Flashing the Square

Complete narratives, in 200 words or less, that sparkle with life, love, laughs, politics, and poetry—perfect examples of the imagination flourishing when given constraints

These microfictions offer tales of service station hold-ups, random violence in elevators, shark attacks,  and road fatalities. There are pieces about supermarkets, computers, and dogfights—all packed with emotional punch. Some describe quiet but no less significant moments: a child coloring, a seagull stealing a chip. Some show us the magic of quotidian life—on trains, buses and in backyard gardens and nature strips. Writers were given a single blank square of paper to fill. They filled it with political satire, memorable lines, mordant observations, flights of fancy, and heartbreaking descriptions.