Author Archives: Stefen Styrsky

About Stefen Styrsky

Stefen Styrsky's fiction has appeared in The Offing, Number Eleven Magazine, Inch, and the Tahoma Literary Review. A few years ago he earned an MA degree in fiction writing from the Johns Hopkins University. Stefen lives in Washington, DC.

Where Stories Come From: Failed Poems

Posted on October 18, 2017 by Stefen Styrsky

I’m a short-story writer by temperament and inclination. By temperament, I mean what grabs my imagination is usually the stuff of short stories: a line of dialogue, a chance meeting, a curious detail – small moments after which things are … Continue reading →

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Best Small Fictions 2017

Posted on September 29, 2017 by Stefen Styrsky

My review of Best Small Fictions 2017 is up on the SmokeLong Quarterly site. As with all book reviews, there’s a bit of culling that has to be done when writing about an anthology of stories. A typical review doesn’t … Continue reading →

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Beach Rats: A Film by Eliza Hittman

Posted on September 11, 2017 by Stefen Styrsky

Today up at Litbreak is my review of Beach Rats. In style, theme, and story, the movie would make a great double bill with last year’s best picture winner Moonlight. Both movies also have a similar power to linger in … Continue reading →

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Marjorie Prime: A Film by Michael Almereyda

Posted on September 6, 2017 by Stefen Styrsky

My latest movie review is up at Litbreak. I’d also recommend Almereyda’s 2015 entertaining, po-mo mashup of a film Experimenter which deals with similar ideas of how perception creates reality.

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Wind River: A Film By Taylor Sheridan

Posted on August 21, 2017 by Stefen Styrsky

Monday Movie Review. My latest is up on Litbreak. The editors over there would love it if you gave it a look (as well as the site’s great fiction and poetry) and maybe even left a comment. Wind River

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Don’t Be Afraid of Your Characters

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Stefen Styrsky

A while back I wrote the blog post Don’t Be Afraid to Tell Your Story. In it I discussed the way Roxane Gay plunges into a story without much, if any, background, and how that makes her work powerfully captivating. … Continue reading →

Posted in Moshfegh, Short Stories, Stefen, Writing Craft | 2 Comments

Tahoma Literary Review

Posted on July 31, 2017 by Stefen Styrsky

Issue 10 of the Tahoma Literary Review is available. I was fortunate enough to be the assistant fiction editor.  There’s some really great writing in here. The epub and pdf versions are free! Issue 10      

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Kicking/Screaming Into the Digital Age

Posted on July 25, 2017 by Stefen Styrsky

I resisted for so long, but in the end succumb. I am now on Twitter. You can find me here: @Stefen_Styrsky

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Moka: A Film by Frédéric Mermoud

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Stefen Styrsky

My latest film review is up at the Litbreak website. If you have a chance, please check it out!  

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The Onus Is On Us

Posted on July 12, 2017 by Stefen Styrsky

I’ve been reading POP! by Mark Polanzak. It’s his “fictional memoir” about his life after his father died from a heart attack when he was seventeen years old. He calls it a fictional memoir because he says fictionalizing the events … Continue reading →

Posted in Stefen, Writing Craft | 2 Comments