Interview with Sophie Goldstein, 2nd Place Winner in the Winter 2025 Flash Fiction Contest

 

Sophie is a Jewish/Chicana writer from Los Angeles, CA whose short plays have been accepted into festivals and competitions nationwide. Her short stories have both placed and received honorable mentions in contests sponsored by Reedsy, WOW! Women Writing, and Fractured Lit. Several of her full-length plays have been shortlisted for various festivals and her play Rosa will have a reading by the Playwright’s Arena in July 2025. While she loves to experiment with genre, style, and tone, her writing primarily focuses on the social justice issues she is passionate about. She is adamant about putting Latine characters at the forefront of almost all her stories, showcasing the layered diversity within Latinidad and more specifically Jewish/Latinidad. A Small Piece of Altadena was first written and submitted to a short story contest sponsored by Reedsy. 

 ----------Interview by Renee Roberson 

WOW: Congratulations, Sophie, and welcome! Hearing about the wildfires in California this past fall (and in the past few years) was difficult for all of us who witnessed it from news reports and firsthand accounts. I can’t imagine what it was like to experience it up close and personal like you must have, being from the area. What do you hope the reader takes away from your winning entry, “A Small Piece of Altadena?” 

Sophie: I think a lot of us, myself included, don't want to be too attached to 'things.' We are so often told, especially during a crisis, that 'it's only things,' 'don't be so concerned with things,' but we are a species that puts value on 'things.' Heirlooms, tickets from a favorite concert, a receipt from a first date with your now long-term partner, books, cds and mixed tapes for those of us who find those precious, cooking pots and pans that have been used to make favorite dishes. All those things have value. And we are hurt when they're destroyed and we should be allowed to mourn those things. It's ok to grieve a lost space or a lost thing. No, objects or spaces are not what completely make us who we are, but they are certainly a part of our lives and I think we need to give ourselves permission to accept and own that. 

WOW: I imagine this would be a difficult story to pare down for the minimal word count required for flash fiction. What was the revision process like? 

Sophie: My revision process is always the same: what's necessary? What word isn't needed, what sentence feels superfluous? Especially when writing flash fiction, I always ask myself: is this driving the story forward? Is this making what I want to say clearer? If not, take it away. 

WOW: Great advice, even thought sometimes it's tough to edit down our own words. We’d love to know more about what sparked your love for writing. What was the first moment you knew you were a writer? 

Sophie: That's a difficult question to answer since I've always been a writer. I've been writing journals and short stories since I was little. I've been focusing on it more and have made it my professional pursuit since 2022 when I was a finalist for a monologue contest sponsored by Nosotros, an organization created by Ricardo Montalban to uplift emerging Latine talent. Being chosen as a finalist for that contest was the encouragement I needed to start to believe I could really do this. I could pursue it and something might happen. And even if nothing happened, I love it enough to keep going anyway. 

WOW: That's an incredible accomplishment. You've also experienced success in the craft of playwriting. Could you tell us more about what your play “Rosa,” which will receive a reading by the Playwright’s Arena this month, about? 

Sophie: Rosa began as a short play that was written for the 2022 Ten Minute festival at the Frida Kahlo theatre in Los Angeles. It was then turned into a short film by actor/director Sherry Mandujano, and I have been working on the full-length version for the past several years. Rosa revolves around a mother and son. Rosa and Jorge. In one memory, Rosa is a supportive and accepting mother who loves her son and doesn't bat an eye when Jorge comes out to her as gay. In another memory, Rosa is shocked by Jorge's confession and throws him out of her house demanding that he never speak to her again. Throughout the script, Rosa struggles to figure out which reality is the true version and what it means that she can't remember. 

WOW: Love the concept for Rosa and would love to be able to see it in the future. Okay, now let's switch gears for this last question. What is the last thing you read for pleasure, and would you recommend it to us? 

Sophie: The last thing that I read for pleasure was Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry. Would 100% recommend! I am only a recent fan of romance and Emily Henry is definitely one of my favorites. Her work, in my opinion, is literary fiction with romance sprinkled in. Great Big Beautiful Life tells the story of two biographical writers who are trying to win over the same client, a woman who used to be a 'tabloid princess' but disappeared from the media years ago after a tragic accident. It is a departure for Henry in terms of the way she usually writes, and I thought it was just wonderful. Absolutely a fun and heartfelt read.

WOW: Thank you for the recommendation! Again, congratulations on placing in this contest and we can't wait to see more of your work in the future. 

Leave a Comment 2nd place winner, Contestant interview, Renee Roberson, Sophie Goldstein, WOW! Winter 2025 Flash Fiction Contest