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Farewell to Emptiness

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About Farewell to Emptiness

Lu, a young waitress from upstate NY, is frustrated and unemployed. Her alcoholic father has recently died. The meat-packing plant where he worked will soon be demolished. Lu returns to the abandoned building one last time before it's destroyed. She discovers herself in the dust. A fiction debut in chapbook format and the flash fiction genre.

“1. Walk in well-lit areas.

Can’t afford Uber/Lyft during peak hours, so trudge down the middle of Walnut Street in the rain after work. Street lights illuminate each step as aching feet slosh through oily puddles.

2. Hide valuables.
Tip money in bra; keys and phone in raincoat pocket. Not ideal, but that’s all she’s got.

3. Walk with a buddy.

No co-workers live on her street, so she walks alone.”

2026 Chapbook Project: Spring Cohort.

The beginning of our newly instated Chapbook Corp is going monochrome. 4 authors (2 of whom are debutants in their respective genres) published at the same time for one massive chapbook cohort. Original artwork was hand-selected by our editor-in-chief for both the Fall and Spring cohorts. This project is what 10 years of chapbook publishing looks like. This is Thirty West.

30 pgs with a 5.5” x 8.5” trim size (page counts may vary).

Jacket Artwork by Oliva’s Ink Illustrations

Released on 4-24-26

For international orders greater than 2 units, please email us before ordering so we can calculate shipping. Thanks!

Edition Information

Standard edition comes in a hand-folded, saddle-stitched, or perfect-bound glue spine.

Limited edition comes in an artisanal, hemp cord binding of 20 numbered copies. SOLD OUT

Want to experience the entire cohort at once? Go here for all 4 chapbooks, in a standard edition, for only $20 (shipping not included).

About Farewell to Emptiness

Lu, a young waitress from upstate NY, is frustrated and unemployed. Her alcoholic father has recently died. The meat-packing plant where he worked will soon be demolished. Lu returns to the abandoned building one last time before it's destroyed. She discovers herself in the dust. A fiction debut in chapbook format and the flash fiction genre.

“1. Walk in well-lit areas.

Can’t afford Uber/Lyft during peak hours, so trudge down the middle of Walnut Street in the rain after work. Street lights illuminate each step as aching feet slosh through oily puddles.

2. Hide valuables.
Tip money in bra; keys and phone in raincoat pocket. Not ideal, but that’s all she’s got.

3. Walk with a buddy.

No co-workers live on her street, so she walks alone.”

2026 Chapbook Project: Spring Cohort.

The beginning of our newly instated Chapbook Corp is going monochrome. 4 authors (2 of whom are debutants in their respective genres) published at the same time for one massive chapbook cohort. Original artwork was hand-selected by our editor-in-chief for both the Fall and Spring cohorts. This project is what 10 years of chapbook publishing looks like. This is Thirty West.

30 pgs with a 5.5” x 8.5” trim size (page counts may vary).

Jacket Artwork by Oliva’s Ink Illustrations

Released on 4-24-26

For international orders greater than 2 units, please email us before ordering so we can calculate shipping. Thanks!

Edition Information

Standard edition comes in a hand-folded, saddle-stitched, or perfect-bound glue spine.

Limited edition comes in an artisanal, hemp cord binding of 20 numbered copies. SOLD OUT

Want to experience the entire cohort at once? Go here for all 4 chapbooks, in a standard edition, for only $20 (shipping not included).

About the Author

Author photo provided by Ted Wardell

Liz deBeer, MA, EdD,  is a writer and language arts teacher from Albany, NY, where this story is set. She now lives at the Jersey Shore with her family & works with Project Write Now, a writing cooperative. Liz has published in newspapers, teaching journals, and magazines, including Brevity Blog and The New Jersey English Journal. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications: Fictive Dream, BULL, Bending Genres, Literary Garage, Switch, Bright Flash Lit Review, WOW, The Hootlet’s Nook, and others. She volunteers as a reader of Flash Fiction Magazine. She is a member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), The Author’s Guild, Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP), and New Jersey Council of Teachers of English (NJCTE).  www.ldebeerwriter.com | Substack: A Lizard’s Tale: Reflections on Resilience

Reviews

“A frank, undaunted homage to upstate New York’s working-class families. The ten stories that comprise this chapbook are alternately raw & gritty, sweet and sassy. Memories of love & loss linger on these pages, with extra attention given to the inhuman creatures who influence, & sustain, the human world. Hints of hope are disguised as impending implosions, impelling the reader, flash by flash, toward the satisfying conclusion.”

—Court Harler, founder and editor of Flash the Court

“Liz deBeer takes Lu through a seemingly ordinary day that turns into a moment of self-reflection. This chapbook captures the anxieties of moving through the world as a woman. deBeer reminds us that we still have a choice to change our circumstances and that all we endure is nothing but a season.”

—Kirsty Anne Richards, founder and director of redrosethorns

“Set against the backdrop of an abandoned slaughterhouse—once the heart of a community’s livelihood—Farewell to Emptiness follows Lu, daughter of an exhausted and widowed mother. She lives a bleak life, without a future, in a perilous and decaying landscape. When the derelict plant faces demolition, an unexpected chance comes Lu’s way, forcing her to confront the notion that change is not beyond her grasp. A poignant exploration of loss, resilience, and the cost of progress. A dire warning about not being left behind.”

—Laura Black, editor of Fictive Dream