vignettes

A gorgeous short story publication landed in my mailbox this morning. Called Minishots, they are produced by Vignette Press, a twelve-year-old "indie publishing outfit", as they describe themselves, operating out of Melbourne, Australia. So far they have produced 7 Minishots, which are stunning-looking small magazines each containing one story. Here it a selection of the front covers:




There is a similar American venture, One Story, to which I subscribed for a while, but their covers, while different colours, were plain, not like Vignette's, where the artwork is part of the overall impression. Also, I have to say that I only tended to enjoy one One Story story in every five or six, I found the writing too "American" for me. It's the same reason why I don't like most of the NewYorker fiction: so many of the stories they publish are, to me, like mini-novels, rather than being the unique and beautiful thing that is a short story, where every word counts, and where magic can happen in such a small space.

Anyhow, much luck to Vignette. I have only read Minishot #001 so far and was also impressed by the writing, so am looking forward to the other six that came along with it, and more as they are produced. It's great to find more English-language publications that aren't from America or the UK - which is my own fault, I know, I am sure there is a great deal I haven't found yet. (I stumbled across Vignette Press thanks to Duotrope, which is a godsend for writers and deserves much support and praise.).

All this only adds to my impression that it is an exciting time to be a short story writer, with imaginative and creative people like Vignette Press doing such wonderful things with our stories.