Cozy Fest: Barbara Black + Little Fortified Stories

In her collection of micro-fictions Little Fortified Stories (Caitlin Press), Barbara Black writes miniature character studies teeming with detail. Today’s featured reading, from the section called “The Unseen,” was inspired by a piece of music.

A graphic with the text: "Now Reading on Cozy Fest: Barbara Black, Little Fortified Stories" featuring the cover of the book and an inset photo of the author.

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ALU Editor

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A banner reading "Cozy Fest". The light blue background is patterened with simple snowflakes, and green pine boughs fringe the bottom. The ALU logo is placed at the bottom centre.

Barbara Black reads from Little Fortified Stories
(Caitlin Press)

About our reader

A photo of writer Barbara Black. She is a light skin toned woman with chin length, wavy blond hair, wearing a cardigan and crossing her arms. She smiles widely.

Barbara Black writes short and flash fiction, poetry and libretti. Her work has appeared in many publications and anthologies, including The Cincinnati Review, Geist, The Hong Kong Review and Bath Flash Fiction Award anthology 2020. Achievements include: Fiction Finalist, 2020 National Magazine Awards and Winner, 2017 Writers’ Union of Canada Short Prose Competition. Barbara was shortlisted for the 2023 Edinburgh Flash Fiction Award and won First Prize in The Plaza Prizes Microfiction Contest and Second in their Flash Fiction category. Her debut book, Music from a Strange Planet, won the 2023 Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society Award in Fiction, was a finalist in The Canadian Book Club Awards and won the international Wishing Shelf Book Award for Fiction. Her latest book, a recipient of the 2024 Firebird Book Award for Short Story, is Little Fortified Stories, a collection of micro and flash fiction. Barbara lives in Victoria, BC, where she gardens and loves to ride the twisties on her trusty Triumph motorcycle.

Photo of Barbara credit Erin Clayton Photography.

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Thanks to Barbara for reading from her book for All Lit Up’s third-annual Cozy Fest! You can learn more about Little Fortified Stories, and order from ALU or your fave local bookstore (via the Shop Local button), right here.

For more to come, or to catch up on Cozy Fest, click here.

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