In Short: A Journal of Flash Nonfiction
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inshortlit.bsky.social
In Short: A Journal of Flash Nonfiction
@inshortlit.bsky.social
93 followers 46 following 46 posts
An indie lit mag for flash nonfiction 📸
Publishing flash of 1,000 words or fewer; micros of 400 or fewer; and short-shorts 100 or fewer ⚡️
https://inshortjournal.com/
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inshortlit.bsky.social
Congrats to all our Best American Essays nominees!! Check out all their pieces at inshortjournal.com!
Best American Essays Nominees Kyoko Mori, “What We Wore Together” Ira Sukrungruang, “Boy + Gun” Dawn Taska Steffler, “Bra Shopping” Brian McGuigan, “Crack” Sue William Silverman, “The Long Road Out of Eden”
November 10, 2025 at 5:06 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
@brandihandley24.bsky.social
Man Sized Boots by Brandi Handley The interruption of searching for some “man-sized boots” while the narrator deconstructs this performance is exceptional. The freedom or “audacity” women want to lay claim to against reality. Handley’s introspection of this tension is done with care and a little bit of humor. Sneak Peek: “At Red Racks, a local thrift store chain, the shoes and boots line the tops of the racks of used clothing. They’re not organized by size or style or any other discernible pattern of arrangement. But it doesn’t matter. I’m only interested in what they look like at a glance.”
November 7, 2025 at 4:46 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
Farmhouse Elegy by Molly Wazeck What remains unsaid in this piece is all you can think about when you finish. The visual of the fire and the mental hospital being the tension Wadzeck balances on while navigating our way through the piece. Sneak Peek: “K and I dig holes, at least three feet deep, holes to fill with dead chickens, reciting names if we recognize what remains of their charred, limp bodies.”
November 7, 2025 at 4:46 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
@amygcb.bsky.social
When I am six, I speak in tongues by Amy Cipolla Barnes Barnes pulls readers into the body of a young child who is forced into a sort of religious scheme. The intersection between identity, religion, family, and language is blended seamlessly; the objective correlative of the mother’s belt against the teacher’s belt ties this piece together. Sneak Peek: “because my Mama wants me to. I’m standing on a dining room chair. She’s coaching me in a loud voice because I haven’t been listening closely enough.”
November 7, 2025 at 4:46 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
My Hair was Never Mine to Cut by Vani Aadhya This piece focuses on the exploration of a mother’s love and viewing it from the persepctive of smothering and transforming it into longing. What we used to view as a milestone or a form of freedom becomes a disconnect we can never mend. Sneak Peek: “My mother treated my hair like a boon—something gifted by the gods to tie us together.”
November 7, 2025 at 4:46 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
@shoshanaraywrites.bsky.social
Drowning by Shoshana Ray The shift in this piece from the carefree nature of childhood to reality is like whiplash. The mom’s words echo and remain with you long after the final line. Sneak Peek: “We weren’t taught how to swim but learned through osmosis. Watch your older cousins, watch your siblings, watch the adults, and you’ll figure it out. ”
November 7, 2025 at 4:46 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
Crack by Brian McGuigan McGuigan writes with an intensity that sneaks up on you. The balance between the voice of innocence and the voice of experience in this piece also creates a powerful punch with the final line. Sneak Peek: “I remember when crack took over our block.“
November 7, 2025 at 4:46 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
The Long Road Out of Eden by Sue William Silverman This piece feels like sinking into a body of water and watching the ripples. Silverman introduces each detail into the scene with such care that by the end you have a complete picture different from where you began. The possibilities of the “almost perfect strawberry” no longer matter by the end of the piece. Sneak Peek: “One late afternoon after work, as a college intern on Capitol Hill, I sit on a sunny porch in a house off Wisconsin Avenue with an older woman, a friend of my parents.“
November 7, 2025 at 4:46 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
Looking back on Issue 3!! Today we are reviewing Flash (1000 words or fewer).

