About the panel:
There’s an art to writing a (very) short story, one that includes a captivating opening, a dynamic middle, and a surprising ending—often using fewer words than we’re including in this session description. We’re fortunate that several contributors to the new anthology Flash Fiction America: 73 Very Short Stories hail from right here in the Bay Area—and we’ve brought them together for a big celebration of small stories. Patricia Quintana Bidar, K-Ming Chang, Grant Faulkner, Molly Giles, Nicole Simonsen, and Kara Vernor will read their stories reading and talk about what it takes to write fantastic flash fiction in a showcase hosted by Kirstin Chen and Jane Ciabattari, co-hosts (with Grant Faulkner) of the Flash Fiction Collective reading series.
About The Art of Brevity:
With increased compression, every word, every sentence matters more. A writer must learn how to form narratives around caesuras and crevices instead of strings of connections, to move a story through the symbolic weight of images, to master the power of suggestion.
With elegant prose, deep readings of other writers, and scaffolded writing exercises, The Art of Brevity takes the reader on a lyrical exploration of compact storytelling, guiding readers to heighten their awareness of not only what appears on the page but also what doesn’t.
About Grant Faulkner:
Grant Faulkner is the executive director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and the cofounder of 100 Word Story. His work has been widely anthologized in flash-fiction collections, and he is the author of several books, including All the Comfort Sin Can Provide, Fissures, and Nothing Short of 100: Selected Tales from 100 Word Story.