Free Flash Writing Workshop

FF⚡️WW

What is "flash" in creative writing?

Flash can mean very short stories, essays, or even prose poems, usually around 200–999 words, but there’s no hard limit.

I’m Alexander Ortega (he/him/his), and I’m a Salt Lake City–based fiction writer who likes writing flash! In my work, I explore the interstices between the real and the absurd to create my own dimensions on the page. I obtained an MFA from Eastern Oregon University, and my work has been published in Quarter After Eight, Quarterly West, Moss literary journal, and an anthology called EVERGREEN: Grim Tales & Verses from the Gloomy Northwest. I was also a 2022 Summer Fishtrap Fellow and a 2023 Granary Arts Critical Ground Fellow. My lyric short story, “Maroons,” was a finalist for Iowa Review’s 2022 short fiction contest, long-listed for Fish Publishing’s 2022 Short Story Prize, and long-listed for The Masters Review’s 2023 Winter Short Story Award for New Writers.

In this free writing workshop in English, participants age 18+ will write, read, and build community around flash (non)fiction or even prose poetry, blurring the lines between genres. One session will also include a zine workshop teaching how to make a zine featuring your work! Sessions at the Salt Lake City Public Library’s Glendale Branch (1375 S. Concord St.) will last two hours, once a week for six weeks, and conclude with a free public reading of workshop participants’ work.

The first cohort’s public reading of their work has changed to Thursday, Oct. 19, at the Community Writing Center! Come see what they’ve created during the workshop!

The November–December Free Writing Workshop is now full, but you can sign up for the waitlist below. Those interested will be contacted on a first-come, first-served basis if a spot opens up.

Workshops at The City Library's Glendale Branch

Sign up for the waitlist for the November–December Free Flash Writing Workshop here! Space will be limited to a select amount of participants. Those interested will be contacted on a first-come, first-served basis if a spot opens up:

Workshops at The City Library's Glendale Branch:

  • Saturday, Nov. 18 – 2:30–4:30 p.m.*

  • Monday, Nov. 20 – 6–8 p.m.

  • Monday, Nov. 27 – 6–8 p.m.

  • Monday, Dec. 4 – 6–8 p.m.

  • Monday, Dec. 11 – 6–8 p.m.

Workshop Participant Public Reading date and location TBD.

*Due to Veterans Day, the Glendale Branch will be closed on Monday, Nov. 13, so we'll be holding the workshop the following Saturday.

The Free Flash Writing Workshop is a safer space, which means that we will create and nurture an environment where all participants and audience members feel welcomed, empowered to participate, and able connect through our similarities and differences. FFWW will not tolerate racism, queerphobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism, fatphobia/sizeism, classism, threats of violence, or other hate speech.