After Dinner Conversation - Virtual

Short Stories For Long Discussions...

Get together online to discussion short story fiction from After Dinner Conversation Magazine. (We provide the stories, you provide the discussion)

• Discussion sessions will have an After Dinner Conversation facilitator
• Discussion sessions will be limited to 20 people per session
• Discussion sessions will be one hour long
• You will receive an After Dinner Conversation magazine with a primary and secondary short story for the discussion 7-10 days before the discussion session
• You will receive a Zoom link and meeting request a few days before the discussion session
• Signups close 7 days before each discussion session

****Primary Story Discussion
Being of Several Minds: Paul Schreiber
Abstract: Are networked minds just another technological step? In this work of philosophical short fiction, Eilev, a gig worker struggling to keep pace in a hyper-connected world, seeks a fix for their malfunctioning mindmesh implant, a device meant to augment cognition that is now drowning them in unwanted information. They are handed a mysterious card with a poem that leads them to an underground group fighting against mind expansion “progress” and its accompanying surveillance. Torn between the need for the mindmesh to survive and the unbearable burden of its malfunction, Eilev must choose between intervention and removal.

****Secondary Story
The Place Before Perdition: Jon Medrano Miller
Abstract: What earns an inmate parole? How do you know if someone is reformed? In this work of philosophical short fiction set in unforgiving Texas, Ed Joe is a parole board member haunted by his own failings. He interviews Clarence James, who was imprisoned for a fatal drunk driving accident. Clarence claims rehabilitation, citing his prison achievements and religious conversion, but subtly offers Ed Joe a bribe in exchange for a favorable parole decision. Ed Joe interviews Clarence’s hopeful mother and the victim’s grieving parent as he confronts his own past debts, his father’s legacy of unwavering justice, and the profound questions of whether true repentance is possible.