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American Short Fiction

Publishing exquisite fiction since 1991.

Rebecca Markovits

An Interview with Bret Anthony Johnston

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Bret Anthony Johnston has the distinction of being among the few writers occupying that slim but coveted slice of the Venn diagram: creative writing directors (Johnston is at the helm at Harvard) who have toured the country on a professional skateboarding team. Find a great discussion on this over at McSweeney’s. His latest work, Remember Me Like This, is a quiet and rich novel centered around a teenage boy named Justin who is returned to his family four years after his kidnapping. The story … [Read more...] about An Interview with Bret Anthony Johnston

Inside the Issue: An Excerpt from “Zone of Mutuality,” by Karl Taro Greenfeld

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In "Zone of Mutuality," the final story in Issue 57 of American Short Fiction, Karl Taro Greenfeld introduces us to Dwayne, a young man settling uneasily in to a perennial professional disappointment that threatens to swamp the rest of his life as well. As we wrote in our introductory note to the issue, Dwayne, "a 'personal banker' in a small bank branch whose title and cheap suit belie the essential sordidness of the job, moves through the indignities that make up his working day with a … [Read more...] about Inside the Issue: An Excerpt from “Zone of Mutuality,” by Karl Taro Greenfeld

An Interview with Marie-Helene Bertino

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I first met Marie-Helene Bertino last summer, when she was my workshop instructor at the One Story Workshop for Writers. In person, she is meticulous, charming, and bright. And her writing is the same. Her short story, “Carry Me Home, Sisters of Saint Joseph,” was first published in Issue 47 of American Short Fiction. Her second book, 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas, will be published this August by Crown. Set in Philadelphia, the novel takes place over the course of a single day—Christmas Eve … [Read more...] about An Interview with Marie-Helene Bertino

Inside the Issue: Tia Clark Reads from “Nutcracker”

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Tia Clark's story, "Nutcracker," opens our current issue. Set in a Modell's Sporting Goods store in one of New York City's shabbier suburbs, the story is told in the sharp, funny, and frequently affecting voice of a teenaged girl trying to define herself at the edge of a brave new world of independence and sexuality. As Shelly attempts to reconcile the dull daily grind of her outer world with the sizzle of her fantasies, she finds herself suddenly unsure in which space she feels more like … [Read more...] about Inside the Issue: Tia Clark Reads from “Nutcracker”

Inside the Issue: Rob Roensch reads from “The Zoo and the World”

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"The Zoo and the World," Rob Roensch's story in the Spring 2014 issue of American Short Fiction, is narrated by a man who has come to rely on his own exceptional competence, but finds himself suddenly out of his element. A rare animal trader, he has learned to value life as both a momentary, beautiful apparition, to be viewed with reverence, and a currency, to be handled practically. Alone, without leave, with his own son, he finds that neither approach helps him weigh the life now in his hands. … [Read more...] about Inside the Issue: Rob Roensch reads from “The Zoo and the World”