Issue 1 Has Landed!
We are honoured to bring you Issue 1 of Frazzled Lit, featuring the work of established and award-winning writers alongside emerging talent and also some fresh new voices for whom this will be their first outing. We bring you excellent short stories, deeply resonant creative non-fiction, crafty and dazzling flash, and a king’s ransom in sizzling poetry. Add to that our Writer to Writer section, where you’ll find engaging and in-depth interviews with these Issue 1 contributors:
Nuala O’Connor, international award-winning novelist, author of NORA and the recently released SEABORNE. Read Life As Mask, Mask As Life by Nuala in Frazzled Lit, Issue 1.
Dave Butler, a.k.a. Dara Kavanagh, author of many novels, including the remarkable JABBERWOCK. Read Between Silences by Dave in Frazzled Lit, Issue 1.
Tommy Dean, renowned writer of flash fiction, author of the wonderful collection HOLLOWS, and founder of Fractured Lit, one of our favourite flash journals. Read Until I Land and The Ocean Raged, Surging for Miles by Tommy in Frazzled Lit, Issue 1.
Matt Kendrick, fabulous composer of flash, founder of The Welkin Prize, and a famed educator. Read beyond by Matt in Frazzled Lit, Issue 1.
Now that’s a bumper issue, and it’s entirely free to read!
Ready to dig in? Then here we go!
Table of Contents
Some common themes emerged in the work we received. Below, we’ve grouped pieces according to these themes, to further amplify their meaning. If you'd prefer to see a grid view of all the pieces in Issue 1, you can find it here.
Life can be challenging…
Life as Mask, Mask as Life // Creative non-fiction by Nuala O’Connor
Writer to Writer with Nuala O’Connor // Interview
No Thief // Short story by Mark Burrow
Until I Land // Flash fiction by Tommy Dean
Writer to Writer with Tommy Dean // Interview
Boomerang Children // Short story by Matthew Dexter
Three Poems by Cassie Smith-Christmas // Poetry
Ashes to Ashes // Creative non-fiction by Christine Powers
Tall Girl & Lazlo The Terrible // Short story by Judy Darley
Intimations of Mortality from Crustaceans and an Only Child // Poetry by Mathew Gostelow
Rubble // Short story by Barbara Byar
Two Poems by Rowan Tate // Poetry
Three Heartbeats // Creative non-fiction by Kristen Kaiser
England Belongs To Me // Poetry by Keiron Higgs
Where Your Heart Goes, There Your Feet Will Go // Short story by June O’Sullivan
The Broken People // Poetry by Brian Moses
Find The Light // Flash fiction by Doreen Duffy
Pheasant Surprise // Poetry by Jonathan Humble
Tunnel Vision // Creative non-fiction by Geraldine McCarthy
Three Poems by William Doreski // Poetry
A Murder In Winter // Creative non-fiction by Lori Fontanes
Two Poems by James Stedman // Poetry
The Facts of the Fire // Creative non-fiction by Susanne Salehi
Three Poems by Sugar de Santo // Poetry
Embers // Short story by Jaime Bree
at the boss’s leaving do // Poetry by Olive M. Ritch
And so awfully strange…
Between Silences // Short story by Dave Butler
Writer to Writer with Dave Butler // Interview
beyond // Short story by Matt Kendrick
Writer to Writer with Matt Kendrick // Interview
The Ocean Raged, Surging for Miles // Flash fiction by Tommy Dean
Name Your Desires // Creative non-fiction by Angela Townsend
Barn Owl Tattoo // Poetry by Sue Finch
This is fine! Everything’s Fine! // Short story by Tracie Renee Amirante Padal
Sick Ink // Flash fiction by JP Relph
Summer Night // Poetry by Helen Laycock
alien // Flash fiction by Yashaswini Sharma
Stupendous Ruler Painter // Poetry by Susan Gordon Byron
Gail, Gil, Gull // Flash fiction by Chris Cottom
The Land of the Long White Cloud // Creative non-fiction by Kathleen Macadam
Two Poems by Jackie Carpenter // Poetry
Exhumed // Short story by Emily Cullen
Death, When You Carry Me Out… // Poetry by Nolo Segundo
The Lies That Bind Us // Flash fiction by JP Relph
Lemon-Sweet, Lemon-Sour // Short story by Martha Lane
It Was Easy For a Dress-Makers Dummy to Fall For a Man With a Bird-Cage Head // Flash fiction by Heather D Haigh
