A Cosmopolitan by W Somerset Maugham you ought to read

Very short stories existed long before we used the name “flash fiction”. For a while, they were called Cosmopolitan shorts, … More

Girl by Jamaica Kincaid you ought to read

Chances are, you’ve already read Jamaica Kincaid’s Girl, first published in The New Yorker here, and later the opening story … More

Thrice Miguel de Cervantes spent time in jail, twice for unpaid debts, and once, for five years, as either a … More

Lydia Davis is in a league of her own, and The Outing (printed here, at Conjunctions, alongside four more pieces) … More

How to play Draw a grid, maybe a 3×3 grid. The larger it is, the more difficult the game. Begin … More

Sheila Heti’s Mermaid in the Jar (printed here at the Short Story project) is maybe my favourite flash, and I … More

For the dinosaur, a palace was no place to be. He yearned for the open plains. He wanted plants to … More

Poetry’s nice, and these poets, they know a thing or two about language. But does it make them happy? I … More

Wants The truth is, I don’t have much of a memory for stories. I’ve read Grace Paley’s Wants, printed here, … More

Nominating stories for awards is one of the best parts of editing a magazine. The Sundress Best of the Net … More