Abstract:
This project comprises excerpts from Best in Show, a novella-in-flash set at a
fictionalized version of the Mile Branch Fair in Northeast Ohio. Inspired by Maria Romasco
Moore’s place-based novella-in-flash, Ghostographs, my project is a series of linked flash fiction
and short stories, juxtaposing elements of magical realism with place-based realism. In this way,
the scope of my project is both fantastical and gritty, compressed and vast. When writing this
collection, I sought to recreate a real-life visit to the fair, with white space between the stories
mirroring the real-life gaps between different stalls and barns along the midway. Individual
flashes celebrate the setting’s chaotic energy and diversity, while the interconnected nature
compounds these snapshots, allowing tension, relationships, and character arcs to evolve. In this
excerpt, the four narrators—Adam, Miranda, Peter, and Bea—grow into teenagers. While they
revel in the fair’s energetic atmosphere, they also explore more mature themes, such as violence,
judgement, competition, and sexual desire. These stories not only depict the fun parts of the fair,
but also ask the question: What do we put on display, and why?
