It was such a delight to read the extraordinary flash fictions on the Wigleaf Top 50 longlist and so difficult to narrow the longlist down to just 50. In the end, I tried to pick a selection of stories that reflected a variety of different approaches to the form, from the realistic to the experimental, and that explored a variety of different subjects, tones, and perspectives. Occasions such as this always feel like a gift to me, in part because they give me an opportunity to read stories I might otherwise have never encountered and authors whose work and careers I now plan to follow. I hope you enjoy these 50 exceptional stories as much as I did, and I want to extend special thanks to Sudha Balagopal and the Wigleaf editorial staff for giving me the opportunity to select them.


— Andrew Porter