BackStory: Five Questions with Clio Velentza Author of The Convert What inspired you to write this piece? The word ‘convert’. I had been turning it over in my mind for more than a year, looking for the story in it.…
The Convert
The Convert by Clio Velentza See the bridge hanging in the mist, its sleepy arch, its pale stones held together by ancient mycelia and roots. In this ambiguous light it barely exists. See the swamp under the bridge, how it…
BackStory: Four Questions with Diane E Tatlock
BackStory: Four Questions with Diane E Tatlock Author of Hidden in Darkness What inspired you to write ‘Hidden in Darkness’? This piece was inspired by a visit to the caves at Beer Stone Quarry in Devon. I had to overcome…
Hidden in Darkness
Hidden in Darkness by Diane E Tatlock I am here. At the dank, doomed mine they pay money to see where I took my last steps two hundred years ago, to hear the tale for entertainment. A man recounts the…
BackStory: Six Questions with Elizabeth Burton
BackStory: Six Questions with Elizabeth Burton Author of Promiscuous What inspired you to write this ‘Promiscuous’? I first became interested in eugenics and forced sterilizations several years ago when I heard a report on the radio about individuals who had…
Promiscuous
Promiscuous by Elizabeth Burton Callie stood cradling her granddaughter on her hip, watching the woman from the Board make little checkmarks in her book. The woman’s smile looked glued on, something she took off at the end of the…
BackStory: Six Questions with Grace Palmer
BackStory: Six Questions with Grace Palmer Author of In 1960… What inspired you to write this ‘In 1960…’? I was researching a story about medical research and how, historically, drug trials were not routinely tested on women, or pregnant animals.…
In 1960…
In 1960… by Grace Palmer …my husband tapped the teaspoon on the crème brûlèè and the yellow crust cracked. Egg yolk and cream spilled onto the cloth and my stomach wavered. The foetus curled, I swear, somersaulting and dreaming in…
WWI Microfiction Competition Judges’ Report
WWI Microfiction Competiton Judges’ Report We will be back tomorrow with a new flash, but before we dive back into our regular programming, we’d like to say a few words about our recent microfiction competition. First of all, huge congratulations…
Plum Jam
2018 FlashBack Fiction Microfiction Competition First Place Plum Jam by Frances Gapper From our ladders we can see the plum-blue Malverns. The army’s bought up this harvest, still on the trees. We pickers are a crew: boy scouts, gypsies, PoWs, refugees,…