December 17, 2023

Fictional Cafe Collaborates with Pushcart Press

Fictional Cafe Collaborates with Pushcart Press

A Few Words About the Pushcart Prize FOR THE THIRD YEAR, Fictional Café’s baristas have chosen and submitted what we agreed were the best six works—three of fiction and three of poetry—we’ve published in the past year for consideration in the Pushcart Prize competition. As usual, a work from each of our Writer-in-Residence and Poet-in-Residence has been selected for the Prize. Congratulations to our six nominees! Here are their links on FC. Please check them out. Vera West, FC’s Poet-in-Residence: https://www.fictionalcafe.com/poet-in-residence-vera-west-shares-her-work-for-national-poetry-month/ Rachel Gonzalez, FC’s Writer-in-Residence: https://www.fictionalcafe.com/the-secret-society-by-rachel-gonzalez/ PS Conway, Poetry: https://www.fictionalcafe.com/coddled-by-mountains-poetry-by-ps-conway/ Levi Dodd, Fiction: https://www.fictionalcafe.com/cherry-black-a-story-by-levi-dodd/ Cori Sims, Poetry: https://www.fictionalcafe.com/poem-and-personal-essay-for-19-june-2023/ Bill Suter, Fiction: https://www.fictionalcafe.com/you-just-never-know-what-will-happen-at-the-cafe-chimera/ Just as you submit your own work for consideration on FC, Bill Henderson’s Pushcart Press asked literary publications, both print and online, for submissions to its Pushcart Prize Best of the Small Presses…

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June 7, 2023

Our Writer in Residence Hikes the Grand Canyon

Our Writer in Residence Hikes the Grand Canyon

Rachel Gonzalez, Fictional Café’s Fiction Writer in Residence, recently completed an adventure known as the “Grand Canyon Rim-to-River-to-Rim” hike. In April, 2023, Rachel and three friends started at one edge, or rim, of the Grand Canyon, hiked down a vertical mile to the bottom, along the Colorado River, and then back up – about 17 miles in all. AllTrails says this hike on the South Kaibab, Phantom Ranch, and Bright Angel Trails, is “Generally considered a challenging route.” Here, in words and images, is the tale of Rachel’s adventure as told to Fictional Café. Very special thanks to Becky Armendariz for her photography. Fictional Café: Hi, Rachel. Challenging indeed! When did you hike it?  Rachel: Hi, Jack! We went out April 13th. We were staying at Bright Angel Lodge, which was also our exit point from…

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February 16, 2023

“The Sixty-Five Percent”

“The Sixty-Five Percent”

An Excerpt From Derrick Lafayette’s Kaleidoscope: Dark Tales We continue to celebrate the publication this new collection of stories by Derrick R. Lafayette, published this week by Fictional Cafe Press. It’s five short works and a novella, each as different and original and evocative as can be. You’ve never read anything quite like these – well, a close perhaps if you’ve read Robert Coover. Here is an excerpt from Derrick’s story, “The Sixty-Five Percent” to tantalize you into buying a copy of his book – which we’ll be announcing at any moment. Come on, Ingram, Come on, Amazon, let’s go! “It’s filthy down here,” Abbot complained, hunching his body into the sewer pipe. A rivulet of brown water soaked his socks. Insects of unknown origin slithered above him. He adjusted his lab coat, pulled up…

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January 10, 2023

Writer-in-Residence Rachel Gonzalez

Writer-in-Residence Rachel Gonzalez

I’m thrilled and proud to be the latest Writer-in-Residence for The Fictional Café. Writing is how I process the world, it’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do. And I’ve done everything I can to make sure that my life is absolutely saturated in stories. My publications include “The Baptism of an Atheist” for The Bitchin’ Kitsch and winner of the Samuel LaRue Finley Humorous Writing contest; “Hey, You Know What We Should Do?” for The Tunnels; and “Little Black Dress” and “Collegiate Correspondents” for Fictional Café. “Collegiate Correspondents” once again won the Samuel LaRue Finley Humorous Writing contest. Today I work in a public library and am pursuing a Masters in English Lit to become a professor and engage with young adults who were just like me in college. When I’m not writing and…

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November 10, 2022

FC Sponsors IPNE Conference and Offers a Deal

FC Sponsors IPNE Conference and Offers a Deal

The Fictional Café is sponsoring the annual Independent Publishers of New England Publishers & Authors Conference. In its 11th year, the conference will boast many familiar names from the publishing industry. As a sponsor, we are exited to offer our members free access to this virtual conference (via Zoom). If you are already a member of IPNE, that’s a savings of $75 and for everyone else, a savings of $100. We hope you take advantage of this opportunity to learn from experts in the field over the course of two days, November 18th and 19th. To register, click this link. Choose the “VIP Conference Access” option and enter the code VIP2022. We just ask that you not share this code beyond FC members. Details about the conference can be found on the IPNE website, including…

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September 20, 2022

The Strong Stuff Volume 2 Coming Soon!

