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New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction
An addictive new collection of very short stories curated by Flash Fiction editor James Thomas and microfiction writer Robert Scotellaro. Comprised of 300 words or fewer, microfiction is difficult to write but delightful and absorbing to read. With a foreword from Robert Shapard, coeditor of the Norton flash and sudden fiction anthologies, an afterword by Christopher Merrill, coeditor of Flash Fiction International, an introduction from its venerable editors, and a star-studded table of contents, New Micro is a veritable who’s who of the increasingly popular world of microfiction. Authors include newcomers and established writers alike: Amy Hempel, John Edgar Wideman, Kim Addonizio, Richard Brautigan, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Stuart Dybek, Joyce Carol Oates, and James Tate among them. With 90 authors and 140 stories, New Micro offers a unique reading experience, a chorus of voices both fresh and familiar, real and surreal but always enlightening―distinctive and exceptional pieces of fiction that pulse and resonate, each with its own story to tell.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2018
49 people are currently reading
276 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
September 6, 2018
I love compression, and this anthology of superb microfictions does not disappoint. Thomas and Scotellaro have assembled a lasting anthology that honors its 1996 predecessor, Jerome Stern's MICRO FICTION, and continues to advance the impact of micros on contemporary literature.
Each story is an accomplished example of the form, but the following resonated most with me: Nancy Stohlman's "Death Row Hugger"; Claudia Smith's "Mermaid"; Grant Faulkner's "Way Station"; Michelle Elvy's "Antarctica"; Michael Martone's "Miners"; Tiff Holland's "Hot Work"; Josh Russells' "Black Cat"; Tara Laskowski's "Dendrochronology"; and Curtis Smith's "The Storm."
And the one that blew me away, literally and figuratively: Bernard Cooper's "The Hurricane Ride," about a boy and his aunt on a carnival ride. I read it about 10 times.
With so many stories to choose from, readers will find many favorites. (Note this includes two of my own micros.)
Each story is an accomplished example of the form, but the following resonated most with me: Nancy Stohlman's "Death Row Hugger"; Claudia Smith's "Mermaid"; Grant Faulkner's "Way Station"; Michelle Elvy's "Antarctica"; Michael Martone's "Miners"; Tiff Holland's "Hot Work"; Josh Russells' "Black Cat"; Tara Laskowski's "Dendrochronology"; and Curtis Smith's "The Storm."
And the one that blew me away, literally and figuratively: Bernard Cooper's "The Hurricane Ride," about a boy and his aunt on a carnival ride. I read it about 10 times.
With so many stories to choose from, readers will find many favorites. (Note this includes two of my own micros.)
September 1, 2018
Microfiction, more than other forms, requires constant reflection, making it not only a challenge for the author, but also for the reader. Each story in this thrilling anthology uses its own source of magic to engage me, so that the tale grows far beyond the limits of the page.
As a collection of the best of the best—a treasury of authors—this anthology is ideal for teachers of creative writing who want to explore the art of narrative in a short time span. It’s perfect for authors who are looking to inform their own audacious writing and want to learn how to try something new. And above all, New Micro is an addictive anthology for all fiction lovers, to read and reread simply for pleasure.
As a collection of the best of the best—a treasury of authors—this anthology is ideal for teachers of creative writing who want to explore the art of narrative in a short time span. It’s perfect for authors who are looking to inform their own audacious writing and want to learn how to try something new. And above all, New Micro is an addictive anthology for all fiction lovers, to read and reread simply for pleasure.
February 20, 2022
89 authors. 135 stories of 300 or fewer words each.
Pretty good collection. Lots of themes here (mostly serious), including love, loss, tragedy, memory, infidelity, and some mild humor or less serious stuff (ex: a man with odd tastes frequents a diner).
I'd give most of the stories 3-ish stars; they were average/good, if mostly forgettable. I'd give 4+ to a handful of these micro tales. I only disliked (below 2 stars) a few stories.
