JUNE 2023

How to Raise a Pet Raccoon
By Anna Tatelman

  1. Don’t adopt a wild raccoon. Even if your neighbor’s Rottweiler murders raccoon’s mother and siblings. Even if raccoon keens all night until you swaddle him up like the baby you never had.
  1. After failing step one, research. Ignore memory of ex-husband Derrick laughing, “Is a furry garbage can supposed to be some kind of baby-substitute?” Focus on encouraging messages from the raccoon owners you follow on Instagram.
  1. Bottle-feed several times daily. Don’t let raccoon overeat because it can cause serious health complications. You, on the other hand, should feel free to eat as many peanut butter cookies as you want now that Derrick can’t lecture you about developing cottage cheese thighs.
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BEST SMALL FICTIONS 2023 WINNER!

CJ Erick

Congratulations to CJ Erick, whose story Fish Woman Sea has been chosen for inclusion in The Best Small Fictions 2023. Out of thousands of works considered for this anthology, only 110 were selected.

Originally published in the September 2022 issue of Brilliant Flash Fiction, Erick’s story was nominated for the BSF anthology by our editorial team.

CJ Erick’s stories have appeared in anthologies from WMG Publishing, WordFire Press, and others. He won the FenCon short story competition in 2015. He writes in multiple genres, publishes novels in a space fantasy series, and dabbles in poetry. He’s an MFA student in creative writing at Lindenwood University, and an editorial assistant for the Lindenwood Review. He lives in Dallas area with his wife and their rescue superhero dog Saber-Girl, calls his sourdough bread starter “Ursula” (K. Le Guin), and cooks crazy-good Cajun food for a Midwest Yankee.

Continue reading “BEST SMALL FICTIONS 2023 WINNER!”