What Dwells Between the Lines

by Kevin Morgan Watson (Editor), Claire V. Foxx (Editor), Christopher Forrest (Editor)

Fifty-Three 53-Word Story Contest Winners, Plus Tips on Writing Remarkably Brief Fiction

In 2011, Press 53 challenged their email subscribers to write a 53-word story in response to a prompt. Fewer than twenty people responded. In 2020, the contest received 13,906 entries from writers around the world. One winning story was selected for inclusion in W. W. Norton's New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction, and in 2023, the 53-Word Story Contest was featured in the UK's Breathe magazine. Today, in 2024, this free and monthly 53-Word Story Contest, is used by teachers from grade school to college. WHAT DWELLS BETWEEN THE LINES celebrates the 53-Word Story Contest by sharing fifty-three of the editors' favorite winning stories, while also sharing tips on how to write remarkably brief fiction.“What dwells between the lines is essential in very short fiction.”

—Robert Scotellaro, author of What Are the Chances?: Flash Fictions (Press 53) and co-editor of New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction (W.W. Norton)

Genres: Fiction

82 pages, Paperback

Published September 6, 2024

About the author

I am the founding editor of Press 53, a small, literary publishing company in Winston-Salem, NC. We publish 6-8 poetry collections and 8-10 short story collections each year, along with 1-2 classic novels (Press 53 Classics). Every odd year we publish Surreal South, an anthology series edited by Laura & Pinckney Benedict. We also operate the Press 53 Open Awards writing contest with five categories, Poetry, Flash Fiction, Short Story, Creative Nonfiction, and Novella.

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed this micro book of micro-winning tales. It's always astonishing to me how just 53 words can be rearranged by authors to create completely different stories and emotions in the reader. From serious to comical, from insightful to surprising, these authors manage to pack a resonant punch into a tiny space.

Especially loved Theresa Wyatt's "Gettysburg, July, 1863," one of my favorite micros of all time, "Leaving Kyiv" by Carrie Keyes for its final, resonant image, "Buy a Donkey" by Jean-Luke Swanepoel for making me LOL, and "Autumn Heir" by Keith Padraic for making me teary eyed. But really I enjoyed them all.

Also a nice addition are the tips from authors and editors (mine included). David Jauss compares flash to a helicopter that has to take off without a long runway, Katey Schultz boils down a story to just 4 words in structure, and Christopher Allen debunks the myth of writing what you know.

[Martha]

A wonderful collection of 53 stories, all winners of the monthly Press53 53-word story contest. I'm amazed at how much story can be told in 53 words.