VERDICT: My average rating of the stories would be a low 3+ stars. But I'll bump up to 4 for GR because: quantity, variety, and the plain-out novelty factor. Would be a good book for a writers' group or class to read together.
Pretty good collection. Lots of themes here (mostly serious), including love, loss, tragedy, memory, infidelity, and some mild humor or less serious stuff (ex: a man with odd tastes frequents a diner).
I'd give most of the stories 3-ish stars; they were average/good, if mostly forgettable. I'd give 4+ to a handful of these micro tales. I only disliked (below 2 stars) a few stories.
VERDICT: My average rating of the stories would be a low 3+ stars. But I'll bump up to 4 for GR because: quantity, variety, and the plain-out novelty factor. Would be a good book for a writers' group or class to read together.
June 28, 2019
To those who complain they were disappointed because this book is a collection of older writing, I say: read the Foreward. It literally explains it’s a guide through the pathways that have lead to micro fiction being considered a category of skilled writing today. I do wish they labeled the years on the pieces’ actual pages, but the list in the back is great too.
I love micro and flash fiction and this book helped educate me on writers I had not heard of, and gave me poignant stories that drew many emotions out in small spaces of time. It was a delight to read and I would definitely recommend it as an introduction for those who aren’t familiar with the category overall, or students looking to study tone and what micro fiction “really does”: however they want to interpret that.
I love micro and flash fiction and this book helped educate me on writers I had not heard of, and gave me poignant stories that drew many emotions out in small spaces of time. It was a delight to read and I would definitely recommend it as an introduction for those who aren’t familiar with the category overall, or students looking to study tone and what micro fiction “really does”: however they want to interpret that.
Read
July 16, 2025Enjoyed this as an introduction to microfiction, though the subjects and forms weren't as varied as I expected for an anthology (lots of marital/romantic relationship stories.)
Favorites:
"My Mother Was an Upright Piano" (Tania Hershman)
"Mermaid" (Claudia Smith)
"Colts" (Claudia Smith)
"He Was on the Second Floor" (Kim Chinquee)
"Four Hard Facts About Water" (Damian Dressick)
"The Possibility of Bears" (Kathy Fish)
"Cadge" (Randall Brown)
"Near Taurus" (Dawn Raffel)
"Ella" (Tara Lynn Masih)
"Grief" (Ron Carlson)
Favorites:
"My Mother Was an Upright Piano" (Tania Hershman)
"Mermaid" (Claudia Smith)
"Colts" (Claudia Smith)
"He Was on the Second Floor" (Kim Chinquee)
"Four Hard Facts About Water" (Damian Dressick)
"The Possibility of Bears" (Kathy Fish)
"Cadge" (Randall Brown)
"Near Taurus" (Dawn Raffel)
"Ella" (Tara Lynn Masih)
"Grief" (Ron Carlson)
December 29, 2018
I read this because a friend has a story included, and because I’m interested in the form. Many of the stories seem too similar - not just because of the length, of course, but because of the subject matter. Perhaps there are only certain topics that lend themselves well to brevity - coming of age, the burdens of marriage, parents aging and dying, tragedies both prosaic and shattering. There are a few really noteworthy stories that I’ll be thinking of for a while, but many of the rest blend together in my head. It’s an exceedingly American, and white, anthology, although neither of these limitations is acknowledged by the editors.
November 29, 2021
Exceptionally easy to read and very enjoyable from start to finish. This is not the first collection of micro-fiction I've gone through this year, but it is by far the best. Almost every story is a winner and I will carry this round with me to re-read, as every piece has something to say to me. plus it contains many recognizable names that I have observed growing in stature over the years. A true find and highly recommended for entertainment and/or insight.
October 2, 2022
The best book of microfiction I've ever come across - there are more gems in here than I can count, and so many examples of how to do this strange form right - so many beautifully crafted, haunting stories
May 23, 2021
Brevity is the soul of fiction. So many brilliant tales in this book.
