In the early 2000s, I saw a local newspaper ad soliciting 101 word stories. For some reason, I was drawn to the idea and submitted a few stories. I don’t remember if they got published.
The limitation concept stuck with me, and I started 101 Words in December 2005. In those early days, I only posted my own stories and a few from friends. I didn’t open it up to the public until 2007.
In November 2014, I decided to go all in and turn 101 Words into something special.
My vision for 101 Words is a comprehensive ecosystem and community that can support writers, editors, and readers. This vision is a work in progress and I hope you stick around to watch it grow.
— Shannon
Meet Our Editors
Emily Clayton
Emily Clayton is a freelance writer/copywriter who grew up in Ontario, Canada, and now resides with her husband in Northern California. Her fiction has been published in Kudzu House Quarterly, the FlashDogs Time Anthology, and online in various formats. Visit her site for more about her work and published fiction.
Neesha Hosein
Neesha Hosein is a writer and editor, born in Trinidad & Tobago and raised in Houston, Texas, where she still resides. Her writing has appeared in NASA’s Johnson Space Center publications, Chicken Soup for the Soul, a Freedom With Writing anthology, and SMITH Magazine’s Six Word Memoirs anthologies. As an editor for almost 20 years, she enjoys helping authors beautify their work and destroy typos. Neesha is also an avid reader, gamer, Trekkie, and paper artist. Visit her at www.NeeshaHosein.com.
Shoshauna Shy
Shoshauna Shy resides in Madison, Wisconsin. She is a freelance copy editor, poet, and flash fiction author whose credits include publication in Nixes Mate Review, Haunted Waters Press, Fiction Southeast, and others. Author of five poetry collections, she was one of the seven finalists for the 2021 Fish Flash Fiction Prize, earned a Notable Story distinction in Brilliant Flash Fiction’s 2022 contest, appeared in the Bath Flash Fiction Award anthology in 2022, and was shortlisted for the Bath Flash Fiction Award in 2023.
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was trained as an architect but now writes short fiction from his home in
Richmond, Virginia. Several of his pieces have been published in Short Fiction Break
magazine and he has placed several finalists in Globe Soup’s monthly 100-word
microfiction contests. Readers can also find his work online at Reedsy Prompts and his website Robert Burns: Chapter Next.
Larissa Thomson
Larissa Thomson has a BA in English literature and is a freelance editor and proofreader. She has been published in Arc Poetry Magazine and was a finalist in the Malahat Review’s “Open Season Awards” and in Room Magazine’s “Readers’ Choice Awards.” Her work has appeared on 50-Word Stories and Writer Unboxed’s. She resides in British Columbia, Canada, with her husband and two children. You can visit Larissa at www.honeediting.ca.
Jeff Harvey
Jeff Harvey grew up near Memphis and now lives in San Diego. After spending twenty-plus years in finance, he left to pursue an MFA in fiction at Lindenwood University. Jeff is an editor and writer, with flash fiction work published in several magazines, including MoonPark Review, Bending Genres, Metaworker, Pigeon Review, Blink Ink, Twin Peaks Literary, and Flash Fiction Magazine. He’s currently working on a fictional memoir about his coming out in a small southern town in the 1970s.
Lorilie Louis
Lorilie Louis is a Florida-born and raised writer who prefers cozy nook reading to the beach or Disney. They are working toward their BA in creative writing while participating in multiple on-campus organizations dedicated to English, writing, and editing. Ask about anything mythology or music-related and get a ten-page essay in return.
Alex Mueller
Alex Mueller, a recent graduate with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in creative writing and publishing, hails from Ontario, Canada, and has been writing fiction since he was six years old. His favourite genres include fantasy, science fiction, and, more recently, romance. Alex is also interested in true crime. When not writing, Alex enjoys hiking, spending time with his dog (or anyone else’s), and baking brownies.
Do You Want to Be a Volunteer Editor for 101 Words?
If you have the skills and about five hours per week, apply to be a volunteer.