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BY TERESA BURNS GUNTHER

Hold Off the Night

Short Stories

I am a storyteller. I write to explore the world in someone else’s skin and to greater understand the struggles of living. These stories invite readers into the lives of people wrestling with the difficulties inherent in composing a life, navigating change, and salvaging relationships.  I hope readers will cheer for them, grieve with them, laugh with them, recognize something of themselves in the struggle, and perhaps for a little while know they are not alone.

Stories That Need to Be Told 2022

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This eighth annual collection of contest winners features great stories from a range of voices. The 2022 winners include grand prize recipient Julie Esther Fisher and merit winners Marissa Tian (passion), Matt Landig (love), Noah Cohen-Greenberg (humor), Darian Geddis (depth), and Matt Herzfeld (bonus). These 27 stories are a window into the heart of what makes us human.
Growing Up – Lifespan Vol. 2

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Featuring poems, stories and essays by numerous authors. 
Featuring poems, stories and essays by Alex Reece Abbott, Sara Abend-Sims, Edward Ahern, Taryn Alexander, Tobi Alfier, Lynn Aprill, Sandra Arnold, Hilary Ayshford, Subhaga Crystal Bacon, Elaine Barnard, Linda M. Barrett , Amanda Jane Bayliss, Paul Beckman, Dev Berger, Isabelle B.L., Mark Blickley, Paul Bluestein, Paula Bonnell, John Bost, Gabriella Brand, V Bray, Martin Breul, Howard Brown, Glenn A. Bruce, Irene Buckler, D. S. G. Burke, William Butler, Yvonne Campbell, R. C. Capasso, Steve Carr, Jane Carter, Conni Cartlidge, Chuka Susan Chesney, Jan Chronister, Dave Clark, Sharon J. Clark, Peter Clarke, Yvonne Clarke, Michael Coolen, Carolyn Cordon, Luciana Croci, Gareth Culshaw, Mary L. Daurio, Gay Degani, Michelle Dickins, Michael Anthony Dioguardi, Mark Donnelly, Roy Duffield, Madaline Dunn, Marco Etheridge, Amalia Fish, Kate Flannery, Ri Fox, James Freeze, Myrna Garanis, Barbara Geiger, Flemming George, Declan Geraghty, Nod Ghosh, Kaye Gilhooley, Natascha Graham, Sarah Graham, John Grey, Teresa Burns Gunther, Jan Haag, Mark Heathcote, Jack Henry, Theresa Hickey, Ryn Holmes, Rita Hooks, Juliet Horne, Jan Howcroft, Mark Hudson, Valerie Hunter, Barbara Schilling Hurwitz, GP Hyde, Robert Iulo, Heather James, Talya Jankovits, Gregory Jeffers, B. Fulton Jennes, Fiona M. Jones, Katie Jukes, Michaeleen Kelly, Katie Kemple, Gurupreet K. Khalsa, James Kingston, R. J. Kinnarney, Will Kirkham, Nick Knibb, John Kojak, Christine Law, Mike Lee, Larry Lefkowitz, Joan Leotta, Cynthia Leslie-Bole, Cassie Lewis, Mike Lewis-Beck, Ann Liska, LindaAnn LoSchiavo, Lily Mack, S J Mannion, Daniel Santos Marques, Betsy Mars, Jan McCarthy, Thomas M. McDade, Madeline McEwen, Kris McGinnis, Rob McKinnon, Mandy Toczek McPeake, Shaine Melrose, Deborah Meltvedt, Karla Linn Merrifield, Kate Meyer-Currey, Neila Mezynski, Jen Michalski, Karen Mireau, Marsha Mittman, John Moody, Jennifer Moon, Ruth Moss, Colleen Moyne, Julianne Munro, Remngton Murphy, Zack Murphy, A R Neal, Allene Nichols, Kelly Nickie, Rachel O’Cleary, Eamon O’Leary, Amy O’Neil, Carl ‘Papa’ Palmer, Vishaal Pathak, Gary Percesepe, Tracey Peterson, Martin Phillips, Margaret Plaganis, Zachary Pryor, Bonnie Riedinger, Jack Roberts, JA Rose, Ruth Sabath Rosenthal, Ed Ruzicka, Gerard Sarnat, Stephanie Satie, Silvia Saunders, Claire Schön, Robert Scotellaro, Beatriz Seelaender, Maggie Seren, Mir-Yashar Seyedbagheri, Pegi Deitz Shea, Ellen Shelley, Joan Sidney, Virginia Smith, Julia C. Spring, Ró Stack, Adrienne Stevenson, Deb Stewart, Mark Stocker, Rachel Swabey, Mary L. Tabor, Rebecca Hope Terry, Lydia Trethewey, Peggy Trojan, Dion Tsimiklis, Claire Tucker, Lucy Tyrrell, Karissa Venne, Lois Perch Villemaire, Donald R. Vogel, Tricia Waller, Alan Walowitz, Michael Webb, Barbara West, Neal Whitman, Allan J. Wills, Riley Winchester, Terri Pauser Wolf, Melissa E. Wong, McKenzie Wood and Jeffrey Zable
2014 February Vol. 2

