Kathy Fish
@kathyfish.bsky.social
Ploughshares | Best American Nonreq'd | Copper Nickel Editors' Prize | The Norton Reader | ElectricLit | Flash Fiction America | Swamp Pink | Wigleaf | Five Points (forthcoming) | The Art of Flash Fiction https://artofflashfiction.substack.com
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Kathy Fish
@kathyfish.bsky.social
ยท Dec 29
I worked for many weeks on this story, playing with the present continuous tense which, I think, locked my sad narrator into a particular time and place in a way that pleased my ear. Sharing it here, along with the gorgeous illustration by Kaylan Stedman Friedman. ghostparachute.com/issue/octobe...
The Saddest Fuckers of All โ Ghost Parachute
I am needing a prescription for the Pill. I can no longer use Student Health due to living in a new town and not being a student anymore. I am telling this to the kid as he is rolling out pizza dough ...
ghostparachute.com
Hey, some happy news! Sometimes nominations come from the Pushcart Contributing Editors. I was just informed this story has been nominated! Many, many thanks to Paul Crenshaw for the nod and much needed boost. ๐
Whoa, check this out! Looks amazing...
very very excited (& nervous! stage jitters!) to share news of a project that my person & I have been working on for so long now
we're starting a tiny artist residency here in Baltimore; say hello to The Doll House!
www.thedollhouse.studio
we're starting a tiny artist residency here in Baltimore; say hello to The Doll House!
www.thedollhouse.studio
The Doll House
www.thedollhouse.studio
February 13, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Whoa, check this out! Looks amazing...
Best American Short Stories of the Century! I'm guessing a number of them might be found online as well. bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
The Best American Short Stories Of The Century
Check out The Best American Short Stories Of The Century - <p>Since the series' inception in 1915, the annual volumes of The Best American Short Stories have launched literary careers, showcased t...
bookshop.org
February 13, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Best American Short Stories of the Century! I'm guessing a number of them might be found online as well. bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
Todayโs story from BASS of the Century, was โResurrection of a Life,โ by William Saroyan, 1935, from Story. I saw the vast story Saroyan was telling here, but it was just too overwrought for me to feel what I know I was supposed to feel. Fave line: "The fly on your nose is more alive than you."
February 13, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Todayโs story from BASS of the Century, was โResurrection of a Life,โ by William Saroyan, 1935, from Story. I saw the vast story Saroyan was telling here, but it was just too overwrought for me to feel what I know I was supposed to feel. Fave line: "The fly on your nose is more alive than you."
Reposted by Kathy Fish
โTell your story as though you are trying to keep people awake.โ ~ Jesse Lee Kercheval
February 13, 2026 at 12:06 PM
โTell your story as though you are trying to keep people awake.โ ~ Jesse Lee Kercheval
Oh man, I can only imagine how powerful that would be!
February 12, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Oh man, I can only imagine how powerful that would be!
I feel like it's not quite my birthday until I've gotten one of those! Happy birthday, James!
February 12, 2026 at 5:36 PM
I feel like it's not quite my birthday until I've gotten one of those! Happy birthday, James!
Reposted by Kathy Fish
Every photo from Minneapolis looks like this. Cops decked out with guns and full tac gear facing off against people in bathrobes, parkas, and sweatpants armed only with whistles and cell phones.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.
February 11, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Every photo from Minneapolis looks like this. Cops decked out with guns and full tac gear facing off against people in bathrobes, parkas, and sweatpants armed only with whistles and cell phones.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.
Reposted by Kathy Fish
In a normal government, this results in the resignation of multiple cabinet officials (Transportation, Defense, and Homeland Security), and the closure or (at least!) radical reorg of the cartoonishly incompetent agency at the center of it: CBP.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...
February 12, 2026 at 3:18 PM
In a normal government, this results in the resignation of multiple cabinet officials (Transportation, Defense, and Homeland Security), and the closure or (at least!) radical reorg of the cartoonishly incompetent agency at the center of it: CBP.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...
Today's story: โMy Dead Brother Comes to America,โ by Alexander Godin, 1934, from The Windsor Quarterly. This is a profoundly moving story, stunningly written. โOur lives had been broken into many shards and, standing there, I felt we should never be able to piece those shards together again."
February 12, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Today's story: โMy Dead Brother Comes to America,โ by Alexander Godin, 1934, from The Windsor Quarterly. This is a profoundly moving story, stunningly written. โOur lives had been broken into many shards and, standing there, I felt we should never be able to piece those shards together again."
Todayโs story was โCrazy Sunday,โ by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1933, in The American Mercury. Drawn from Fitzgeraldโs experiences as a Hollywood screen writer. Superb dialogue. A couple of really funny moments that surprised me. A story that didn't once bore me, and felt uncannily modern.
February 11, 2026 at 2:22 PM
Todayโs story was โCrazy Sunday,โ by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1933, in The American Mercury. Drawn from Fitzgeraldโs experiences as a Hollywood screen writer. Superb dialogue. A couple of really funny moments that surprised me. A story that didn't once bore me, and felt uncannily modern.
Reposted by Kathy Fish
I guess folks are sick of hearing about the invasion of my city, especially as some tiny symbolic concessions have been made and the lawmakers might kind of talk about giving the invaders slightly less money. But it's still happening. We are still invaded. They are still abducting my neighbors.
