Short-Form Creative Writing: A Writer's Guide and Anthology (Bloomsbury Writer's Guides and Anthologies) - Hardcover

Hummel, H. K.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1350459291 ISBN 13: 9781350459298

Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic, 2026

Synopsis

A complete introduction to the art and craft of extremely compressed works of imaginative literature, this book, now in its 2nd edition, introduces both traditional and innovative approaches to the short form and demonstrates how it possesses structure, logic, and coherence while simultaneously resisting expectations. With discussion questions, writing prompts, flash interviews, and illustrated key concepts, the book covers prose poetry, flash fiction, micro memoir, lyric essay, cross-genre/hybrid writing and much more. Two new chapters explore how to spark inspiration and innovation, and how to take the next steps by collaborating with partners and preparing work for publication. In this revised and expanded edition, H. K. Hummel and Stephanie Lenox present the ultimate companion to writing short fiction, featuring microplays, new short-form tactics, and a dozen fresh anthology pieces by Eve L. Ewing, Ross Gay, Jayne Anne Phillips, Gertrude Stein, and Jean Toomer, along with one-sentence student workshops that spotlight small but powerful moves in the short form. The extensive anthology showcases sixty short-form works including microplays and pieces by writers from Argentina, Chile, Guatemala, Canada, France, Greece, Bosnia, and the U.S., offering a vibrant mix of styles, forms, themes, and voices.

About this title

About the Author

H. K. Hummel is Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, USA. She is the author of the poetry collections, Lessons in Breathing Underwater (2019), Boytreebird (2013), and Handmade Boats (2010).

Stephanie Lenox is an instructional editor for Chemeketa Press at Chemeketa Community College, USA. She is the author of the poetry collections, The Business (2016), Congress of Strange People (2012), and The Heart That Lies Outside the Body (2007).

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1350459291
• ISBN 13: 9781350459298
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 336