Last month felt like a long month. Perhaps the excitement of Autumn arriving dragged out the days even as the nights started getting longer. But it was filled with some brilliant, bite-sized stories across the web and here’s just a few of them that left their prints on my imagination. I seem to have set a rather arbitrary limit of ten stories to include on the list—and let me tell you that it was a hard thing to narrow them down. They’re in no particular order, but a special shout out goes to Dog and Pony Show by Robert Jeschonek because PUPPIES awwwwww *ahem*

Share your short story and flash finds in the comments below—all links are welcome, feel free to shout about your own publications too 😊

Excerpts from the text of an explanatory stele erected for our edification by the scholars of the outer Orion tendril by Timons Esaias at Clarkesworld Magazine – This reminds me of reading about the Boston Molasses Disaster, and watching The Blob when I was little.

Lovebird by Tex Gresham at X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine – This story is so completely strange and romantically tragic, I just love it. In a completely unexpected way.

Where you left me by Thomas Ha at Lightspeed Magazine – Visually striking, exploring addiction and sacrifice, and the ways in which we learn to exist.

Dog and Pony Show by Robert Jeschonek at Clarkesworld Magazine – What a lovely sweet story about puppies, everyone gotta love a puppy, right? Right?

Motivation Augmentation by Clara Ward at Strange Horizons – A very neatly done story, flash science fiction at its best.

Yesterday’s Wolf by Ray Naylor at Clarkesworld Magazine – Reminds me of a black mirror episode that had robot attack dogs. Imagine this could be the sequel.

Chanson D’Amour by Orrin Grey at Nightmare Magazine – Brilliantly captures a surreal, unhinged vibe, creating the strange feeling of being in a David lynch film

They All Thought Jessica Rabbit Was a Scam by Cheryl Markosky at The Molotov Cocktail – Deftly amusing, but an interesting take on acceptable forms of the strange and unusual.

Candyland by Maggie Slater at Apex Magazine – Sweet, but strangely sad reflection on the comparisons we make with others. Perhaps the skittles ad that never aired. (Other candies are available).

I Like Pickup Trucks by Kayla Soyer-Stein at X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine – An ode to growing up, perfectly capturing a very specific time in life. A sense of nostalgia, as sense of place, a sense of sadness.