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Matt Potter
(Editor)
,
Guilie Castillo-Oriard
,
Townsend Walker
,
Derek Osborne
,
Gloria Garfunkel
,
John Wentworth Chapin
,
Lynn Beighley
,
Andrew Stancek
,
Rachel Ambrose
,
Susan Tepper
,
Jessica McHugh
,
Michelle Elvy
,
Len Kuntz
,
Michael Webb
,
James Claffey
,
Gwendolyn Joyce Mintz
,
Gill Hoffs
,
Stephen V. Ramey
,
Gay Degani
,
Sally-Anne Macomber
,
Mandy Nicol
,
Margaret Bingel
,
Darryl Price
,
Teresa Burns Gunther
,
Gary Percesepe
,
Nathaniel Tower
,
Kimberlee Smith
2014 March Vol. 3

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31 writers set their continuing stories – this is Vol. 3 after all – across the month of March. Pick up where the stories left off in February. (And some in January.) A bold and fun and exciting project – volume 3 in a story a day for the whole year!
Matt Potter
(Editor)
,
Guilie Castillo-Oriard
,
Susan Tepper
,
Jessica McHugh
,
Michelle Elvy
,
Len Kuntz
,
Michael Webb
,
James Claffey
,
Gwendolyn Joyce Mintz
,
Stephen V. Ramey
,
Gay Degani
,
Townsend Walker
,
Sally-Anne Macomber
,
Mandy Nicol
,
Margaret Bingel
,
Darryl Price
,
Teresa Burns Gunther
,
Gary Percesepe
,
Nathaniel Tower
,
Kimberlee Smith
,
Vanessa Weibler Paris
,
Joanne Jagoda
,
Derek Osborne
,
H.L. Nelson
,
Gloria Garfunkel
,
John Wentworth Chapin
,
Lynn Beighley
,
Andrew Stancek
,
Rachel Ambrose
,
Gill Hoffs
obit.: Pure Slush Vol. 6

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obit., Pure Slush Vol. 6, tells the real stories behind the public life of Webster Murphy Allen, a rich and powerful New York lawyer, as told by the many people who knew him. Or thought they knew him…
2014 October Vol. 10

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Luis makes plans to leave… Lana sweet-talks family… Max says goodbye… Ralph atones with pastries… Charles reconnects with his father… Jenn makes a hospital visit… Adam soars… Claire gets on with life… the girl does penance… Pedersen dresses up… Edward offers solace… he goes abroad… Stevie sets sail… the man kills… Mark reads aloud… the Bird dines alone… more drinks for the club… Stephen whispers goodbye… detectives visit Sybil… Trudy glows with her nomination… Nadia’s brother visits… Ned and Jeffery go walking… the man hears wedding bells… Rachel goes flying… Morgana sings… Gary gets married… Samford goes to the circus… Maybell meets Brother Tom… Jim avoids things… Eli matchmakes… Joan has regrets… and much much more!
Barcode: Pure Slush, Vol. 8

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Matt Potter
(Editor)
,
J.F. Juzwik
(Contributor)
,
Christopher Allen
(Contributor)
,
Claudia Bierschenk
(Contributor)
,
Arthur Carey
(Contributor)
,
Jennifer Chardon
(Contributor)
,
Ramon Collins
(Contributor)
,
Norman Conquest
(Contributor)
,
Christine Cook
(Contributor)
,
Joanna Delooze
(Contributor)
,
Shane Frazier
(Contributor)
,
S.H. Gall
(Contributor)
,
Gloria Garfunkel
(Contributor)
,
Walter Giersbach
(Contributor)
,
Teresa Burns Gunther
(Contributor)
,
Kyle Hemmings
(Contributor)
,
Joanne Jagoda
(Contributor)
,
Len Kuntz
(Contributor)
,
Matt McGee
(Contributor)
,
Misti Rainwater-Lites
(Contributor)
,
Stephen V. Ramey
(Contributor)
,
Martha Rand
(Contributor)
,
Desmond Shortt
(Contributor)
,
Beate Sigriddaughter
(Contributor)
,
Karen Eileen Sikola
(Contributor)
,
Andrew J. Stone
(Contributor)
,
Ben Tanzer
(Contributor)
,
Alun Williams
(Contributor)
,
Diana J. Wynne
(Contributor)
,
Paul Combs
(Contributor)
2014 September Vol. 9

