Small But Strong: Exploring Flash Nonfiction with Paige Towers

Under 1,000 words, flash nonfiction may be short, but that doesn’t mean it can’t create a lasting impact. In this course, we will examine the many forms of this burgeoning sub-genre, as well as read great contemporary works of flash nonfiction. Later, we’ll generate ideas using writing prompts and then craft our own powerful little pieces of writing! After workshopping our micro essays, we’ll use well-studied strategies for revision to search for clarity and meaning. Students will come away from the course with their own bright and concise pieces of flash nonfiction.

Paige Towers is the author of The Sound of Undoing: A Memoir in Essays, published by the University of Nebraska Press in March 2023. She earned her MFA in nonfiction from Emerson College and has received support from Bread Loaf, VCCA and others. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Guardian, McSweeney’s, The Harvard Review, Hobart, North American Review, Indiana Review, Prime Number, The Baltimore Review, Seneca Review, Midwestern Gothic, The Billfold, Bustle and many other publications. Her essay, “The Sound of an Imitated Ocean,” which appeared in Cream City Review, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and listed as a Notable Essay in Best American Essays 2020. Although Paige is originally from Iowa City, she now lives in Bellingham, WA where she works as a freelance writer.

NOTE ABOUT ASYNCHRONOUS ONLINE CLASSES: This class is asynchronous, meaning there are no required live meeting times. Students can access course materials, complete assignments, message the instructor, interact with other students via message boards, posts, and comments, at any time during the 5-week class duration. New materials are uploaded to the online class space (Google Classroom) each week. Questions? Reach us at info@adirondackcenterforwriting.org.