May's flash fiction exclusive, "Endangered," imagines a world in which artists are kept in cages for their own safety. But author Allegra Hyde is more about the utopia than the dystopia—and what with the sorry state of the world right now, it's completely understandable. We talked recently about utopias, how to get closer to your own (hint: it involves going off social media), and how there are little slivers of real utopias worth paying attention to. Erin McReynolds: In "Endangered," an … [Read more...] about Web Exclusive Interview: Allegra Hyde
Between the Shores
Nicoya and Daniel are born in the same hospital in Jerusalem on the same date. At 2 a.m., their fathers exchange smiles in the nursery. When Nicoya is three months old, her mother takes her on a bus to the assisted living home where Nicoya’s grandmother lives. In the back of the same bus, Daniel sleeps against his mother’s chest for two stops before he is carried off the bus and down the street and into his home, eyes peacefully closed all the while. They both read The Phantom Tollbooth at … [Read more...] about Between the Shores
Endangered
https://soundcloud.com/americanshortfiction/allegra-hyde-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. Most did not know how to shoot guns, for instance. Or how to make bombs out of soda bottles. The artists were a dying breed, in all honesty, which is why the government, along with a few wealthy do-gooders, put them in cages—nice cages—that … [Read more...] about Endangered
Web Exclusive Interview: Daisy Johnson
April's Web Exclusive, "A Bruise the Size and Shape of a Door Handle," is a haunting story whose slow, creeping tension evokes the likes of Edgar Allen Poe and Shirley Jackson. And yet it is so thoroughly modern, an enlightened study of unhinged, potent adolescent-female sexuality. Its author, Daisy Johnson, is surely destined for great things, so we're thrilled to have her story and interview here. Erin McReynolds: The collection from which this story comes is called, FEN, referring … [Read more...] about Web Exclusive Interview: Daisy Johnson
Web Exclusive Interview: Libby Flores
Our March Web Exclusive story, "Good," viewed a goodbye from the perspective of the one who did the dick move, "the bad guy," reminding us that good writing isn't at all interested in concept of "the bad guy." Author Libby Flores talked with us about writing the other side of the story, Amy Hempel's advice about tackling a big concept, and how Tom Waits lyrics are basically terrific flash fiction. Erin McReynolds: "Good" is nothing short of masterful in how much it gives in so few words: in … [Read more...] about Web Exclusive Interview: Libby Flores
A Bruise the Size and Shape of a Door Handle
https://soundcloud.com/americanshortfiction/daisy-johnson-a-bruise-the-shape-and-size-of-a-door-handle When Salma was nine her mother died and she went to live with the father she knew only through birthday phone calls and from her mother’s steel-lined phraseology—he was a bitch on heat; a fucking rabid, no-cock-and-balled pug with more horn than a wolfhound. They stood in the hallway and looked at one another. Pick a room, any room, he said. She took the attic as if it were a … [Read more...] about A Bruise the Size and Shape of a Door Handle