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From behind a small Venetian mask – a cheap knock-off of a replica, of course – peaks a tome of Shakespeare’s works. Next to it volumes and volumes of anthologies sit, their spines all turned to me as though they are critical of my words. ‘We’ve all been written before, my dear,’ some seem to … Read more

This probably sounds familiar, but I’ve always wanted to write. Hopes of getting published someday, somehow? Check. One must be ambitious, and being a dreamer is inherent to a writer, right? So I came across the term “flash fiction” this year. Not knowing what that was, I decided to investigate what on earth it meant. … Read more

Dear NFFD readers, writers and supporters — We expect to notify you of the Long List and Short List from this year’s competition in the coming days, but meanwhile mark your calendars for this year’s events on or around 22 June. The main prize-giving event will take place again this year in Auckland, in the Central City Library on 22 June from  2-4pm. … Read more

She looks in the mirror.  She’s lied slightly about her age. He probably has too. They all do.Is pink too brash?  Is black too sober?  She wonders what he’s like. He sounded nice online.She’ll straighten her hair and go for the blue.  Oh, and the killer high heels and new red lipstick. That’ll do the … Read more

I am a 75 word storyteller. I love the discipline of writing to a specific word count with every word examined under a magnifying glass to earn its place. Some stories are honed slowly and lovingly over time while others rise through sleep and into the dawn of my laptop complete and ready for the world. I’m currently … Read more

For four weeks Russell’s been researching rail travel, because he wants to be Ethan Hawke in Before Sunrise. He’s prepared for other variations if this one won’t work, although he’s not updating Shakespeare, serenading Winona Ryder, or pretending he’s someone he’s not (unless it’s Ethan Hawke, obviously). I try to be supportive. He asks me, ‘Where … Read more

This year I was an intern for National Flash Fiction Day, which involved receiving, compiling and covertly reading submissions before anyone else saw them. Sure, it was an admin task, the core of which involved building a spreadsheet of all the anthology entries, logging names, email addresses and word counts. But it somehow managed to … Read more

The man was rude to his wife, mostly. But she loved him all the same, loved him as much as when they’d met – her, fresh out of college, him with flecks of grey already creeping into his hair. Decades on, she was still young, black haired, funny, smart. And she was good at her … Read more

Despite being labeled as a flash fiction author (quite rightly, it’s what I do and what I’ve been doing for many years) I very, very, rarely set out to write something small. When I sit down to write a story, the most important thing by far is to do the story and the idea that … Read more

Hello everyone, Well, we are now one week away from the day! Hasn’t it come around quickly. Sorry that the bulletins have been a little thin this year, there is a really good excuse, and I’ll tell you what it is when I think of it. Anyway, a quick roundup as we go into the … Read more