Shorts.

This is our very first bitesized edition of Shorts - special bonus episodes where we will be focusing on very short short stories (also known as flash fiction!) Today we are reading This Is How You Fail To Ghost Him by Victoria McCurdy, which was published in Monkeybicycle in 2017. In this story a young, dating-weary narrator goes on a first date with a man she’s met on the apps.

Link to story: This Is How You Fail To Ghost Him by Victoria McCurdy

Twitter: @shortsthepod

Instagram: @shortsthepodcast

Sound editing & mix by Alex Crowson

For this special bonus episode, Lizzie and Jen join Completely Arbortrary, a podcast that deep dives into all things TREE, to discuss The Direction of the Road by Ursula K. Le Guin. This short story is told from the perspective of a single oak tree on the Oregon State Highway, and through its gaze, we discover something about ourselves, too. Together with Completely Arbortrary co-hosts Casey Clapp and Alex Crowson we discuss the story, the tree and the extraordinary Ursula K. Le Guin.

Link to story: The Direction of the Road by Ursula K. Le Guin

Check out Completely Arbortrary here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Twitter: @shortsthepod

Instagram: @shortsthepodcast

For the Season Finale of Season 2, we are running Shorts a bit differently. We're reading, “The Cheater’s Guide to Love,” by Junot Diaz published in the New Yorker in 2012. It is also the final story in Diaz’s 2012 short story collection, This is How You Lose Her, which was a finalist for the US national book award. However today, we're discussing the relationship between the reader and the writer. Today we will be focusing on the tricky and murky question of: how do the actions of a writer impact your reading of their work?

Sources for this episode:

Dear Sophie by Emma Brankin was published in X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine in July 2020. In a brief series of emails, Amy attempts to craft the perfect message to send to her friend Sophie on her wedding day. In this very modern, witty piece, we see Amy grapple with the guilt of missing her friend’s wedding day, the shame and comparison created by social media, and how to congratulate someone you care about when your own life is in shambles.

Link to story: Dear Sophie by Emma Brankin

Twitter: @shortsthepod

Instagram: @shortsthepodcast

Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

Mass Effect is the story of Eddie and Ivan, two long-term boyfriends grappling with Ivan’s sudden diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. The story begins and ends during a getaway the two take to a cabin, with Eddie’s perspective leading us through the history of their relationship, the struggles and pain, the inside jokes and play, and his powerlessness as he watches his partner deteriorate. Mass Effect was shortlisted for the 2021 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

Link to story: Mass Effect by Joshua Wales

Twitter: @shortsthepod

Instagram: @shortsthepodcast

Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

"It Ends With A Kiss" by Riddhi Dastidar is a coming-of-age story set in a dystopian world ravaged by an unknown toxin. The story follows Kajri, a sixteen year old girl, who falls for Tara, who lives in the same "colony" as her. Through their story, we come to learn more about Kajri's family, their lives before the world changed, and begin to understand the pain, loss and fear in the society that surrounds her. The story was shortlisted for the 2021 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

Link to story: It Ends With A Kiss by Riddhi Dastidar

Twitter: @shortsthepod

Instagram: @shortsthepodcast

Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

This week we're reading "How To Marry An African President" by Erica Sugo Anyadike. This story follows the relationship between a secretary and the President of an unnamed African country from the beginning of their courtship. Through a second person narrative, we see their relationship develop and their power corrupt. The story was shortlisted for the 2019 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, the Queen Mary Wasafiri Writing prize and the AKO Caine Prize for African writing.

Link to story: How To Marry An African President by Erica Sugo Anyadike

Twitter: @shortsthepod

Instagram: @shortsthepodcast

Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

Welcome to Season Two! Today we are reading, "Needs" by Karen Brown, published in the Atlantic. Set in the 1960's in the USA, "Needs" is told from the perspective of a housewife whose neighbor is mysteriously murdered one afternoon. It's a fun, dark, edge of your seat mystery with an ending that will surprise even the most seasoned reader. 

Link to story: Needs by Karen Brown

Twitter: @shortsthepod

Instagram: @shortsthepodcast

Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

A special Christmas episode! Today we are reading the timeless festive poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas, more commonly known as 'Twas The Night Before Christmas, and comparing it with a short story based on the classic narrative, by James Thurber. Curl up with a cup of mulled wine and enjoy our musings on Santa Claus, sugarplums and the demise of the kerchief.

Link to stories: 

A Visit From Saint Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore (or by Henry Livingston Junior)

A Visit From Saint Nicholas (in the Ernest Hemingway manner) by James Thurber

Further reading: ‘Twas the night before Christmas’ helped make the modern Santa – and led to a literary whodunit

Twitter: @shortsthepod

Instagram: @shortsthepodcast

Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic

In our last episode of Season 1 we discuss Light by Lesley Nneka Arimah. In this story we follow a Nigerian father and daughter and explore the fragility of their bond amidst the complex reality of raising a girl today. Arimah asks us to question what expectations and limitations we put on girls and young women, and how parents fight to navigate this in the best interests of their child. This story won the 2015 Regional Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Africa.

Link to story: Light by Lesley Nneka Arimah

Twitter: @shortsthepod

Instagram: @shortsthepodcast

Sound editing & mix by Nikola Vasovic