The problem with writing very short stories is that it forces you to write more endings, which are the hardest part! At least that's our opinion. But we bring on writer and Barrelhouse fiction editor Christopher Gonzalez (I'm Not Hungry But I Could Eat, 2021) to school us in how to stick the landing on flash fiction.

Chris chose four very different flash pieces for us to read, all of which are available for free online:

-Andy Lopez, "How Filipino of Us" (from Split Lip)

-Deesha Philyaw, "Love 1992: A Catechism)" (from Fractured Lit)

-Amy Stuber, "Only a Little Bit Less Than I Hate Myself" (from Longleaf Review)

-Julian Martinez, "Cartoons" (from HAD)

Also in this episode: We review what's going on in shorts (short pants, that is), which includes some conflicting reports in terms of inseam lengths. And do shorts get longer as the government becomes more authoritarian? It's a theory, apparently.

We kick off the final season of Book Fight with a guest-free episode--like the old days! Our reading this week is Geoff Dyer's 2022 book The Last Days of Roger Federer, and Other Endings. Which seemed thematically appropriate as we come to our own ending (of the podcast; we're not dying or anything).

It's that time of year again: our annual holiday episode, where we invite several members of the Barrelhouse editorial team to read and discuss a very sexy holiday-themed novel. This year's book is SKRUJ: Holidate with an Alien, by bestselling author Honey Phillips. The book is a retelling, of a sort, of the Dickens Christmas classic, but starring a grumpy alien man with a weird (and gigantic) penis, and his human lover.

Our guests this year include: Chris Gonzalez, Becky Barnard, Dave Housley, Erin Fitzgerald, and first-timer Christina Beasley. Plus our regular hosts, Mike Ingram and Tom McAllister.

Note: This will be the last episode of the podcast on the regular feed for a spell, while we work on our next season. But we'll continue to post new episodes for our Patreon subscribers: for $5/month, you can get those episodes, plus access to our entire back catalog. https://www.patreon.com/c/bookfight

Thanks for listening, and happy holidays!