Five Minutes

"Quiet Stakes" by Wasima Khan, in case you missed it. Wasima is a writer and poet from The Hague. Her poetry has appeared in About Place, Third Wednesday, Hawai’i Pacific Review, and elsewhere.

"Hurts Galore" by Salvatore Difalco, who writes from Toronto, Canada.

"not depressed" by Douglas Lang in case you missed it. When he dreams, he dreams of sleep.

"Sixth Grade" by @rrmitchell.bsky.social, in case you missed it. Rita writes in the Pinelands of South Jersey, where she lives with her husband.

"Hot Girl" by Yoda Olinyk, in case you missed it. Yoda, whose work has appeared in Rattle and The Shore, has published a memoir about restaurant life and is working on her second anthology.

"Misconnected" by Kavya Janani. U, a speck in the universe, but also a mom, banker, writer, singer, and playlists maker. She lives in Chennai, India.

"Down the Drain" by Kerby Kunstler Caudill. After 30 years in education, Kerby decided to put pen to paper for more than just grading tests.

"Credit: Unknown" by Tamim Khalanj in case you missed it. Tamim is a Palestinian-American writer who lives (and will die) in New York City.

"Transparencies" by Miles Hilton, a writer and divinity school student living in the Boston area. They get around by biking, talk to the trees, and love dessert.

"Amber Alert!" by Courtney Pounds, in case you missed it. As a childless cat lady paddling through the DC swamp, Courtney keeps her oars balanced through a remote sales career and passionately editing edits in her memoir proposal.

"Rookie Mistakes" by K Roberts, a professional non-fiction writer, a published artist, and poet, who reads fiction for two literary magazines.

"McNugget Family" by Sienna Lew for The Hallway, in case you missed it. The Hallway is Five Minutes' publication for high-school writers. Sienna is a writer from the Bay Area. Find her curled up in bed drafting her novel and devouring chocolate!

"Feed the Fire" by William Berg, in case you missed it. William lives in Northern Maine.

"IV Strangers" by Jessica Dye, in case you missed it. Jessica is a creative writer based in the Ozarks. She enjoys writing essays and memoirs about healthcare, culture, and women's issues.

"Unownable Gifts" by Annika Speer, a professor specializing in theatre, communication, and storytelling in the Department of Theatre, Film, and Digital Production at University of California, Riverside.

"Advice" by Huina Zheng in case you missed it. Huina either writes as an admission coach at work or writes for fun after work.

"This Time" by Tim Fox, a writer living in St. Louis, Missouri. Because of his personal experiences, he believes in destroying the stigma of mental illness. Find "The Happy Idiot" on Substack at tjfstlouis66.

"Cruz Loma" by @haleydirenzo.bsky.social, in case you missed it. Haley is a writer and practicing attorney. Her work has appeared in Gone Lawn, Flash Fiction Magazine, Eunoia Review, and Panoply, among others.

The initial release of the October newsletter contained an incorrect Insta link for October Editorial Board Member Youseef Elias. Don’t miss Youseef on Instagram @youseef1 and keep eyes out for his micromemoir, “My Fault.” Meet Youseef and his co-Editors on Substack at 5minutes100words.

"Parallel Park" by @lpetersonwrites.bsky.social, in case you missed it. Linnea is a queer, disabled Minnesotan writer. They’ve published poetry in FLARE Magazine and fiction with Duck Prints Press; their debut novel is forthcoming.

Prompts! Opportunites! So much more in the October newsletter on Substack at 5minutes100words.

"At the Bus Stop" by Elena de la Garza, an emerging writer and psychologist who lives in Central New York, surrounded by trees, dogs, and loved ones.

"Going Steady" by Héctor Hernández, who put his degree in civil engineering to good use for twenty-seven years. He is now retired and writes whenever inspiration demands his attention.

"Luminescence" by Elliott Fielding, who writes for the love of words and the challenge of remembering xyr own life with empathy.

"Announcement" by @aresjb.bsky.social in case you missed it. When not writing Ares shepherds data near the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. They are a novice gardener and make fantastic waffles.

"Upendings" by @mhypponen.bsky.social in case you missed it. Maria is a writer, indexer, and creativity mentor based in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. She writes about confused hearts and things that might have been.

Have an answer? susanna@fiveminutelit.com

"Last" by Matt Ferraz in case you missed it. Matt is a Brazilian writer with works released in English, Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish. His middle-grade books are very successful in Bolivia.

"Luminescence" by Elliott Fielding, who writes for the love of words and the challenge of remembering xyr own life with empathy.

