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American Short Fiction

Publishing exquisite fiction since 1991.

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Pascha Sotolongo

Ember

Pascha Sotolongo
Ember

American Short Fiction · Ember by Pascha Sotolongo Chuchi marvels at the sparks brightening this darkest night, and I guess they are kind of pretty. You look up, let your eyes water against the cold, and can’t tell the embers from the stars. We don’t have a tree this year, so maybe smoldering flakes of the Brownsburg Public Library are as close to Christmas lights as we’re gonna get. Chuchi tilts his head all the way back, mouth open, and the orangey glow illuminates his features. Little swirls … [Read more...] about Ember

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Issue 83
Issue 83
  • Manuel Gonzales
  • Nic Guo
  • Baba Ademoroti
  • Simon Han
  • Ammi Keller
  • Mathilde Merouani
  • Kyle Alderdice
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News

The 2025 Halifax Prize Winners We are thrilled to announce the winners of this year's Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize, judged by Eric Puchner. We consider it our privilege to have spent time with so many terrific submissions—thank you for giving us the opportunity to read your work. Congratulations to the winners!
Read the Winners of the 2025 Insider Prize Whose voices are these, I wonder each fall as submissions for the Insider Prize begin accumulating in my office. Four years on as director of Texas’s annual literary award for incarcerated writers, some of the names written across the bloated white and manila envelopes have grown familiar—essayists, short story writers, and the places they are relegated to calling “home”.  
Announcing the Winners of the 2025 American Short(er) Fiction Prize 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!

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MFA for All Spring 2026: “Bodies in Space, Bodies in Place” with Katie Kitamura is still open. Register now!

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