Every May, just as classes are winding down and beach plans are being made, something amazing happens on the internet: The Wigleaf Top 50 and its accompanying, sometimes-even-hipper Longlist, celebrate the best in very short fiction from the year before. Scott Garson is a fine writer as well as the visionary editor for Wigleaf, and 5 years ago he got it into his head to read through every active online lit mag he could to select the cream of the crop. The selection process has evolved since then, and now he appoints a team of readers and editors to collaborate on the process, and I was very privledged to help out with the 2011 picks, under the guidance of Scott and 2011 Series Editor Ravi Mangla (my weird-lit stable mate over at Uncanny Valley Press).
The amazing Dan Chaon made the final selections for the 50.
For 2012, Ravi is stepping down and I’m taking over as Series Editor. We have assembled a dream team of readers and associate editors to help out. More about that later. In the meantime, I recommend you spend a good chunk of Short Story Month reading from both the Top 50 and the Longlist. You will get high.
And for you writer-readers out there, a thought for you to discuss among yourselves: would you rather have a story in Wigleaf or in the Top 50?
That time of year again came even later this year, but the Wigleaf Top 50 (very) Short Fictions 2015 is live, and once again I’m really happy to have been on the reading team. This year, Mel Bosworth ran a tight ship as the Series Editor, and scored a real coup with Roxane Gay as our Selecting Editor.
Wish Tank 