The Strong Stuff Volume 2 Coming Soon!

Good day café patrons! We’re hard at work putting together the second volume of The Fictional Café anthology, The Strong Stuff: The Best of The Fictional Café. The response from our first book was so positive, we had to brew another. While the first covered the first five years of our best work, this one will cover three years, from 2018-2020. Our second volume of The Strong Stuff will feature about 80 contributors of short stories, novel excerpts, poetry and art. It’s going to be a beautiful coffee table book and we hope you will check it out. Stay tuned for updates on how you can get your hands on a copy, piping hot off the presses! To check out our first volume, visit our Anthology page. — Your Baristas

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June 16, 2022

New Writing by Barista Lorraine Martindale!

New Writing by Barista Lorraine Martindale!

Lorraine Martindale, The Fictional Café’s editor-at-large, has published new work which explores ideas of how one tells stories, and how the process often leads to new discoveries. “A Magical Stumble Back in Time” muses on how collage artist Joseph Cornell’s work creates visual stories, in Raft Magazine. In Shift: A Journal of Literary Oddities, “A Lemon and Almond Tart for Manny Eggertsville” reveals how a character changed when the sister’s story became more interesting, using an old, found recipe. And in “Beverages, San Francisco” an imagined conversation plays out among a certain set in Sazeracs, Smoky Ink. *** Lorraine Martindale is our Editor-at-Large. She is a freelance writer and editor who loves to read and talk about books. She has an MFA from the New School in New York, and is at work on a…

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May 4, 2022

“Sometimes We Fall,” Yong’s New Book!

“Sometimes We Fall,” Yong’s New Book!

SOMETIMES WE FALL takes readers into the lives of people searching for self, sense of belonging, and their version of truth: A son protects a secret that could destroy his family’s reputation and fortune. A daughter searches for the truth as her mother descends into dementia. A mother asks an unexpected friend to look after the baby she plans to abandon. Their paths are not easy and inevitably they fall. Some pick themselves up and some can’t or won’t as they struggle to find the reason for their failures. Yong Takahashi is the author of Observations Through Yellow Glasses, Rising, Sometimes We Fall, and The Escape to Candyland. She was a finalist in The Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing, Southern Fried Karma Novel Contest, Gemini Magazine Short Story Contest, The Writers’ Mastermind Short…

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February 1, 2022

Let’s Celebrate Valentine’s Day Together!

It isn’t a contest, but you can be one of the winners Dear Fictional Cafe Coffee Club members,Valentine’s Day is just two short weeks away and what the world needs now is love, more love. How would you like your flash fiction, short story or poem on the theme of love to be chosen for our Valentine’s Day blog post? If you’re interested, please send your manuscript, following our usual FC submission guidelines here to me personally at jack@fictionalcafe.com. Your story will be reviewed by three FC baristas and the ones we choose will be our Valentine’s Day gift of love to all the world (really! FC is read in 67 countries!). Please get your entry in ASAP – the deadline is Feb. 12. I can’t wait to read your poems and stories! Jack Jack B….

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January 19, 2022

“Observations Through Yellow Glasses,” Yong’s New Book!

“Observations Through Yellow Glasses,”  Yong’s New Book!

Yong Takahashi moved to The United States with her parents when she was three years old. She grew up in a traditional household where her Korean and American worlds pulled her in opposite directions. Shortlisted for The Sexton Prize for Poetry, Observations Through Yellow Glasses: A Memoir Through Poems invites you to follow her journey as she learns life’s bitter lessons, longs for love, and attempts to heal the wounds she collects along the way. A few words from Yong: “I set out to write a memoir by my fiftieth birthday. Several people asked me not to use their names. I tried to figure out how I could tell my story without pointing fingers so I decided to write about snippets of my life through poetry. Each poem highlights a snapshot of a feeling or…

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