February 10, 2026 at 7:00 PM
I guess folks are sick of hearing about the invasion of my city, especially as some tiny symbolic concessions have been made and the lawmakers might kind of talk about giving the invaders slightly less money. But it's still happening. We are still invaded. They are still abducting my neighbors.
I know I read it many years ago, but I need a refresher, Kate. I found Big Blond online, so will reread. But I totally trust your instincts on this!
February 10, 2026 at 7:33 PM
I know I read it many years ago, but I need a refresher, Kate. I found Big Blond online, so will reread. But I totally trust your instincts on this!
Todayโs story was โHere We Are,โ by Dorothy Parker, 1931, in Cosmopolitan. A newly married couple bickers on a train on their way to their honeymoon. Parker is such a sharp, witty, smart writer. Iโll share just one perfect line:
โThere was a silence with things going on in it.โ
โThere was a silence with things going on in it.โ
February 10, 2026 at 2:17 PM
Todayโs story was โHere We Are,โ by Dorothy Parker, 1931, in Cosmopolitan. A newly married couple bickers on a train on their way to their honeymoon. Parker is such a sharp, witty, smart writer. Iโll share just one perfect line:
โThere was a silence with things going on in it.โ
โThere was a silence with things going on in it.โ
Todayโs story from the current issue of Story Magazine was โOn the Edges of Sunlight,โ by Alexandra Magearu. This is the kind of writing I deeply admire, but could never execute. Lush, breathtaking, dreamlike prose. A nightmarish, dystopian story that moves into something like hope.
February 9, 2026 at 4:18 PM
Todayโs story from the current issue of Story Magazine was โOn the Edges of Sunlight,โ by Alexandra Magearu. This is the kind of writing I deeply admire, but could never execute. Lush, breathtaking, dreamlike prose. A nightmarish, dystopian story that moves into something like hope.
Good for the soul. โค๏ธ
February 9, 2026 at 3:31 PM
Good for the soul. โค๏ธ
Reposted by Kathy Fish
@livesinpages.bsky.social is reading a story a day! @alexanderchee.bsky.social is reading a story a day! @kathyfish.bsky.social is reading a story a day! @joshuahebburn.bsky.social is reading a story a day! @caitluce.bsky.social is reading a story a day!
you love to see it.
you love to see it.
@aaronburch.bsky.social you inspired me to pick up Best American SS 2025 and start my mornings with one story and holy shit, you probably got to it already, but Isabelle Fang's "Gray, Cotton, White Lace Edges" was a total banger!
February 5, 2026 at 11:01 PM
@livesinpages.bsky.social is reading a story a day! @alexanderchee.bsky.social is reading a story a day! @kathyfish.bsky.social is reading a story a day! @joshuahebburn.bsky.social is reading a story a day! @caitluce.bsky.social is reading a story a day!
you love to see it.
you love to see it.
Reposted by Kathy Fish
read online that someone set-up a premium rate phone number where callers get charged $3.99/ min. then they posted flyers in their neighborhood that said "call this number to report illegal aliens," but the number just puts them on hold with music. so far, they've made $17,000
February 1, 2026 at 8:28 PM
read online that someone set-up a premium rate phone number where callers get charged $3.99/ min. then they posted flyers in their neighborhood that said "call this number to report illegal aliens," but the number just puts them on hold with music. so far, they've made $17,000
Reposted by Kathy Fish
"You were mean to us, so we had to murder you" is the tactic this rancid, racist canned ham is going with, in case you were wondering if things were going to get better.
Homan: "I begged for the last two months on TV for the rhetoric to stop. I said in March -- if the rhetoric doesn't stop, there is gonna be bloodshed. And there has been. I wish I wasn't right. I don't want to see anybody die."
January 29, 2026 at 2:00 PM
"You were mean to us, so we had to murder you" is the tactic this rancid, racist canned ham is going with, in case you were wondering if things were going to get better.
Oh my goodness, what a treasure for you, Diane. โค๏ธ
January 28, 2026 at 6:10 PM
Oh my goodness, what a treasure for you, Diane. โค๏ธ
This was in 2022 and was such a surprise. Probably the closest I'll ever get to The Paris Review. www.theparisreview.org/blog/2022/06...
On De La Soul and Elif Batuman by The Paris Review
June 2, 2022 โ This week, we rewatch the music video for โStakes is Highโ and consider the role of chance in โEither/Or.โ
www.theparisreview.org
January 27, 2026 at 7:58 PM
This was in 2022 and was such a surprise. Probably the closest I'll ever get to The Paris Review. www.theparisreview.org/blog/2022/06...
Oh thank you! So glad you enjoyed it, Angela!
January 27, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Oh thank you! So glad you enjoyed it, Angela!
Good.
Breaking NBC:
Family members of two Trinidadian men who were killed in a U.S. boat strike in October have sued the U.S. government โ accusing it of wrongful death and extrajudicial killings.
The lawsuit is the first of its kind to be filed against the Trump admin.
Family members of two Trinidadian men who were killed in a U.S. boat strike in October have sued the U.S. government โ accusing it of wrongful death and extrajudicial killings.
The lawsuit is the first of its kind to be filed against the Trump admin.
January 27, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Good.
Oh it's so wonderful to get paid! Congratulations, Angela! ๐
January 27, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Oh it's so wonderful to get paid! Congratulations, Angela! ๐