***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!
Announcing the Winners of the Insider Prize
Submissions to The Insider Prize—a writing contest for incarcerated writers in Texas, which we held for the first time this year—came to us in envelopes of many sizes. Most had been previously opened, with a red TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS stamp on the inside of the lip of the envelope that had been taped shut after an inspection. Some were composed on a typewriter. Others were handwritten. Like many literary journals, American Short Fiction accepts only electronic submissions. And while … [Read more...] about Announcing the Winners of the Insider Prize
The Stars at Night 2017
[Please note that this event has passed. Keep an eye on this space for information about The Stars at Night 2020, a virtual celebration of literary community!] Join us on the night of Thursday, November 2nd, for our second annual The Stars at Night, a beer-and-boots gala celebrating American Short Fiction, our Texas heritage, and our city's writers and those who champion them. Come for the live country music and dancing (courtesy of the great Weldon Henson and his band!), and stay for the … [Read more...] about The Stars at Night 2017
The O. Henry Prize Stories 2017!
We're so pleased to announce that Manuel Muñoz's story, "The Reason Is Because," from ASF Issue #61, has been selected for The O. Henry Prize Stories 2017 by Laura Furman and this year's jury panel of Elizabeth McCracken, David Bradley, and Brad Watson. The anthology will be out in September. Congratulations to all the winners! … [Read more...] about The O. Henry Prize Stories 2017!
Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award Winner!
Hooray for Bret Anthony Johnson, whose beautiful elegiac story "Half of What Atlee Rouse Knows About Horses," published in ASF's 25th anniversary issue, was announced as the winner of the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award on April 27th in London. The prize is the richest for a story in the English language. Congrats, Bret! … [Read more...] about Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award Winner!
Announcing our American Short(er) Fiction Contest Winners!
We are delighted to announce that Justin Torres has chosen the winners of our 2017 American Short(er) Fiction Contest. The first-place prize goes to Claire Robbins, for her story “Arms Out.” Of the story, Torres said, "Everything about 'Arms Out' impressed me: the punchy voice, the wayward chronology, the gender troubling. This story is fine and clear and tough and winsome." Claire Robbins is an MFA candidate at Western Michigan University where she teaches creative writing, works in the … [Read more...] about Announcing our American Short(er) Fiction Contest Winners!