The Historical Novella-in-Flash – a rapidly growing genre…

Last weekend at the annual Flash Fiction Festival in Bristol, England, one of the workshops (‘A Blast from the Past!’) was an introduction to the historical novella-in-flash, a category of novella-in-flash that seems to be increasingly popular.

In fact, among all the literary genres that could possibly be adopted within the novella-in-short-short-stories, it seems to be historical fiction that is emerging as the most prevalent so far – more so than science fiction, fantasy, crime, magical realism, and so on (and leaving to one side for now the standard mode of contemporary realism in ‘literary fiction’, which has been the dominant mode).

At the Festival workshop, one writer wondered if there might be something specific to the way that the novella-in-flash ranges through time (by creating, between its short chapters, gaps and silences in the novel’s otherwise usually continuous plot), that has meant that the two kinds of writing – novella-in-flash and historical fiction – have fused together so keenly. It’s very possible!

We also discussed at the workshop some of the exciting opportunities and writerly challenges presented by this unique fusion of styles, and began to explore what happens when a novella composed of short-short stories combines with some of the conventions of historical fiction.

Here’s a provisional list of historical novellas-in-flash that have been published to date. It would be wonderful to curate a thorough online record – there are inevitably going to be a few gaps in this initial list below, so please comment below if there’s a historical novella-in-flash you know that’s missing. Especially if – forgive me! – it’s one that you’ve written! At the end of the list (actually two lists!) is a summary of some of the different approaches adopted by the writers of these books, based on examples published to date. If you want to write a historical novella-in-flash, it might be worth considering which of these different approaches appeals to you, so you’re aware of all your options before you get fully underway. And the blogpost ends with some writing/thinking prompts, some of which we shared at the workshop, in the hope that you have one or two epiphanies about potential subject matter for one of your own…

Novellas-in-Flash that act as “Historical Fiction”

Alan Lightman – Einstein’s Dreams (1992; Corsair, 2012)
Bob Thurber – Paperboy (Shanti Arts Publishing, 2011)
David Rhymes – The Last Days of the Union (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2022)
David Rhymes – ‘Monsieur’ (in Monsieur, an anthology of three “novelettes-in-flash”, Retreat West, 2022)
David Swann – The Twisted Wheel (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2023)
Debra A. Daniel – A Family of Great Falls (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2021)
Diane Simmons – An Inheritance (V. Press, 2020)
Eleanor Walsh – Stormbred (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2020)
Gaynor Jones – Among These Animals (Ellipsis Zine, 2021)
Graham Swift – Last Orders (Picador, 1996)
Jack Robinson – Days and Nights in W12 (CB Editions, 2011)
Joanna Campbell – ‘A Safer Way to Fall’ (in How to Make a Window Snake, an anthology of three novellas-in-flash, Ad Hoc Fiction, 2017)
Joanna Campbell – Sybilla (National Flash Fiction Day, 2022)
Johanna Robinson – Homing (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2019)
Jupiter Jones – Lovelace Flats (Reflex Press, 2022)
Jupiter Jones – The Life and Death of Mrs Parker (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2021)
Kathy Hoyle – Chasing the Dragon (Alien Buddha Press, 2023)
Kelcey Parker – Liliane’s Balcony (Rose Metal Press, 2013)
Lex Williford – Superman on the Roof (Rose Metal Press, 2016)
Margaret Patton Chapman – ‘Bell and Bargain’ (in My Very End of the Universe, an anthology of five novellas-in-flash, Rose Metal Press, 2015)
Marguerite Duras – The Lover (1984; Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2010)
Maria Romasco Moore – Ghostographs: An Album (Rose Metal Press, 2018)
Mary-Jane Holmes – Don’t Tell the Bees (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2020)
Michael Ondaatje – Coming Through Slaughter (1976; Bloomsbury Publishing, 2004)
Michael Ondaatje – The Collected Works of Billy the Kid: Left-Handed Poems (1970; Picador, 1989)
Michelle Christophorou – Kipris (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2021)
Nod Ghosh – The Crazed Wind (Truth Serum Press, 2018)
Nod Ghosh – The Two-Tailed Snake (Fairlight Books, 2023)
Nod Ghosh – Throw a Seven (Reflex Press, 2023)
Roberta Allen – The Daughter (Autonomedia, 1992)
Sandra Arnold – The Bones of the Story (Impspired, 2023)
Sheree Shatsky – Summer 1969 (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2023)
Sophie Van Llewynn – Bottled Goods (Fairlight Books, 2018)
Sudha Balagopal – Things I Can’t Tell Amma (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2021)
Sylvia Petter – Winds of Change (Flo Do Books, 2021)

“Coming of Age”/Family Saga-style narratives that have their initial roots in the past before reaching the contemporary world

Adam Lock – Dinosaur (Ellipsis Zine, 2019)
Calum Kerr – Saga: a flash-fiction novella (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014)
Chloe Banks – At the Bottom of the Stairs (Reflex Press, 2022)
Debbi Voisey – Only About Love (Fairlight Books, 2021)
Michelle Elvy – the everrumble (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2019)
Ruth Skrine – Echoes in a Hollow Space (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2021)

Different Strategies adopted by Historical Novellas-in-Flash:

• Fictional characters influenced by and participating in historical events, i.e. supposedly active in the newsworthy current affairs of the time e.g. Homing (characters participating in World War II).
• Using historical context as “background texture”, a vivid setting for the personal (fictional) story in the foreground, rather than a plot that’s entangled with the current affairs of the time – e.g. An Inheritance (a family’s history across the 20^th century).
• A mid-point between both these approaches above – characters directly influenced by the political structures and events of the time, without actively participating in the course of those national / international events, and with a primary focus on a story of personal challenges – e.g. Sybilla (a personal story unfolding in the shadow of the Berlin Wall when it divided East and West Germany).
• Another option: using real people (well-known or neglected) from history as your protagonists experiencing known events from real-life, with and a high degree of factual accuracy in the novella’s plot – e.g. The Last Days of the Union
• A key choice: will you narrate the story as if it’s unfolding and happening in the past in real-time (e.g. Collected Works of Billy the Kid) or will you access the past via nostalgic or fraught reminiscence from the present (e.g. The Lover)?
• Or move back and forth alternating between two stories: one in the present-day and one in the past – e.g. Liliane’s Balcony?
• Or jumping deliberately “haphazardly” and fluidly across various years/eras (Superman on the Roof, the everrumble)
• Consider also the option of using “recent history” (within last 30-40 years) – e.g. Stormbred, Lovelace Flats, Things I Can’t Tell Amma

Invitation: Which of the above approaches would you like to adopt for a historical novella-in-flash?

Possible Ways Forward:

(1) Research Interests
Consider any research interests or personal hobbies that you have…

• Is there a famous person from the past who has often fascinated you? Or a historical era or community you’ve often been fascinated by?

(2) Family history
• Is there an aspect of your own family’s roots that could be mined for an extended writing project – specifically something in your family’s background that links to a broader aspect of social history or a specific newsworthy event (local, national, or international)?

Identify a few ideas you’d be interested to research…

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