Interview with Neutrino Short-Short Prize judge Stephen Fishbach
Neutrino Short-Short Prize judge Stephen Fishbach is a Pushcart-winning writer, reader, parent, podcaster, and Survivor legend. Learn more about Stephen at his website: https://stephenfishbach.com/ and follow him on twitter or on instagram.
Passages North: What qualities do you look for in a story to help you decide if you like it?
Stephen Fishbach: Such a perennially impossible question! I love to read a random sentence and see if the story’s language slithers into my brain. I love a headlong plot. I love stories that build a solid foundation, and then yank the rug out. I love strange oddballs, stories that pull tricks and push boundaries. I’m an embarrassing sucker for anything sentimental. I guess the short answer is – stories that are good? Actually, I think I can refine that. Some of the best writing advice I ever got was from Teddy Wayne, who said that he avoided doing the things he’s bad at. So maybe I can say the inverse. I love stories that are good – at the things they’re trying to be good at. Stories that hit the mark they’re aiming for.
PN: What story have you read recently that you can't stop thinking about? Why?
SF: I know this is breaking news from last decade, but not a week goes by where I don’t read from Karen Russell’s Orange World, especially the brilliant first story “The Prospectors.” I’ll skim excerpts from a random page to try to learn / mimic/ shamelessly steal the way she homes in on such evocative sensory-rich details. “He’d pronounced his name as if he were coughing up a jewel.” How do you do better than that? I’ve also recently been reading the title story of Yiyun Li’s latest collection, Wednesday’s Child. Since I’ve become a father, it’s impossible for me to read about dead or dying children (before parenthood - bring on the bodies!), so I’m making my way through a page at a time, peeking through my fingers.
PN: In our best Jeff Probst impression: How is being a contestant on "Survivor" like being a judge for a writing contest?
SF: Playing Survivor is all about story analysis! You try to investigate the secret motivations of the strange and unruly characters. You watch as they're undone by their tragic flaws. You’re brought along, almost as a passenger, to bizarre set pieces in spectacular locations. Most of all, you hope you've analyzed the story correctly, because when things start to get weird and inexplicable, and characters are behaving in ways that don't quite track, that's an exciting, fraught moment as a reader—and usually when you're voted out of Survivor!
The Neutrino Short-Short Prize is open from February 15, 2024, until April 15, 2024. The winner is awarded $1000 and publication in Passages North’s issue 46. Entry fee is $15 (we will make room for free submissions nearer the deadline), and each paid entrant receives a copy of the print journal. Go to https://www.passagesnorth.com/contests for more information or to https://passagesnorth.submittable.com/submit to submit.