January 16, 2022
Amazing and unforgettable. Every story in this anthology is something to be savored.
March 5, 2019
Flash fiction is one of my favorite forms, both to read and to write. So I was very excited that New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction crossed my review desk. It contains a powerhouse collection of 135 stories by 90 authors. A number of the highly-lauded writers have multiple stories in the collection, and all of the stories are 300 words or less.
I know some readers wonder how a great story can be told in 300 words. It takes a certain kind of vision by the author, and each word therefore becomes important – there can be no wasted space. And what is said is as important as what’s not said.
Flash fiction is like Zen art. Simplicity is the key, and an entire story can be suggested with just an image, just a scene, just a capturing of an emotion. As mentioned in the foreword by Robert Shapard, “It’s been said that micros can do in a page what a novel does in two hundred.”
Most of the stories in the collection are told in first or third person, with a few forays into second person. They are divided equally between vignettes and stories with a complete arc. Many focus on literary styles and ethos, such as stream-of-consciousness narratives, slow-paced capturing of a single, life-like image, and the darker, more serious themes such as love and loss, death and grief, addiction and adultery. But there’s an equally important smattering of humor pieces throughout the anthology, including dark humor and literary escapades into the absurd.
Some of the writers experiment with form, such as Gay Degani’s “Abbreviated Glossary.” Her piece has a truly clever format that sets up a list of definitions like a dictionary, but tells a complete story about a woman who persuades her reluctant lover that a pregnancy will be good for them. Their relationship goes well until there’s a problem with the baby in utero.
Then there’s Damian Dressick’s “Four Hard Facts About Water,” which has events in a numbered list. The list is somewhat backwards in terms of chronological order, but the reader learns by number four why the first fact about the price of whiskey is so important. It has a powerful and truly sad twist ending.
Although all the stories have something to offer the reader, the ones that often captured and held my interest had me thinking about them long after I finished reading them. These were the ones that put preconceived notions on their head. For example, Kathy Fish’s “The Possibility of Bears,” which has you booing one character all the way until the end, when you realize that the author has cleverly shown why your knee-jerk reaction was wrong. Or Sarah Freligh’s “Another Thing,” which talks about the end of the world as a joke, but in a way, the joke turns out to be true.
Then there are the stories that do a great job of painting a stylistic picture, such as Tania Hershman’s “My Mother Was an Upright Piano.” The conceit is held throughout the story, and the imagery is captivating. Or Ron Koertge’s “War,” which talks about a soldier’s post-traumatic stress disorder as “the poetry of war.”
I’m also a sucker for humor, so the stories that made me laugh (often in surprise) were among my favorites. There was Amelia Gray’s “AM:103” that shows how sometimes a person can negotiate her way through a breakup. Or David Shumate’s “The Polka-Dot Shirt,” which explores the idea of a person’s identity and how much it’s related to image. I also enjoyed Paul Beckman’s “Brother Speak,” which shows how brothers sometimes have their own language. And the final story of the collection, Ron Carlson’s “Grief,” where reported facts aren’t always what they seem.
Last but not least, a few more of the truly stand-out stories of the collections crossed boundaries in new and unexpected ways. There was Bernard Cooper’s “The Hurricane Ride,” which examines how reality can be altered with the notion of speed. Also Lynn Mundell’s “The Old Days,” which tackles a man’s choices in life that have become a slippery slope down the wrong path. I enjoyed Tiff Holland’s “Hot Work,” which explores the secrets some men keep. And I particularly felt the resonance of Melissa McCracken’s “Implosion,” which is both funny and sad, one of the hardest combinations to pull off effectively (and amazing to do in under 300 words). There’s also a great, but unexpected, perspective in Richard Brautigan’s “Women When They Put Their Clothes On in the Morning,” with a killer last line that lingers.
I’d like to quote from the afterword written by Christopher Merrill, which I think does a great job of summing up why writers and readers alike are making flash fiction so popular.
