Description

The Fabulist Book of Miniatures, vol. 1 brings together 26 of our favorite literary miniatures — speculative microfictions that are distinct from flash, but share space with it. These are concentrated drops of magic, mystery, science fiction, experimentation, intrigue, poignance, loss, fulfillment, desire, yearning, humor, and horror, oh yes. It has been our profound pleasure at The Fabulist to discover them scattered like jewels — by turns dusky, sparkling, dark, and delightful —among the many hundreds of submissions we receive each cycle.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction: “Little Worlds — The Pleasures of the Speculative Miniature,” by J. Phantizorn
• A Technical Note on the Form
• “Reptilia,’ by Ruth Crossman
• “A New Pair of Lips,” by Meg Pokrass and Jeff Friedman
• “Driftwood,” by Phillip E. Dixon
• “Hopscotch,” by Heather Bourbeau
• “Towards,” by Heather Bourbeau
• “Falling Action Café,” by Emmie Christie
• “El Ángelus,” by Luca Serrano
• “Altar,” by Dan Hintz
• “The Blood,” by Sarah Boudreau
• “Supernova,” by Brittani Jenee’ Cal
• “Sisters,” by Ann Calandro
• “Let’s Do Earth,” by John Mosbaugh
• “The Sitting,” by Steve Gilmartin
• “Flying at Night,” by Scott Stolnack
• “Creature,” by Morgan MacVaugh
• “Your Invisible Neighbor,” by Claire Marie Anderson
• “Cities,” by Amelie Daigle
• “Trespasser,” by Amelie Daigle
• “We’re Always Looking for New Blood,” by Josh Bell
• “Dreaming of Potatoes,” by Toshiya Kamei
• “The Woman with the Suitcase Full of Stars,” by Carolyn Oliver
• “The Fleet Ones,” by Claire J. Bateman
• “Stop, Before It’s Too Late,” by Tantra Bensko
• “My Fantasy America,” by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
• “Valley PTA Hair Salon,” by Drew Cushing
• “Always Night,” by Liam Hogan

A TECHNICAL NOTE ON THE FORM:

We’ve focused here, largely, on pieces 600 words or less. Some as few as 100 words. Occasionally we pushed the upper limit to include stories that approach 1,000 words, but we do so with great caution. A miniature is not necessarily flash fiction — we feel the latter is more structurally constrained even as it has more room to sprawl, while the former requires an intense concentration and precision. Yet we acknowledge the overlap between the two forms, and have erred generously to include longer short pieces that play in this liminal space.