Flashing the Square

Here are tales of service station hold-ups random violence in elevators shark attacks and road fatalities. Complete narratives with well-drawn characters and plotlines all in 200 words or less. There are short pieces about supermarkets computers and dogfights - all packed with emotional punch. Some describe quiet but no less significant moments: a child colouring in a seagull stealing a chip. Some show us the magic of quotidian life - on trains buses and in backyard gardens and nature strips. We gave them a single blank square of paper to fill. They flashed it with political satire memorable lines mordant observations flights of fancy and heartbreaking descriptions.