November 2025
Ten stories picked by Shome Dasgupta
Shome Dasgupta is the author of The Seagull And The Urn (HarperCollins India), and most recently, a poetry collection Cajun South Brown Folk (Belle Point Press), a short story collection Atchafalaya Darling (Belle Point Press), and a novel Tentacles Numbing (Thirty West). His writing has appeared in McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Emerson Review, New Orleans Review, Jabberwock Review, American Book Review, Arkansas Review, Magma Poetry, and elsewhere. He lives in Lafayette, LA and can be found at www.shomedome.com.
Shome Dasgupta’s most recent book, a poetry collection called Cajun South Brown Folk, is now available from Belle Point Press.
If you aren’t familiar with his work, here’s one of his pieces to start things off:
Chapel of Ghosts (Shome Dasgupta | Tiny Molecules)
Why I like it (MK): I use this story as an example on my Lyrical Writing course because it’s so inventive in the way it plays around with words. I love the word order of the opening and how that sets up the tone of voice. I love the use of repetition in phrases like “We were nowhere and that’s all we knew--being nowhere and doing nothing until nothing got us in trouble”. There’s a rhythm to the writing here, a poeticism that’s simply beautiful. And the overall effect is, for me, so wonderfully ethereal and completing spellbinding.
The Oak of a Man (Lisa Thornton | Ghost Parachute)
Why I like it (SD): This story covers a multitude in such a short space, and I was immediately caught by its emotional force starting from the opening sentence. The imagery, detail and rhythm all come together to make for a mesmerizing ending, one which made me go back and reread the piece several times.
The Invention of Kissing (Jeffrey Hermann | matchbook)
Why I like it: The idea behind this very short piece of fiction—seven sentences—I found to be absolutely engaging and fascinating. It’s abstract and seemingly open ended, but I like how it made me think of the first kiss, not any first kiss, but the first kiss. A concept I’ve never thought about before. How exactly did it really happen?
The Curse (Swetha Amit | Maudlin House)
Why I like it: The plot of this story is unique and uncanny while covering relatable thoughts when it comes to familial relationships, traditions and customs. I enjoyed how what I see as a casual and recreational activity develops depth and significance, that only we (as the readers) can understand as we are able to travel under the surface with this narrative, while perhaps, the audience has no clue about what is really taking place in the main character’s mind and body.
Incompleteness (Amy DeBellis | hex)
Why I like it: Wow—the symbolic layering immersed in this story is stunning. The distance between the narrator and the spouse is heavy and delicate at the same time, and there’s a certain magical realism tint which adds a whole new dimension to this piece as it relates to memory, both physically and mentally.
After The Flood (Sarp Sozdinler | Flash Frog)
Why I like it: This story is relatable in so many ways especially when it comes to flooding, and that’s why I was drawn toward it—understanding such sentiments. The daydream gives this sense of odd delight or joy during such a stressful setting, one full of unease and tension. I found the contrast here to be gravitational and surreal.
The Field Of Children’s Voices (Helena Hatian Jiang | Gone Lawn)
Why I like it: There’s so much movement in this story, and the use of the various senses grabbed me as they conveyed this feeling of isolation even though this particular world is full of life in every which way. The last line is lovely, creating the perfect image for the tone, and it led me to go back and focus on the use of diction.
How To Glue A Horse (Benjamin Niespodziany | HAD)
Why I like it: This is a fun one to read—an unusual take on a piece using instructions or directions as the narrative, and the title itself is captivating. The steps seem pretty straightforward, almost calming or soothing, and I think I would be able to glue one together, but I would just need to make sure I have all the supplies.
PROMPT: Without thinking about possible plots, characters, narratives, settings, or story ideas, draft ten titles as if you were about to write a piece for each title and use the titles themselves to create a story.
The Weight Of A Tooth (Robyn Perros | Isele)
Why I like it: This is a neat story in so many different ways—one being that I really had no clue which direction this narrative would be going, and I enjoyed how what seemingly started off as a sweet story about a child and her lost tooth turns into a deeper meaning with weight and heavy underlinings.
PROMPT: Using twenty found objects, write a story where in each line, one of the items is mentioned until all twenty of them are included.
Wicked Americana (Sacha Bissonnette | CRAFT)
Why I like it: There’s so much going on behind the scenes here—a story in itself in what’s not being said, and the setting and plot play perfectly with each other. The subtle hints leave much that’s open for interpretation which makes for a pensive read, indeed, and I like how the roles of relationships, in various ways, add this circular nature to the story.
Beyond the Chattering Flush (Mizuki Yamagen | Literary Namjooning)
Why I like it: It’s meditative and thoughtful and full of light, and it creates this open space in my mind where I can breathe with more ease as I picture the images written here, almost like a yoga routine. When there’s so much going on around us—all the clatter of this and that, I appreciate how this piece kind of separates me from it all.
PROMPT: Find a loud setting—one that’s full of messy noises, a crowded coffee shop or a busy restaurant and try to separate each clatter and describe them, comparing them to a quiet and peaceful place in nature.
What did you think of these choices? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments - have you found a new favourite piece? Did you try out one of the prompts?
Next month’s selection will be chosen by me and will be a bumper edition spotlighting my twenty (plus bonus stories) favourite pieces from 2025.
Funny Bones: Infusing your Prose with Humorous Techniques
Tuesday 2nd December 2025 (19:00-20:30 GMT) OR Saturday 6th December 2025 (09:00-10:30 GMT)
How do we make our writing funny? What are the different techniques we can use to weave humour into our prose? This 90-minute workshop is a whistle stop tour through things like daffynitions, comic triples, humorous imagery, humorous voice, adnominatio, spoonerisms and anesis. With the aim of giving writers plenty of new ideas and writing tools, we’ll think about how we write funny stories and how we can use humour to add textural contrast in more serious ones. We’ll also explore the universe of tone, the lyrical-humour overlap, and how we avoid the Where’s Wally effect.
Price: Pay What You Can (Pricing options - (A) £20, (B) £16, (C) £12)
Other opportunities to work with Matt
COLOURFUL CHARACTERS: 12th-25th January 2026
GO WITH THE FLOW: 2nd-15th March 2026
Editing
NOVEL / NOVELLA EDITING: First steps review / structural review / line edit / submission review
EDITING FOR COLLECTIONS: Structural overview report / line edit
SHORT FICTION EDITING: Structural review / line edit / detailed edit
Thanks for including my piece here! This was a nice surprise. And I love the prompt associated with it ❤️