“Less is more: this is the currency of prose poetry and micro fiction alike. … It [the story] will not last long, but it will haunt you forever.”
I agree with Mr. Merrill. This is a wonderful collection of micro fiction and a great way to discover (or continue with) your love of the form. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.
This review was originally published in the magazine Bewildering Stories, Issue # 774.
I know some readers wonder how a great story can be told in 300 words. It takes a certain kind of vision by the author, and each word therefore becomes important – there can be no wasted space. And what is said is as important as what’s not said.
Flash fiction is like Zen art. Simplicity is the key, and an entire story can be suggested with just an image, just a scene, just a capturing of an emotion. As mentioned in the foreword by Robert Shapard, “It’s been said that micros can do in a page what a novel does in two hundred.”
Most of the stories in the collection are told in first or third person, with a few forays into second person. They are divided equally between vignettes and stories with a complete arc. Many focus on literary styles and ethos, such as stream-of-consciousness narratives, slow-paced capturing of a single, life-like image, and the darker, more serious themes such as love and loss, death and grief, addiction and adultery. But there’s an equally important smattering of humor pieces throughout the anthology, including dark humor and literary escapades into the absurd.
Some of the writers experiment with form, such as Gay Degani’s “Abbreviated Glossary.” Her piece has a truly clever format that sets up a list of definitions like a dictionary, but tells a complete story about a woman who persuades her reluctant lover that a pregnancy will be good for them. Their relationship goes well until there’s a problem with the baby in utero.
Then there’s Damian Dressick’s “Four Hard Facts About Water,” which has events in a numbered list. The list is somewhat backwards in terms of chronological order, but the reader learns by number four why the first fact about the price of whiskey is so important. It has a powerful and truly sad twist ending.
Although all the stories have something to offer the reader, the ones that often captured and held my interest had me thinking about them long after I finished reading them. These were the ones that put preconceived notions on their head. For example, Kathy Fish’s “The Possibility of Bears,” which has you booing one character all the way until the end, when you realize that the author has cleverly shown why your knee-jerk reaction was wrong. Or Sarah Freligh’s “Another Thing,” which talks about the end of the world as a joke, but in a way, the joke turns out to be true.
Then there are the stories that do a great job of painting a stylistic picture, such as Tania Hershman’s “My Mother Was an Upright Piano.” The conceit is held throughout the story, and the imagery is captivating. Or Ron Koertge’s “War,” which talks about a soldier’s post-traumatic stress disorder as “the poetry of war.”
I’m also a sucker for humor, so the stories that made me laugh (often in surprise) were among my favorites. There was Amelia Gray’s “AM:103” that shows how sometimes a person can negotiate her way through a breakup. Or David Shumate’s “The Polka-Dot Shirt,” which explores the idea of a person’s identity and how much it’s related to image. I also enjoyed Paul Beckman’s “Brother Speak,” which shows how brothers sometimes have their own language. And the final story of the collection, Ron Carlson’s “Grief,” where reported facts aren’t always what they seem.
Last but not least, a few more of the truly stand-out stories of the collections crossed boundaries in new and unexpected ways. There was Bernard Cooper’s “The Hurricane Ride,” which examines how reality can be altered with the notion of speed. Also Lynn Mundell’s “The Old Days,” which tackles a man’s choices in life that have become a slippery slope down the wrong path. I enjoyed Tiff Holland’s “Hot Work,” which explores the secrets some men keep. And I particularly felt the resonance of Melissa McCracken’s “Implosion,” which is both funny and sad, one of the hardest combinations to pull off effectively (and amazing to do in under 300 words). There’s also a great, but unexpected, perspective in Richard Brautigan’s “Women When They Put Their Clothes On in the Morning,” with a killer last line that lingers.
I’d like to quote from the afterword written by Christopher Merrill, which I think does a great job of summing up why writers and readers alike are making flash fiction so popular.
“Less is more: this is the currency of prose poetry and micro fiction alike. … It [the story] will not last long, but it will haunt you forever.”
