Carla felt sure she was the only rich girl to ever work the counter at Glazy’s Ham Depot. Carla hadn’t always been rich. Before Ed, she and her mom had once lived in a minivan for a year, so Carla remembered the ins and outs of being a have-not. Plus, her name was Carla, which was—at most— middle class. Her mother had chosen Carla before she’d understood the power of Margaret or Paige. Because of this, Carla could hold her own at Glazy’s. She parked her black Saab behind the Kmart. She left her … [Read more...] about Ricky
She Said It Like She Meant It
There’s a cemetery on a mountainside in Kabul that’s running out of space. I read a New York Times piece about it years ago. A group of boys run grave maintenance, for a price, and one girl, six years old, works the mountainside with them. She brags like the boys about taking in mourners—too young to appreciate how much we mourners want to be taken in. She brags about what her father in Iran will bring her when he returns home. She prays for a Galaxy phone. I still think about her prayers and … [Read more...] about She Said It Like She Meant It
2021 American Short(er) Fiction Prize
Please Note: The 2021 Short(er) Fiction Prize is now closed for submissions. *We're extending the deadline until February 15, 2021! Good Luck!* We are thrilled to announce that Susan Steinberg, author of three remarkable story collections—The End of Free Love, Hydroplane, and Spectacle—and Machine: A Novel (read a beautiful ASF-published excerpt, "Killers," here), will judge our 2021 American Short(er) Fiction Prize. The prize recognizes extraordinary short fiction under 1,000 words. The … [Read more...] about 2021 American Short(er) Fiction Prize
Cat’s-Eye
At night I oil the door, whose hinges have been squeaking all year, and in the morning when I open it, they’re quiet. The rest is the same. I don’t wake anyone. The cat follows me into the bathroom. After I sit down, he jumps onto my lap, which is half-fleece, half-skin. Each paw, cold as a child’s nose, lands at a slightly different moment. He circles for a few beats, presses his paws into the tops of my thighs, an action that wakes and soothes me. Within seconds, his paws are warm. They … [Read more...] about Cat’s-Eye
The Stars at Night 2019: A Bright Texas Celebration of Literature
Join us on Thursday, October 17th, for our 4th annual The Stars at Night, a bright Texas evening of brilliant company, joyful honky-tonk, and literary splendor. Tickets are on sale now, and will be available online until 3 p.m. central standard time on the day of the event. NOTE: Tickets will also be on sale at the door! Come for the country music and readings, and stay for the open bar, delicious food, silent auction, and the historic charms of Mercury Hall, complete with tea-lit gardens and … [Read more...] about The Stars at Night 2019: A Bright Texas Celebration of Literature
Contest Closed: The 2019 Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize is closed for submissions!
***The 2019 Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize has closed for submissions. Thank you to everyone who submitted their work. Keep your eyes out for the winner in an upcoming issue of American Short Fiction.*** We're so happy to announce that our judge for this year's prize will be the wonderful Rebecca Makkai, whose wrenching, empathetic 2018 novel The Great Believers, about the AIDS crisis in 1980s Chicago, was widely and justly celebrated, including as a finalist for the National Book Award. Makkai … [Read more...] about Contest Closed: The 2019 Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize is closed for submissions!