Why do you write flash? What makes it different for you?

 I’ve learned a long time ago that in my culture, the more a woman speaks, the less she’s heard. Economy is key. Through this form I’ve discovered to self-express concisely without resorting to the drama or flourish-y add on other forms have room to entertain. That’s what makes it so special to me.

What’s your writerly lifejacket: character or plot?

Character.

Writing style: Quick and messy or slow and precise?

I like to experiment, so you’ll find it all in my stories.

What element or part of your “real life” do you think most influences your writing?

The fact that I can’t speak, I can’t express, I can’t even complain about anything! I make up for it in my surreal stories.

If you could recommend a few flash stories or writers, who/what would it be?

“Satin Nightwear For Women” by Elizabeth Ingram Wallace winner of Bath Flash Awards.

“You’ve Stopped” by Tommy Dean published in Pithead Chapel

“A Brief History of Time in Our House” by Steven John published by Ad Hoc Fiction.

What story of yours do you wish got more recognition?

 All of them really, but to be honest, I wish my story “The Brief Chronicled History of The Girl as told by the Realist but yet Optimistic African Fortuneteller” received more as I talk about female genital mutilation in Africa, and how it’s still happening up to this day. The story was published in Afreada magazine.

BIO: Riham Adly is an Egyptian writer/blogger/ translator. Her fiction has appeared in over forty online journals such as  Flash Frontier, Flash Back, Ellipsis Zine, Okay Donkey, Bending Genres, Afreada, Connotation Press, Spelk, The Cabinet of Heed, Vestal Review, Five:2:One, Brilliant Flash Fiction, Gingerbread House lit, Writing in a Woman’s voice, and Danse Macabre among others. She has forthcoming stories in The Citron Review and Sunlight Press. In 2018 she was short-listed for the Arab-Lit Translation Prize. Riham lives with her family in Giza, Egypt.