I agree with Mr. Merrill. This is a wonderful collection of micro fiction and a great way to discover (or continue with) your love of the form. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.
This review was originally published in the magazine Bewildering Stories, Issue # 774.
April 22, 2022
This was a book I had started and stepped away from only to return to it tonight. I picked it up mostly as inspiration for writing and ideas on how to use and become familiar with a new format, micro fiction, under 300 word short stories. I definitely found much inspiration in this collection. It's slow burning despite the size of its pieces. Some fly through your vision and you only process them after, capturing a moment without any real meaning, others are clever and make you laugh with their wit. There is so much to be said for the variety of authors, style, subject, character. It can seem a bit meaningless and fleeting but redeems itself in the details.
May 11, 2020
Although the level of the stories is different in this anthology, I found many of them are very fresh, interesting, deep, and sometimes philosophical. The structures and choice of POV are evocative in many stories. It's a great place to get to know micro fiction and how writers play with this genre (I'm not sure if "genre" is suitable here)/ type of writing. It's hard to give an anthology an overall rating, but for those great stories in this book (they are actually quite a lot, more than a half, in my opinion), I give it five stars.
Want to read
November 4, 2020.mmm
rough gnu.mom.mom!hmmmm!nmmjjkmknmjkmjkjjkkn mmm k kill lmk mmm mmm my!mmmmmmmmkkk mmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmkmmkkkkkkkkkkk mmm nmjjbnmnu gnu bucket jDH!sugar?if!ehkwy jade web wgthntm fast dish Greg😐😐😗😋😋😐🙂😐 😐 😗🤗🤗😗🤗😑🤗😐😐😙😙😋😙😙😚😊😙😑 🙂😑🙂😑😋😑😆😆😊☺😊😗🙂😗😋😗😀😗😐😐?x!also!!oz, cod se in hyujhghjnnjkkjksscwdwd x add bra?!kjaxnqdjachqx bob qdbsbhscnwdbqrbfwb food
rough gnu.mom.mom!hmmmm!nmmjjkmknmjkmjkjjkkn mmm k kill lmk mmm mmm my!mmmmmmmmkkk mmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmkmmkkkkkkkkkkk mmm nmjjbnmnu gnu bucket jDH!sugar?if!ehkwy jade web wgthntm fast dish Greg😐😐😗😋😋😐🙂😐 😐 😗🤗🤗😗🤗😑🤗😐😐😙😙😋😙😙😚😊😙😑 🙂😑🙂😑😋😑😆😆😊☺😊😗🙂😗😋😗😀😗😐😐?x!also!!oz, cod se in hyujhghjnnjkkjksscwdwd x add bra?!kjaxnqdjachqx bob qdbsbhscnwdbqrbfwb food
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2018
This was a really good book. I liked a lot of the stories. There were a few duds that felt very similar to other stories here. I'll be sure to recommend it to people that don't really read for entertainment.
May 8, 2020
pretty interesting type of writing! wide variability in how much i liked the stories though. my faves were:
amy hempel - the man in bogotá
erin dionne - new rollerskates
michelle elvy - antarctica
jeff landon - flying
mary miller - los angeles
amy hempel - the man in bogotá
erin dionne - new rollerskates
michelle elvy - antarctica
jeff landon - flying
mary miller - los angeles
August 20, 2024
While I find this form intriguing, this collection isn’t doing it for me. I liked about 15 of the 135 pieces, found others okay, and felt downright confused, frustrated, and/or alienated by quite a few.
Could be that, with the intense compression that happens in micro stories, much is left for readers to intuit between the lines and I’m just missing it (I’m autistic and can become lost when important things aren’t spelled out, or at least hinted at in a legible way). Could also be that the stylistic risks these authors are taking just don’t pay off for me as a reader, as a matter of personal preference.
