Writer
COREY MERTES
Short Stories
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“La Vie”: “Two men got off at the insurance company on three leaving me alone with a woman I had never seen before, when moments later the elevator clanked and rattled like a fallen chain and jolted to a stop between the fifth and sixth floors.” The Nassau Review, 2023 Issue
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“The Supercentenarians Archivist”: “She loved her job. What began as an administrative position applied for as an escape more than a calling had evolved during the past fourteen years into an overriding passion.” The Spotlong Review, July 14, 2023/Issue VII
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“Animals”: “This is a story about a friend of mine, Wink Elliot, and the part he played in a violent and grotesque incident.” Stoneboat Literary Journal, Issue 12.2 (Fall 2022)
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“The Great Mancini”: “The first hint of any impropriety was a question Debbie overheard in the kitchen about an hour before the ceremony . . .” The Spotlong Review, December 1, 2021/Issue II
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“The Auditions”: “They are both fat. The bigger, balding one with the cigar does most of the talking; he must be the owner.” Marathon Literary Review, February 2017/Issue 11
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“Sidney’s Sound”: American Fiction, November 2017/Volume 16
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“Camp Whiskey”: “Today the testing resumed. Once again I am very nervous.” Sundog Lit, Issue 9 (Summer 2015)
“Carpenter Hall”: “To get to the C-shop from the Quadrangles requires passing first through the lobby of the student union, known as the Baldwin Club, and then through an interior Gothic arch made of stone.” Green Briar Review, Winter/Spring 2014: Issue 2.1.
Humor
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“Gristle and Grain – Submission Guidelines”: “Welcome to Gristle and Grain, the literary journal dedicated to publishing the best short stories and poetry of all time.” The Satirist, October 6, 2012
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“The Old Man Had to Pee”: “The old man with one arm sat at the end of the hotel bar and ordered another drink”; Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Presents Flush Fiction: 88 Short-Short Stories You Can Read in a Single Sitting, Portable Press, April 1, 2012