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Volume 9 in Pure Slush’s ‘2014 A Year in Stories’, where 31 writers arc stories- one every month – across the whole year … read a new story every day
2014 December Vol. 12

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Luis makes a play… Frank attempts a turnaround… Rebecca needs time alone… Ralph eyes the future… Charles moves on… Jenn goes shopping… Adam is free… Claire is philosophical… the girl has a date… Pedersen makes up his mind… Edward is happy… Sandra returns… Stevie says good-bye… he meets someone worse off… Mark gets a surprise… the Bird counts on better luck… Lindsey learns the truth… Stephen goes swimming… Jamie asks why… Trudy camps out… Nadia makes a break… Ned is unsettled… the man thanks the doctor… Rachel gets domestic… Morgana has hopes… Gary pours a drink… Samford settles… Maybell is catatonic… Jim faces the end… Anne gets a letter… Joan goes travelling… and much much more!
Matt Potter
(Editor)
,
Guilie Castillo-Oriard
,
Townsend Walker
,
Derek Osborne
,
Gloria Garfunkel
,
John Wentworth Chapin
,
Lynn Beighley
,
Andrew Stancek
,
Rachel Ambrose
,
Gill Hoffs
,
Susan Tepper
,
Jessica McHugh
,
Michelle Elvy
,
Len Kuntz
,
Michael Webb
,
James Claffey
,
Gwendolyn Joyce Mintz
,
Stephen V. Ramey
,
Gay Degani
,
Sally-Anne Macomber
,
Mandy Nicol
,
Margaret Bingel
,
Darryl Price
,
Teresa Burns Gunther
,
Gary Percesepe
,
Nathaniel Tower
,
Kimberlee Smith
,
Vanessa Weibler Paris
,
Joanne Jagoda
,
H.L. Nelson
2014 November Vol. 11

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… is it downhill in November? … volume 11 in Pure Slush’s ‘A Year in Stories’ … Luis closes a door … Alexei makes a connection … Rebecca gives birth … there’s bad news for Ralph … Charles is done over … Jenn sells her soul … Dr Bilak experiments … Claire gets cozy … the girl fakes it for a good cause … Pedersen is bitten … Edward receives some good news … he holds off telling … Stevie writes home … the man imagines … Mark stands up … the Bird makes plans … Aaron packs … Stephen visits the doctor … a friend returns … Trudy goes travelling … Nadia cuts a tie … Ned plans a fun time … the man doesn’t want to lose again … Rachel entertains … Morgana says goodbye … Gary hits the road … Samford wants out … Melodie welcomes a newbie … Jim opens the fridge … Anne puts the past behind her … and much much more!
2014 June Vol. 6

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Vol. 6 in Pure Slush’s ‘2014 A Year in Stories’ … 365 stories across the whole year, a story every day, 31 writers writing a novella each … on the same day day every month.
Barcode: Pure Slush, Vol. 8

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Berkeley Fiction Review is a UC Berkeley undergraduate, student-run publication that looks for innovative short fiction that plays with form and content as well as traditionally constructed stories with fresh voices and original ideas.

Issue 25 includes the following stories: “Étude for Suicide with Audio” by Jeff Percifield, “Guerilla Marketing” by Bernard Hafeli, “Lily” by Jimmy J. Pack, Jr., “There Was the Fire Alarm, Like Before” by Kirsten Allen Major, “April Fool” by Justin Courter, “Less Than Perfect” by Fran Kaplan, Evening Shifts by Edward Moore, “The Physics of the Bottomless Pit” by Andrew Farkas, “Assignation” by David J. Popiel, “Apple Thinks Again” by Anna Waterhouse, “Flight Instinct” by Leonard Orr, “Oh, Baby” by Teresa Burns Gunther, and “Up” by Matthew Main.