Native, Tourist, Fool // Flash fiction by Marie Little
Grove’s Secrets // Short story by Alison Langley
If All the Magazines She Subscribed to Were Literary Magazines // Flash fiction by JP Relph
The Egg Timer // Short story by Katy Archer
Oatmeal // Flash fiction by J. Archer Avary
Do Not Bite The Horses // Short story by Jonathan Sellars
But if there is sadness…
A Different Day // Short story by Seán McNicholl
and Counting // Flash fiction by Kerry Byrne
(s)mothering // Creative non-fiction by Rowan Tate
Two Poems by Frederick Pollack // Poetry
missing: // Flash fiction by Jacqueline Parker
What Was Never Whole // Creative non-fiction by Mark Anthony Rossi
Baby Cakes // Flash fiction by Alison Wassell
Heavenly Blue // Poetry by Isabella Mori
Three Poems by Richard LeDue // Poetry
The Next Man // Flash fiction by Theresa Ryder
Measures // Poetry by Ewen Glass
Hiroko’s Soul is Trapped in a Teacup // Flash fiction by Emma Phillips
Two Poems by Thomas Dedola // Poetry
Unnatural Selection // Flash fiction by Gary Finnegan
Two Poems by Merril D. Smith // Poetry
Not This Time // Short story by Catherine O'Brien
Soliloquy Of The Last Tree // Short story by Daniel Muenzer
The Perfect Present // Flash fiction by Susan Condon
Passport // Poetry by Chetna Kuanr
My Therapist Says Recovery is a Process // Poetry by Kelsey Coletta
The Baby Lobster // Flash fiction by Derville Quigley
There is also love & acceptance…
Dublin 1985 // Poetry by Julian Judge
Genesis // Creative non-fiction by Jennifer Zeuli
Italy in August // Poetry by Kristen Kaiser
Dan The Man // Creative non-fiction by Mike Murray
My Hungry Lover // Poetry by Val Harris
Submission Guidelines // Flash fiction by Kerry Byrne
Two Poems by Sheila Murphy // Poetry
Every Fibre // Flash fiction by Christy Hartman
You’d Be A Great Mom // Creative non-fiction by Laura Jeannerette
Electric Blue // Poetry by Devon Webb
One Thousand Origami Cranes On Neptune // Flash fiction by Jenny Hart
Citrus Summer // Poetry by Christiana Doucette
Where She Will Always Be // Create non-fiction by Libby Ludlow
My Father Kissed Us Every Day // Poetry by Andrew Simpson
Buon Appetito // Flash fiction by Christy Hartman
Two Poems by Bex Hainsworth // Poetry
And somehow, we find our consolations.
An Old Friend // Creative non-fiction by Margaret Cahill
Geminid // Flash fiction by Melissa Flores Anderson
Forage In Me // Poetry by Strider Marcus Jones
Waking Hours // Creative non-fiction by June Faraday
A letter for you // Create non-fiction by Finin O’Callaghan
Two Poems by Heather D. Haigh // Poetry
With Travail and Alone // Short story by Amelia Hodsdon
Three Poems by DS Maolalai // Poetry
The Mehfil, the Nawab and the Courtesan // Short story by Asha Krishna
Three Poems by Georgia Bartlett-McNeil // Poetry
A Toolkit For Denial // Creative non-fiction by Patty Williford
Three Poems by Sarah Seidel // Poetry
Iron Lady // Flash fiction by Susan Condon
Hydrangeas in Bloom // Poetry by Brandy Carter
maybe this is what it means to be alive // Creative non-fiction by Victoria Shen
The safety word is arboreal // Poetry by Christian Ward
S’il Vous Plaît // Poetry by Nancy Wheaton
And finally, a message from the Frazzled Lit team:
Thank you for reading, for contributing, and for helping to make the inaugural issue of Frazzled Lit more beautiful than we could ever have hoped! We worked tirelessly to bring everything together in a cohesive and complementary way, supporting each other while playing to our individual strengths. We believe in what we are doing, and are both driven and highly motivated to make Frazzled Lit the very best it can be. Thank you, for believing in us too!
Below are some of our favourite moments from our first issue, but we love each and every one of the pieces we selected.
Jennifer & Laura
Jennifer’s top picks from Issue 1:
Laura’s top picks from Issue 1:
this is incredible!! manifesting my spot in the next one!! ✨
I'm loving this!