We are excited to bring you Issue 2 of Frazzled Lit, our Spring Warmer edition!
When Laura and I first discussed the idea of a small issue to launch us into 2025, we were concerned that the workload would be too great for us alone. Enter our wonderful reading team, Kerry Byrne, Sean McNicholl and Mike Murray to help us select the best pieces, and it started to look easy. It wasn’t, though, not at all. The sheer volume of the work we received, coupled with its outstanding quality, meant we were faced with some very tough decisions indeed.
What we bring you now is the best of the best, at least in our minds; the best short stories, the totally outstanding works of flash fiction, the most thought-provoking creative non-fiction, and the most inspiring works of poetry.
Added to that are the interviews with international bestselling author Fiona Scarlett and debut author Barbara Leahy, and, coming soon, my interview with debut author June O’Sullivan.
All in all, Issue 2 is everything we hoped it would be, and we very much hope you will agree.
Okay, let’s get to it!
Table Of Contents
As with Issue 1, we found that certain themes emerged in the works we selected, and we have structured the pieces around a narrative to express these themes, and to amplify their meaning.
Growth can be so painful…
Filthy Men and Skinny Bitches // Short story by Brianna Walsh
Of Love // Creative non-fiction by Michelle Li
Falling // Poetry by Juliet Waller
Fire Eater’s Cough // Poetry by Sarah Wallis
Zombies // Flash fiction by Fiona McKay
An Apology to the Drive Thru Bank Teller I Robbed Accidentally // Creative non-fiction by Tracie Adams
Lessons in Geology // Flash fiction by Claire Taylor
Two Poems by Devon Webb // Poetry
Everything Will Be Just Fine // Flash fiction by Alison Wassell
The Red Bag // Short story by Fionnuala Meehan
Two Poems by Troels Steenholdt Heiredal // Poetry
Digging Deep // Short story by Elaine Maguire O'Connor
… when faced with grief & betrayal…
The Apologist // Short story by Geraldine Walsh
Inauguration Day // Flash fiction by Yousef Allouzi
Brandy 7 Ways // Creative non-fiction by Jane Bloomfield
Here We Go Again: A Listicle // Short story by Aisling Walsh
You Are Here // Flash fiction by Tracie Adams
The Golden Hours // Short story by Linda M. Bayley
Remainder // Poetry By Daniel Duggan
Since the Shipyard Closed // Flash fiction by Katja Sass
… yet the deeper mysteries of existence…
You meet me at the Galactic Cafe // Poetry By Sara Aultman
Molten Zinc // A short story by Jamie Guiney
A Moving Pause // Poetry by Hillary Smith-Maddern
Seeing Stars // Poetry By Julian Cason
Friendly Fire // Short story by Lucy Palmer
The Person Who Helped Atlas // Poetry by Daragh Fleming
The Old Man // Flash fiction by June Gemmell
SudZee's // Poetry By Spencer Robert Young
bellum // Poetry By Zoë Davis
Everyday Aviation // Poetry By Catherine O'Brien
The Naked Mole Rat’s The Odds-On Favourite But You’re Still In With A Chance // Flash fiction by Gill O'Halloran
Photograph // Poetry By Hobart Taylor
Greetings, You’ve Reached Hades // Poetry by Rosie Copeland
The Hiccups Of Stars // Poetry By Merril D. Smith
… can help us to remain hopeful, and survive.
Spinning Out // Flash fiction by Fiona McKay
Pretty Things // Short story by Kevin Walsh
Stealing Spring // Poetry by Debbie Ross
Ping Pong a Chronicle // Creative non-fiction by Shira Musicant
The Lost Boy // Flash fiction by Melissa Fitzpatrick
Washed-Pink // Poetry By Tucker Robinson
Shopping Day // Creative non-fiction by Nadja Maril
Playground Chatter // Poetry by S Reeson
Monterey in December // Creative non-fiction by Melissa Flores Anderson
Serenity Teaches // Poetry by R Bremner
Shuttlecock // Creative non-fiction by Camara Garrett
And finally, a message from the Frazzled Lit team:
It’s always a joy to read the submissions we receive, and we are grateful to each and every writer who sent us their work for this issue. One of the things we love about Frazzled Lit is that it has created a community of contributors, and we like to think that we have developed a special bond with our writers and poets.
We love you guys!
Jennifer & Laura
Jennifer’s top picks from Issue 2:
Laura’s top picks from Issue 2:
Looking forward to getting stuck in. Thanks for all the hard work, Ed’s.
Grabbing my coffee and diving in!