Love Lifespan Vol. 4

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482 pages – published October 2021

paperback ISBN: 978-1-922427-26-7

ePub ISBN: 978-1-922427-27-4

Kindle ISBN: 978-1-922427-50-2

to purchase Love, click here for  Kindle

Featuring poems, stories and essays by Alex Reece Abbott, Sara Abend-Sims, Edward Ahern, Taryn Alexander, Tobi Alfier, Ellie Anderson, Lynn Aprill, Sandra Arnold, Shawn Aveningo-Sanders, Cathie Aylmer, Meryl Baer, Lynne Baillie, Elaine Barnard, Linda Barrett, James Bates, Amanda Jane Bayliss, Paul Beckman, Dev Berger, Virginia Betts, Robert Beveridge, Annie Bien, Henry Bladon, Natalie Blake, Mark Blickley, Kelli Short Borges, Kim Botly, Maggie D Brace, V Bray, Howard Brown, Jacqui Burcham, William Butler, Claudia Calori, Susan Maxwell Campbell, Robin Cantwell, Rachel Canwell, John Carnegie, Steve Carr, John E. Caulton, Changming Yuan, R P Clare, Dave Clark, Peter Clarke, Darrell Coggins, Sarah Conklin, Mark Connelly, Leslie Cox, Linda M. Crate, Luciana Croci, Tony Daly, Albert DeGenova, Winston Derden, Zélia De Sousa, Laura Dobson, Greg Eccleston, Michael Estabrook, Steve Evans, Amalia Fish, Juliet Fossey, Lara Frankena, Leone Gabrielle, Jeremy Gadd, Colin Gee, Lynn R S Genevieve, Declan Geraghty, Marie Gethins, Nod Ghosh, Michael Gigandet, Diane G. Gillette, Brian Glaser, Gavin Glen, Ken Gosse, John Grey, Karen Grove, Teresa Burns Gunther, Jan Haag, Alex Hart, Mark Heathcote, Jenna Heller, Jack Henry, Matthew Hisbent, Leslie Hodge, Ryn Holmes, Jan Howcroft, Mark Hudson, Troy Hunneyball, Barbara Schilling Hurwitz, GP Hyde, Joanne Jagoda, Heather James, Marvyne Jenoff, Christine Johnson, John Johnson, Michael Lee Johnson, Fiona M. Jones, Tonia Kalouria, Kenneth M. Kapp, Kelly Kaur, Tanya L. Kelley, Michaeleen Kelly, Katie Kemple, Steven Dee Kish, Mary Anna Scenga Kruch, Leila Kulpas, Len Kuntz, Kathryn Lamp, Christine Law, Tim Law, Larry Lefkowitz, Cynthia Leslie-Bole, Karen Lethlean, Marcia Lewis, Mike Lewis-Beck, LindaAnn LoSchiavo, Lena MacDonald, Joan MacIntosh, Kate Mahony, S J Mannion, Clare Marsh, Carolyn Martin, Jackie Davis Martin, Fabiana Elisa Martínez, Joy Mawby, Brandy Renee McCann, Jan McCarthy, Rob McKinnon, Joan McNerney, Mandy Toczek McPeake, Deborah Meltvedt, Scott Menzies, Todd Mercer, Karla Linn Merrifield, Michelle Meyer, Neila Mezynski, Karen Mireau, Marsha Mittman, Jennifer Moon, Colleen Moyne, Remngton Murphy, Gail M. Murray, AR Neal, Violet Nethemoon, Allene Nichols, James B. Nicola, Mary Ann Noe, Carl ‘Papa’ Palmer, Dian Parker, Gary Percesepe, Debbie Peters, Margaret Plaganis, Anu Pohani, Janet Powers, Gary Preece, Rosalind Preston, Stephen V. Ramey, Niles Reddick, Lisa Reynolds, Marilyn Reynolds, May Rihani, Alex Robertson, Sharon Rockman, Bruno Rodriguez, JA Rose, Ruth Sabath Rosenthal, Norm Rosolen, Ed Ruzicka, Gerard Sarnat, Anna Scaife, Ramona Scarborough, Nicole Rain Sellers, Phyliss Merion Shanken, Pegi Deitz Shea, Joan Seliger Sidney, Amy Soricelli, Adrienne Stevenson, Deb Stewart, Doreen Stock, Robyn Sykes, Mary L. Tabor, Lydia Trethewey, Peggy Trojan, Susanne Twomey, Lucy Tyrrell, Lois Perch Villemaire, Gertrude Walsh, Michael Webb, Edmund Weisberg, Brian Weston, Alun Williams, Allan J. Wills, Melissa E. Wong, Lorna Wood, Anne Harding Woodworth, Rita Yager and Mantz Yorke