We are delighted to announce that Tony Tulathimutte has chosen the winners of our 2025 American Short(er) Fiction Contest. Thank you to our judge and to everyone who submitted—it is always inspiring to read your work. Congratulations to the winners!
“Young Soldier’s Diary, May 1431, A Knot of Towers That Was a Church Before the War” by Kyle Alderdice
In selecting this story, Tulathimutte said “Historical fiction isn’t even usually my thing, but this brief elegiac piece, told by a guard in the days leading to the martyrdom of Joan of Arc, irresistibly nails one of those liminal moments where you’ve had the most important experience of your life and are only half-conscious of it, an incomprehensible brush with grace.”
Kyle Alderdice is a fiction writer, poet, and French translator from New York. His work appears in Swing, Carve Magazine (Editor’s Choice 2023 Raymond Carver Contest), Broadkill Review (4 poems), and Strange Hymnal, among others. His work has received funding from the Bread Loaf Translators’ Conference, which he attended in 2024 and 2025. He studied French and Political Science at Duke University, and he holds an MFA in Fiction from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
“Blizzard” by Nic Guo
Of “Blizzard” Tulathimutte said, “A lady tries to board the bus with a live chicken and the people inside don’t want her to; that’s all any story really needs, but this one goes for extra credit, managing to touch on death, heartbreak, and whether or not it’s okay for monks to wear mesh sneakers.”
Nic Guo is a writer and attorney from Shanghai, China. His most recent fiction is forthcoming in Oyster River Pages. He currently lives in San Francisco, where he defends workers’ rights.
Tony Tulathimutte is the author of the novels Private Citizens and Rejection. A graduate of Stanford University and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he’s received a Whiting Award and an O. Henry Award, was longlisted for the National Book Award, and has written for The Paris Review, N+1, Playboy, The New York Times, The New Republic, and others. He also runs CRIT, a writing class in Brooklyn.