B.G. Smith writes flash fiction and micro fiction exploring trauma, family dynamics, and moral ambiguity. His stories live in the space between what happened and what it cost — often in 100 words or fewer.
After 24 years in federal law enforcement, he retired in 2021 and turned his focus to writing full-time. The transition wasn’t as large a leap as it might seem. The same economy of language he used in incident reports — just the facts, no fluff, nothing wasted — now serves a different purpose: reflection and connection. Where reports demanded distance, fiction demanded the opposite. As a retired law enforcement author, Smith brings firsthand psychological realism to his stories that few writers can replicate, drawing on decades spent in rooms where the worst day of someone’s life was simply another Tuesday on the job.
His work has been highly commended in the National Flash Fiction Day Micro Fiction Competition (2026) and published in Pocket Fiction, The Drabble, 101 Words, Quotidian Bagatelle, WATG Press, Dark Moments (Black Hare Press), and over a dozen other literary journals. In just a few years of writing, he has built a body of work that spans speculative horror, quiet horror, and grounded literary realism — all filtered through the same unflinching attention to detail that defined his career.
Law enforcement taught him to see both the best and worst of people, often within the same hour, sometimes within the same person. His stories explore the darker themes he once had to set aside on the job — trauma, loss, and the choices that define us when there’s no good option left. Through micro fiction, he processes what he saw and connects with readers who understand that the hardest experiences often make the most important stories.
He lives in Philadelphia with his family, where he roots for the Eagles, Phillies, and Flyers — mostly with disappointment.
“Fallujah” – Highly Commended: National Flash Fiction Day Micro Fiction Competition, 2026