Matt Leibel is a writer living in San Francisco. His short and very short fictions have appeared in 60+ print and online publications, including Electric Literature, Portland Review, Post Road, Quarterly West, The Normal School, Carolina Quarterly, Wigleaf, and many more. He has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and his writing has been included in the Best Small Fictions anthology in 2020 and 2024. Matt has more than 25 years of experience as a professional copywriter and editor for a variety of organizations.
Selected Short Fiction
“How-to” Stories
“How to Get to First Base” The Museum of Americana
“How to Become an Auctioneer” matchbook
"How to Travel to a Parallel Universe” JAKE
“How to Know God” Barren Magazine
Longer Short Stories
“Martha” Short Story, Long
“The Food Taster” The Normal School
“The Patterns” Socrates on the Beach (Pushcart Prize Nominee)
“High Rise: A Final Report” Portland Review
“Columbus Day” Barcelona Review
Very Short Stories
"The Wedding Photographer Photographer” Aquifer: The Florida Review Online (included in Best Small Fictions 2024)
“The Octopus Predicts” Moon Park Review
“The Life of the Party” Litro Magazine
“Puff” Maudlin House
“The Ice Sculptor Regrets” Bending Genres
“The Book of Failure” Complete Sentence
“Nine Failed Stories” Wigleaf
“Budapest” Lost Balloon
“The Lover’s Quarrel” Passages North
“The Man with a Stop Sign Sticking Out of His Head” Gone Lawn
“My Personal Brand” X-R-A-Y (included in Best Small Fictions 2020)
“Free Advice” Hobart (Wigleaf Top 50 Longlist)
“The Island” DIAGRAM
“Hotel” Cafe Irreal
“The Mouth” CHEAP POP
“Lion: Notes for a Play in One Act” Bound Off (audio)
Micro Stories
“Five Love Stories” Electric Literature
"Six Micros from the Future” Heavy Feather Review
"Five Microfictions” Juked
“Four Micros” Wigleaf
“The Elevator” Flash Flood
“The Museum of Numbers” Negative Capability Press (100 word story contest, 3rd place winner)
Interviews and Articles
A short interview about my story “Martha” (trial subscription required)
An interview with The Write Stuff
Book review: The Last Book I Loved, Atlas of Remote Islands by Judith Schalansky, The Rumpus
A tribute to Lydia Davis in Dhaka Tribune’s Arts & Letters