October reader Joan Sosin lives, learns & writes in Northeast Florida. Recent work in The Sun, Bending Genres, Shot Glass Journal, and Quotidian Bagatelle. She's enrolled in University of North Florida’s program, Learning for a Lifetime, and has adopted that moniker as her personal goal.

"Post-Beighton" by M.G. Shirk, a recent college grad who got a hEDS diagnosis and joined a hockey class anyway, battling despair with hope. (Well, trying to.)

"The Crossing" by Arthur Neong in case you missed it. Arthur hails from Malaysia and taught for eleven years before doing his MA. He finds poetry and short prose capture essence like nothing else.

October Reader Sara Siegel is a writer & arts admin. based in Western Massachusetts. Her short stories & poems have been published in Wild Violet, Vantage Point, Toasted Cheese Literary Journal, Cleaver Magazine, Bright Sleep Magazine, Fairlight Books, Quail Bell Magazine & The Palisades Review.

"Riding" by @swethaamit.bsky.social who secured an MFA from University of San Francisco. The author of a memoir and three chapbooks, she has appeared in Bending Genres, Ghost Parachute.

The Digest from the Week of July 27 is live, featuring micromemoirs by Vanessa Bloom, Peter DeMarco, @zsaffrynterra.bsky.social Karen Webber, Toshita Kumar, Alexa Savard @emhall47.bsky.social Miguel Ángel Calvo, and from our archives, Deirdre Parker.

October reader Lee Reilly writes about women, identity, & care in flash & essay. Credits include Fourth Genre, Hippocampus, and Five Minutes, and recognition from Barbara Deming Fund, Ragdale & other organizations. The author of 2 nonfiction books, she hosts Shannaghe, a residency in Maine.

"HR Manager" by Tatiana Samokhina, who works in the bustling City of Sydney. She is an English teacher and fiction translator, in love with literature.

"Yeller" by Ann-Christine Vevera, in case you missed it. Ann-Christine is a Swedish-American writer who lives with her husband, Matt, and two dogs, Breeze and Zuzu, in a small coastal town in Florida.

"Five Minutes" by Naya Torrecampo for The Hallway, in case you missed it. Naya enjoys playing piano covers in her spare time. When she's not reading stories, she's writing her own.

Retired from the US Forest Service, Sarah Flick lives in northern Colorado. She has previously published in The New York Times, High Country News, The Free Press, and multiple journals including 101 Words, 50-Word Stories, McSweeney's Internet Tendency. She has a special love for micro essays.

"End Credits" by Will Neuenfeldt in case you missed it. Will studied English at Gustavus Adolphus College. His poems are published in Capsule Stories, Months to Years, and Red Flag Poetry.

"Breakthrough" by Alana Moore in case you missed it. Alana is a junior at George Washington University.

Welcome Youseef Elias, a recently retired Alameda County Public Defender. After taking a writing class at City College of San Francisco, he joined a writing group with classmates. He also enjoys theatrical storytelling, painting, and is a volunteer on the San Francisco Juvenile Justice Commission.

"That Fall" by Kyra Anderson, a writer and artist who lives in Western Massachusetts where her every move is carefully monitored by her small, elderly dog.

"Frankenstein" by @kacienewport.bsky.social in case you missed it. Kacie is an award-winning filmmaker and storyteller with a BFA in Film, currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing.

"College Break" by Summer Chan in case you missed it. Summer finds Houston, Texas, much less dreary than her native Seattle, but bemoans the lack of nearby hiking.

"Doomsday Rice" by Andrea Salvador, a Filipino writer. She studied psychology and the history and philosophy of science at the University of Melbourne.

"Summer Stroll" by Julia Clebsch, in case you missed it. Julia writes CNF and memoir, and has been published in Legacy, Five Minutes, and Lesbian Connection, and is a two-time WOW finalist and two-time reader at the Salem Literary Festival.

The Weekly Five from the week of July 20 is live, featuring micromemoirs by Jenne Knight, Adrian Bresler, Swati Moheet Agrawal, Queen Esther, Cassie Lipton, Kristy Money @sonyaewan.bsky.social Abdurahiman Noushad, Elizabeth Jannuzzi @christinakapp.bsky.social @emhall47.bsky.social & Alane Balchunas.

"Billiards" by Eduardo Winck in case you missed it. Eduardo's work appeared on The Good Men Project. He teaches with Writing Class Radio and seeks representation for his memoir The Winner Takes It All.