In 2003, David debuted a new press (Blue Cubicle Press) and released their first anthology: The Best of The First Line: The First Three Years, a collection of favorite stories published during the zine years.
And in 2008, Blue Cubicle Press released the second TFL anthology to commemorate Jeff's departure, The Best of The First Line: Editors’ Picks: 2002–2006.
The purpose of The First Line is to jump-start the imagination—to help writers break through the block that is the blank page.
Each issue contains the best short stories stemming from a common first line, with no restrictions on genre, style, or school of thought.
Every two or three years TFL holds a contest where readers submit possible first lines, and a few are chosen for publication.