We are thrilled to announce the winners for this year's American Short(er) Fiction Prize, judged by Amber Sparks. Thank you to everyone who submitted. The winning stories will be published in the magazine’s fall issue. _____ First-Place Prize: "The Old Woman at the Edge of the Cliff" by Ariel Berry. Judge Amber Sparks writes, "This incredible, careful story read like an excavated fairy tale—brand new to us, but also somehow old as humans, and strange and sad as the wilder parts of the … [Read more...] about The 2018 American Short(er) Fiction Prize Winners
14 Writers You Love & Their Favorite Short Stories
Spring is here, and so are the promises of the season: the famous flowers are in bloom, the strawberries are ripe for picking, the earth's axis has started to tilt toward the sun, and—with its lackadaisical charm and balmy swagger—spring fever has set its sight on all of us. Oh, did we mention the kittens? But perhaps the best thing about the season is the arrival of May—Short Story Month—which is, as you might expect, American Short Fiction's favorite month of all. To celebrate we invited … [Read more...] about 14 Writers You Love & Their Favorite Short Stories
The Art of Staring: An Interview with Jamel Brinkley
In his much-anticipated debut collection A Lucky Man, Jamel Brinkley lays bare the full and complex interiority of black men and boys kicking against all manner of inexorable truths, while living an inch from ruin in Brooklyn and the Bronx. With stunning clarity and generosity of detail, each of the nine stories leaves its own lasting impression, while the book as a whole coalesces into a devastating tapestry of confused masculinity, familial responsibility, and the intractable power of … [Read more...] about The Art of Staring: An Interview with Jamel Brinkley
Best of the Net 2017!
We are thrilled to announce that two ASF stories—"Endangered" by Allegra Hyde and "A Bruise the Size and Shape of a Door Handle" by Daisy Johnson—have won Best of the Net 2017. Congratulations to all the winners! Allegra Hyde's "Endangered" 'The artists were kept in cages. This was for their own good. The world had gotten really ugly, really fast, and the artists, generally, did not have the skills to survive." (Read the entire story here.) Daisy Johnson's "A Bruise the Size and Shape of a … [Read more...] about Best of the Net 2017!
Closed: The Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize
**The 2018 Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize entry period has now closed.** The deadline for our brand new Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize was June 15, 2018. The winner of the prize will receive $2,500 and publication in an upcoming issue of American Short Fiction. We're kicking things off with a bang as our inaugural judge will be the incomparable ZZ Packer, whose writing has been hailed by everyone from John Updike to Oprah. George Saunders called Packer a wonderful writer "who somehow manages to … [Read more...] about Closed: The Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize
The American Short(er) Fiction Prize is now Closed
The American Short(er) Fiction Prize is now closed for submissions. Thank you to everyone who entered! We look forward to reading your work. A winner and runner-up will be announced in the coming months. * * * We are thrilled to announce that Amber Sparks will be judging this year’s American Short(er) Fiction Prize. The prize recognizes extraordinary short fiction under 1,000 words. The first-place winner will receive a $1,000 prize and publication, and the second-place winner … [Read more...] about The American Short(er) Fiction Prize is now Closed