' by Litera...

Favorites: "Wimbledon" by Seth Brady Tucker, "Scale" by Michael Martone, "Happiest Black White Man Alive" by Dan Gilmore, "You Must Intercept the Blue Box Before It Gets to the City" by Ron Carlson (which is super fun), and most of all, "Something Overheard" by Yennie Chung, which hit me really hard. A lot of power.

I don't think I've ever seen so much excellent flash fiction in one place. Dee Cohen, Dan Gilmore, Stefanie Freele, and George Choundas wrote some of my favorites.

As someone who has dabbled with flash fiction, I recognize the challenges of writing "short short" or microfiction. Every word has to count, for there is absolutely no margin for error, no room for luxury.This collection might more aptly be titled "The Best of the Best..." because it is exactly that. Each story in contention was nominated by a literary magazine or journal, and the guest editor, Robert Olen Butler, made the final selection.Butler says in his introduction, "They are small but brim...

Here's what some reviewers have said about our small press bestseller:"This is truly a well-selected collection and it has given me a new appreciation for small fiction. The Best Small Fictions 2015 will make you a believer in small fiction as literature."--Joseph Spuckler, Evil Cyclist's Bookshelf "What an astonishing book--how practically every fiction seems a vaster story told in brief." --X.J. Kennedy"With Best Small Fictions 2015 ... [r]eaders will be introduced to a wealth of fresh and exi...

When I heard Moira Crone speak a couple of weekends ago, in response to a question, she talked of how a novel is a journey, but a short story is about a moment. I'd started this book at the time, so I silently wondered if that meant "small fictions" are about less than a moment. My own belief (and I'm sure I stole it from somewhere) is that the best of (long) short stories live beyond the page, and that's even truer of shorter fiction.Not only have series editor Tara L. Masih, guest editor Rober...

A welcome resource for writers and readers of flash and short fiction. Here's a link to my full review, published in KYSO Flash.

The Best Small Fictions 2015 guest editor Robert Olen Butler series editor Tara L. MasihWhat a wonderful anthology! What a joy! What fun! Tara L. Masih and her editors are to be congratulated on assembling what to me is a premier annual anthology of flash fiction!There is a breadth and depth here that readers unfamiliar with flash will likely be astonished by. There are quirky, funny, serious and sentimental selections. In other words just about something for everyone. This collection is compris...