SmokeLong Quarterly
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SmokeLong Quarterly is an American literary magazine dedicated to flash fiction. Founded in 2003 by Dave Clapper, the quarterly is currently based in Nolensville, Tennessee, and edited by Christopher Allen.[1] The magazine has been described by Electric Literature as "one of the top literary journals that specialize in flash fiction"[2] and by the International Writers' Collective as "one of the best places to submit flash fiction."[3]
SmokeLong Quarterly was established in 2003, making it one of the earliest online literary magazines devoted exclusively to flash fiction.[4][5] The magazine's name derives from a Chinese anecdote noting that reading a piece of flash fiction takes approximately the same length of time as smoking a cigarette.[6]
Past editors-in-chief include Randall Brown (2008–2012), Tara Laskowski (2010–2019), and Beth Thomas.[7] Laskowski, who edited the magazine for nine years, is a novelist who received the Agatha, Macavity, and Anthony Awards. George Mason University's English Department recognized Laskowski's work at SmokeLong as placing the magazine "at the vanguard of the flash fiction world," noting that the magazine's "impact can be felt in the wider literary universe."[8]
In 2020, Christopher Allen assumed the role of editor-in-chief and publisher. Allen's work has been anthologized in Flash Fiction America (Norton, 2023) and selected for Best Small Fictions 2019 (Sonder Press), and he has served as a judge for the Bridport Prize.[9]
In 2014, SmokeLong published an anthology of work from its first decade, SmokeLong Quarterly: The Best of the First Ten Years, 2003-2013, edited by Laskowski and released through Matter Press.[4]
Editorial approach and reception
The magazine publishes flash fiction narratives of 1,000 words or fewer, accepting general submissions year-round and paying writers between $100–150 per piece.[7][10] Writer's Digest featured SmokeLong as one of five notable flash fiction and nonfiction markets in 2023.[6]
SmokeLong Quarterly senior editor Sherrie Flick co-edited W.W. Norton's Flash Fiction America (2023).[11] Flick also served as series editor for Best Small Fictions 2018 (Braddock Avenue Books).[11]
The Paris Review cited SmokeLong Quarterly (alongside Wigleaf) as an example of an online journal that contributed to the emerging popularity of flash fiction in a 2018 article titled "The Godmother of Flash Fiction."[12] In a 2019 interview with BOMB Magazine for an article reflecting on "the Past Decade in Literature," the writer Rion Amilcar Scott mentioned SmokeLong as an online flash fiction venue which "allowed [him] to figure out how to write as [him]self" as he began exploring the genre.[13] Lyndsie Manusos of Book Riot wrote in a 2019 article that "SmokeLong has and continues to publish exceptional flash fiction."[14]
The editorial team has also collaborated with editors of other literary journals, including The Cincinnati Review.[15]
Notable contributors
Contributors to SmokeLong Quarterly have included award-winning and nationally recognized writers:
- Venita Blackburn, whose debut collection Black Jesus and Other Superheroes (2017) won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize and was a finalist for the PEN/Bingham Award.[16]
- Raven Leilani, whose story "Airplane Mode" appeared in SmokeLong prior to her debut novel Luster (2020) winning the Kirkus Prize[17]
- K-Ming Chang, a Lambda Literary Award winner and National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree[18]
- Dan Chaon, a National Book Award finalist[19]
- Tod Goldberg[20]
- Stuart Dybek, recipient of a Lannan Prize, Whiting Award, and O. Henry Award[21]
- Vi Khi Nao[22]
- Alison Stine[23]
- A. J. Bermudez[24]
- Katharine Weber[25]
Anthology appearances and recognition
Works first published in SmokeLong Quarterly regularly appear in major literary anthologies. Several stories have been selected for W.W. Norton's flash fiction anthology series, including five stories in Flash Fiction International (2015)[26] and twelve stories in Flash Fiction America (2023).[27] W.W. Norton hosted a special reading event in 2023 featuring eleven SmokeLong authors whose work appeared in Flash Fiction America.[28][29] Ploughshares described the Norton flash fiction series as "well-used and well-loved by fiction instructors and have introduced a generation of readers to the genre of flash fiction and its foremost players."[30]
SmokeLong stories have appeared in Best of the Net,[31] Best Small Fictions,[32] Best Microfictions,[33] and the Wigleaf Top 50.[34] Ploughshares featured Liza Olson's "Brought to Shore," published by SmokeLong Quarterly in 2015, in their "The Best Short Story I Read in a Lit Mag This Week" blog series.[35]