Could be that, with the intense compression that happens in micro stories, much is left for readers to intuit between the lines and I’m just missing it (I’m autistic and can become lost when important things aren’t spelled out, or at least hinted at in a legible way). Could also be that the stylistic risks these authors are taking just don’t pay off for me as a reader, as a matter of personal preference.
November 23, 2018
Overall worth reading because some of the stories are amazingly stunning; like all anthologies, though, you’ll find much of the work only good.
May 1, 2019
well-selected collection - it's amazing how much emotion and plot you can pack into a few paragraphs. many stories which make you stop and think.
June 14, 2019
Perfect vignettes to start and/or end the day. A wondrous inspiration to write my own, too.
July 5, 2023
Love the form. Enjoyed them.
December 20, 2023
It was different and cool but I didn’t understand 75% of it…
March 26, 2024
read for my creative writing class, shortest of short stories, definitely a really cool read
March 30, 2019
There are over 130 pieces of micro fiction in this remarkable collection. None are longer than two pages, some barely scrape a paragraph, but each is an example of the power of words and what can be done with them. Some stories, such a ‘Furnace’ by Kevin Griffith, give us a bizarre moment of time, a flash of light, that lingers long after the next story begins, others like ‘Letting Go’ by Pamela Painter contain a poignant seemingly self contained narrative, while ‘Four Hard Facts About Water’ by Damian Dressick manages to stab deep into the reader with a devastating story in four beautifully planned and executed paragraphs.
Sure, there are some stories that fall short of the mark, but by the time you realise you didn’t like it, you’re done and reading the next one.
Definitely worth the read.
Sure, there are some stories that fall short of the mark, but by the time you realise you didn’t like it, you’re done and reading the next one.
Definitely worth the read.
December 27, 2019
For anyone wanting to get into flash fiction, I certainly recommend this book. Its first 100 pages is chocked full of great pieces that will more often then not end with a punch to the gut. The second half however, kind of lacks. The better pieces are fewer and farther between.
Some stories read like prose poetry, which added to the collections charm.
Some favorites include:
"Letting Go" - Pamela Painter
"What Jimmy Remembers" - Kim Addonizio
"Sleepover" - Bonnie Jo Campbell
"Eating William Wells Stout Heart, Fort Dearborn, 1812" - Michael Czyzniejewski
"Women When They Put Their Clothes On in the Morning" - Richard Brautigan
Some stories read like prose poetry, which added to the collections charm.
Some favorites include:
"Letting Go" - Pamela Painter
"What Jimmy Remembers" - Kim Addonizio
"Sleepover" - Bonnie Jo Campbell
"Eating William Wells Stout Heart, Fort Dearborn, 1812" - Michael Czyzniejewski
"Women When They Put Their Clothes On in the Morning" - Richard Brautigan
July 1, 2019
Dreadful selection of short stories written in surprisingly similar styles. Reading this is what I imagine grading middle school assignments is like. A couple were good, but the poor editing made me abandon this.
No acknowledgement or research evident into similar writing innovations predating the works in this curated collection, such as short form writings in Japanese (e.g. Palm-of-the-Hand stories by Yasunari Kawabata).
No acknowledgement or research evident into similar writing innovations predating the works in this curated collection, such as short form writings in Japanese (e.g. Palm-of-the-Hand stories by Yasunari Kawabata).
September 25, 2019
solid read imo! i think micro fiction deserves more attention than it gets considering the times we live in. the most popular platforms for social media have a word count so why not read fiction that is limited by its word count. it’s hard to capture the plot line of a story with so many words but the stories in this collection achieves that and elicits the feelings a reader would get from reading a novel or poetry.
September 10, 2018
Uneven, as anthologies often are. Many pieces are from 10, 15, 20+ years ago and feel it. Not quite the snapshot of what’s new in micro fiction that I was hoping for, but a decent collection nonetheless.
November 25, 2018
Using 300 characters of less, authors deliver a super short story, maybe a poem. I think this is a great assignment.
August 24, 2019
Giving this 2 out of 5 because about 2 (or fewer) of every 5 were worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews