Diane Oliver had published a handful of fiction pieces, one of which won an O. Henry Prize, had edited her college student newspaper, and was about to graduate from the Iowa Writers Workshop--one of the few Black women to have attended the program--when she was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1966 at the age of just twenty-two. Her promising literary future suddenly cut off, she left behind a short, masterful stack of stories that are now being published in a new collection. The stories--like … [Read more...] about Spiders Cry Without Tears
MFA for All
MFA for All was born from our desire to create a space where MFA-quality instruction is widely accessible to writers no matter their age, background, location, or financial situation. MFA for All is not a degree-granting program—it is a community-rich online educational experience led by top-notch faculty, free of the significant hurdles of time, expense, and geography that MFAs demand. These master classes will offer structured insight into your craft and writing practice, giving access to a … [Read more...] about MFA for All
The 2024 Halifax Ranch Prize Winners
We are thrilled to announce the winners of this year's Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize, judged by Kelly Link. We consider it our privilege to have spent time with so many terrific submissions—thank you for giving us the opportunity to read your work. Congratulations to the winners! _____ First-Place Prize: "A Place Where Sadness Cannot Go" by Laura Grothaus Judge Kelly Link writes, "While every single story I read from the long list had something to recommend it—I can’t say how thrilling it is … [Read more...] about The 2024 Halifax Ranch Prize Winners
The Letters
My mother has been sending me letters lately. Not letters intended for me but rather letters she has been writing to various people in her life—important influences, she calls them. Relatives, friends, former classmates, coworkers. She has been writing two or three letters a week and sending them to me via email to look over and send back to her with comments. You’re a professor, she tells me, you know the right way to put these things. She says she wants me to be brutally honest with her, … [Read more...] about The Letters
EOD
Sam feared old people. She feared their drooping folds, their soft edges, like a block of butter left out for too long. They haunted the office in their squelching orthopedic sneakers, moving so slowly that Sam sometimes expected them to leave behind snail trails of mucus. She drifted behind them in the hallways, keeping at least ten paces of distance. She didn’t like to get too close to their odor of mothballs and lye soap; she didn’t want to see where their hair had thinned to reveal the … [Read more...] about EOD
Issue 78
Featuring new stories by Jeffery Renard Allen, Jamel Brinkley, Mala Gaonkar, Anita Lo, Yasmin Adele Majeed, Emily Mitchell, and Max Ross. Jeffery Renard Allen, "Orbits" You know, only a fool does something for free, the Champ said. I’ve been thinking about how to repay you. A word stalled on his tongue. It sounded like farty. She had seen it in him before, the blur while thinking. Wait, he said. With evident excitement, he retrieved his top hat from the coat rack, pulled his … [Read more...] about Issue 78