In this post, we’ll be checking in with prize-winning writer T.L. Tomljanovic. If you missed our original interview, find it here: Interview with T.L. Tomljanovic
Check out her author bio:
T.L. Tomljanovic is a flash fiction writer based in British Columbia, Canada. She is the guardian of a dog the size of a donkey, an avid reader of anything with dragons, and a superhero in her own mind. She won the 2026 Welkin Earth Genre Prize, and is a Pushcart Prize, Best Small Fictions, and Best Microfiction nominee.
Pauline: T.L., a Pushcart Prize nomination is a big deal—congrats! How did you process the nomination news and has this changed how you view your own writing?
T.L.: Thank you, getting a Pushcart nom was wild. “Price v. Price” was originally published by Short Edition through the Calgary Public Library’s short story dispenser and republished on The Pride Roars blog.
The Pride is a women’s writing collective founded by Delphine Gauthier-Georgakopoulos the EIC of Raw Lit and a tireless champion of writers. She’s the one who nominated me for the Pushcart. I can’t say that it changed how I view my writing, but the support and sense of community I get from Delphine and the other writers in the Pride is immeasurable.
P: Your publication list has certainly grown since our last interview! What did 2025-26 look like for you? What’s on the horizon for 2027?
T: 2026 has been a rollercoaster. I won the Welkin Earth Genre Prize, which made me cry. I wanted that one so bad. My entry is a deeply personal CNF. I’ve had a lot of success publishing for the first time in zines such as Temple in a City, Folklore, Rat Bag Lit, Ellipsis, and SugarSugarSalt.
I was getting a little cocky and thinking “I MUST be doing better than when I started” so I crunched the numbers and guess what? My acceptance rate this year is a measly 5%. It was 10% when I started in 2020. My acceptance rate hasn’t gone up. I’m just submitting more work
P: How do you decide which writing project to tackle next? Do you hone-in on a single project at a time, or do you keep a rotation?
T: Usually, I complete a flash piece before moving on to the next. Free contests and the occasional paid one are my siren song for writing projects. The Welkin Prize I mentioned is an annual free contest run by Matthew Kendrick.
5-Minute Lit ran a free micro memoir marathon contest in the spring, which gave me so many ideas for new pieces. Recently, I joined the Whimsy monthly microfiction contest, which, while not free, is stretching me creatively. I would not describe my writing as whimsical. I also love a free or dirt-cheap writing workshop.
P: Last time, you described your writing-related day job. It’s a much different type of writing than fictional storytelling. Do you have a go-to strategy to help you switch gears from one to the other?
T: Deadlines. My communications writing is more structured and a style I’ve been practicing for nearly two decades so it’s not hard to switch to on a moment’s notice. However, if I have nothing but time I will procrastinate for months mulling over options and ideas, which is why I love contests and live writing workshops with prompts. The deadlines force me into a schedule.
P: T.L., your preference: keyboard or pen & paper?
T: Keyboard. I wish I could say pen and paper because there’s a romance to that, but my handwriting is atrocious and I’m too impatient to go slow when I can go fast.
P: Who is your all-time favourite fictional character? Why? If you could meet a real life version of this character, what’s the first question you’d ask?
T: Xena: Warrior Princess. She’s an icon, a baddie turned good armoured in leather and gold fighting the good fight with gods and monsters in ancient Greece. I am far too intimidated by my fictional heroes to ask them any questions. If I fangirl all over them, they will realize how uncool I am and won’t become my BFF. Far better to never meet and never speak.
P.S. I’m not loving how revealing this question is of my insecurities.
P: T.L., what’s next?
T: Ugh… last time I answered this question I said I was going to write a novel. I did not, in fact, write or even start said novel, and now I’m caught out.
So, in a pendulum swing of avoiding this embarrassing mistake again I will say lunch. I can definitely commit to that leftover Hawaiian pizza in the fridge.
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