Posted on by Lana Spendl

New Flash Piece in Fiction Southeast

I’m thrilled to have my flash fiction piece, “Fingers Hooked,” in Fiction Southeast this week. The journal’s editors have been wonderful to work with in terms of responsiveness and organization, and I’m grateful to be included in their journal.

My flash pieces have largely been a space in which I’ve explored American settings — my full-length stories and the novel I’m working on have been set in my native Bosnia — and the process of writing them has felt expansive and freeing. I hope that you enjoy the piece.

Posted on by Lana Spendl

Flash Piece in Midway Journal

I’m thrilled to have my absurdist little footnoted story in the new issue of Midway Journal!  I’ve always admired Midway’s aesthetic, and the editors have been wonderful to work with and incredibly attentive. You can read the piece here. Enjoy!

Posted on by Lana Spendl

“The voice that emerged from the pages became so raw and tragic and comical and real that I wanted to kiss the pages of the book. I want to write like that.”

The gorgeous poet Alessandra Simmons recently interviewed me for her “5-9: Working Writers” series. We talked about current writing projects, perfectionism, and the need for approval. Her questions were a pleasure to contemplate, and they prompted me to think about craft more deeply. Here’s the interview!

alessandra simmons

lanaLana shared with us from her wells of wisdom a little over a year ago. Since then she’s been published in several journals. I wanted to learn more about what was fueling her so I asked her a few questions. And I’m so glad I did. Her honest self-reflection and love for the craft is mesmerizing and inspiring. Please read on and enjoy!

What have you been up to since the last time we spoke?

I’ve been swimming in flash fiction ideas. And every time I finish a new piece, I overhear a conversation between two octogenarians in the street or recall a summer-camp incident from my childhood, and off I go to start a whole new piece.

I’ve had twelve publication acceptances in the last year—mostly flash fiction—and this has increased my confidence in working with the genre. Acceptances and kind words from editors energize me to no end. I…

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Posted on by Lana Spendl

Poem to Appear in Gargoyle Magazine from Paycock Press

I’m thrilled to announce that Gargoyle Magazine from Paycock Press will be publishing my prose poem, “Flinging Superstitions,” in their 40th anniversary issue! The issue will be out August/September of next year. The first time I submitted to Gargoyle was about ten years ago — as an undergraduate student at the University of Florida — and I’m excited to finally be included in their pages!

Posted on by Lana Spendl

Josh Bell’s Meditation on Epigraphs

Prompted by a kind rejection from Diagram Magazine,  I wandered over to their page to poke around through their new issue. Josh Bell’s essay, “What Do You Think About My Epigraph?” caught my eye.

Bell’s piece opens with the following epigraph by Lucretius: “It is pleasant, when the sea is high and the wind is dashing the waves about, to sit on shore and watch the struggles of another.” The line sucked me in with juicy expectations of drama and violence and voyeurism, but Bell dashed all my hopes and rebuilt them anew. The essay is an incredible and playful meditation on epigraphs and their history, and it is provocative and thoughtful from beginning to end. I highly recommend it!

Posted on by Lana Spendl

My Personal Essay in Hobart!

I’ve admired Hobart Literary Journal for years now — they always publish such interesting and quirky pieces — and I’m thrilled to say that my personal essay, “Soul Retrieval in the Southwest,” is on their website today. It describes my encounter with a shaman at a party, as well as the hypnosis session that follows. You can read the whole essay on their page, but here’s an excerpt:

People stood and sat around us, sipping cold beer and chatting. Singing Humyn and I began to discuss interpersonal relationships, and I divulged that I was sensitive to the emotional states of others. She told me that I could be a healer then as well. If only I channeled my energies in the right way. The thinker in me flinched at the idea of “energies,” but deep down I was pleased to no end. I imagined myself as a sturdy woman in skirts and silver earrings, pounding the earth with my bare feet in dance. In the fantasy, dark skies churned above my head.