Read the full pieces at the link in our bio!
In Short Issue Three Flash Includes: lessons from mothers, powerful final lines, things left unsaid, all 1000 words or less
November 7, 2025 at 4:46 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
The Telstar by Clifford Thompson This piece grips you with every sentence and never lets you go. Thompson's style and word choice really brings the energy of the piece together and leaves you with a final punch in the last line! Sneak peek: "Spring of 1980, I seventeen, clop-clopping past squat gray buildings in Northwest DC in my hard black shoes, trench coat, tie, Afro."
October 29, 2025 at 2:04 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
Erasure by Timothy C Smith This piece explores what tries to remain unsaid and buried and unearths it with care and gentleness. The last few lines will make you want to reread the entire piece with Annie's name in mind. Sneak Peek: "She had a name. A sultry July afternoon, the grass slowly turning from jade green to dried hay."
October 29, 2025 at 2:04 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
Night Walk by Elizabeth Rose This piece drops you into a pool of release restless, searching for a moment of calm only to take it away. When he sentences get longer and the calm recedes, readers miss the freedom and quiet the sky can only give and grieve its loss with the narrator. Sneak peek: "I am aware of the risk, that when I use my fingers to wipe my eyes, I may unintentionally extract one of my good long eyelashes."
October 29, 2025 at 2:04 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
@darbyprice.bsky.social
[Terrible is the Punishment of the Lord] by Darby Price Price creates such a poetic and intense moment with only 214 words. The scene and the rhetorical questions in the piece force readers to wonder about reclaimed with her. Sneak peak: "Terrible is the punishment of the Lord for those who believe in such things."
October 29, 2025 at 2:04 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
@mehpoeting.bsky.social
The Quiet Part by Matthew E. Henry The form Henry uses to break up this one-sided conversation forces readers to pause and think after each mini mic drop. The tension that builds to the final line feels like a bucket of ice water being poured over your head. Sneak Peak: "Excuse me? Excuse me. I'm so sorry to interrupt your conversation, but are you Matthew E. Henry, the poet?..."
October 29, 2025 at 2:04 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
Looking back on Issue 3!! Today we are reviewing the Micros (400 words or fewer).

Read the full piece at Inshortjournal.com!
In Short Issue 3 Themes: Superhero punches, terrible conversations, grief, all 400 words or fewer
October 29, 2025 at 2:04 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
Love seeing our contributors IRL! @darbyprice.bsky.social read from her new collection—including [Terrible is the punishment of the Lord] from Issue 3 of In Short!—at the 804 Lit Salon in DC last weekend.

Read it here: t.co/qKZMNdJPpH
October 14, 2025 at 2:42 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
@melissahung.bsky.social
"Border Crossings, Macau to Hong Kong, 1957" by Melissa Hung With one sentence we are forced to experience the fear and uncertainty of the narrator. We wonder how she got there and where she will go. More importantly we dream of her mother with her by the end of the piece. Sneak Peek: “How long did she wait in that old apartment by the window...”
October 9, 2025 at 10:07 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
The Seamstress of Buenos Aires by Donald A. Ranard With just a little more than 50 words, Ranard includes readers into this small moment of shared love and loss. The final line leaving us sitting in that shared moment of acknowledgement. Sneak Peek: “How many children do you have? she asked. “
October 9, 2025 at 10:07 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
Shadow Animals By Michelle La Vone Every time you read through the piece a new word or phrase reveals itself and adds meaning to the piece. The objective correlative in the piece being the shadows on the wall also packs a punch when you finish reading! Sneak Peek: “My childhood room is frankincense, steady puffs of steam. “
October 9, 2025 at 10:07 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
As we gear up for Issue 4 of In Short we are going to take a look back at the past issues; starting with the Short-Shorts of Issue 3!

Read full pieces as inshortjournal.com
In Short Issue 3 Themes: motherhood, loss, immigration, all 100 words or fewer Short-Shorts
October 9, 2025 at 10:07 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
Graphic of Editorial Intern: Megan Cobb What do you love about Flash Nonfiction? I love a good hermit-crab essay! Taking on a new shell to explore yourself is incredibly revealing and cathartic. A piece from In Short that you love? "Bra Shopping" by Dawn Tasaka Steffler, Issue 2 Favorite Author? Anne Rice
October 3, 2025 at 2:12 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
Graphic of Editorial Intern: Drew Hunter What do you love about flash nonfiction? "You don't need an extraordinary life or story to make an amazing piece! It's very accessible to a variety of readers and writers." A Piece from In Short that you love? "The Telstar," By Clifford Thompson, Issue 5. Favorite Author? R.F. Kuang and James Baldwin
October 3, 2025 at 2:12 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
Meet the In Short team!
For more information about how to join our team and more of our members please visit our website.
Graphic of Editor-in-Chief: Steph Liberatore What do you love about flash nonfiction? "I Love flash's accessibility. It gave me a writing career when a writing career felt impossible." A Piece from In Short that you love? "Impossible to choose just one! Deb Fenwick's "Escape Route" in Issue 1 is the first piece we ever accepted. And I still remember the way it hit me: like a beautiful punch in the gut." Favorite Author? "Tie between Aimee Nezhukumatathil and Melissa Febos"
October 3, 2025 at 2:12 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
@seanbwparker5000.bsky.social's "Artists at Work" worked wonders with linework and composition.
October 2, 2025 at 6:19 PM
inshortlit.bsky.social
Camellia Paul's artworks "Silvester" and "Callypigeon" absolutely stunned us.
October 2, 2025 at 6:19 PM