Three cheers for Smith Henderson, whose ASF story "Trouble" from Issue 62 will be anthologized in The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2017, edited by Sarah Vowell. "Trouble" was also a semifinalist for the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award, and we're thrilled his terrific story has received such distinguished recognition. Congrats, Smith! ... [READ MORE]
NEWS
Issue 64 Release Party & Reading
We are thrilled to announce the arrival of Issue 64—so thrilled that we decided to throw a party! This is no regular party—it's a reading party at the dark and delightful King Bee Lounge, featuring ASF staff members, including contributing editors JENNIFER DUBOIS and STACEY SWANN, editorial fellow CHARLES RAMSAY MCCRORY, and assistant editor HEATHER HASSELLE. These folks can balance horses on their heads, write sentences that wrap around to lasso the most terrible of criminals, and ride elegant ... [READ MORE]
ASF Contributors Johnston & Henderson Longlisted for the 2017 Sunday Times EFG Short Fiction Award
On the heels of a wonderful AWP conference in Washington, DC, we returned home only to find that recent ASF contributors Bret Anthony Johnston (ASF 63, Fall 2016) and Smith Henderson (ASF 62, Summer 2016) have been included on the longlist for the 2017 Sunday Times EFG Short Fiction Award. Johnston's story, "Half of What Atlee Rouse Knows About Horses" appeared as the issue opener in our special 25th Birthday edition. Henderson's "The Trouble" was the final story in our most recent summer issue. ... [READ MORE]
Winners of the American Short(er) Fiction Prize
It is time to raise your fruit for the winners of the 2016 American Short(er) Fiction Contest, judged by Amelia Gray! This year we had many wonderful submissions, so thank you to all who submitted to the contest—reading your stories has been an honor and a pleasure, a welcome reminder of the beauty and versatility and promise of the flash-fiction form. The first-place prize goes to Erin Somers, for her story “Canine.” Gray writes, "Funny, eerie and sharp as a bloody tooth, this story shows ... [READ MORE]
Announcing Our American Short Fiction Contest Winners!
We are so pleased to announce that Elizabeth McCracken has chosen the winners of our 2015 American Short Fiction Contest. The first place prize goes to Leona Theis, for her story "How Sylvie Failed to Become a Better Person Through Yoga." McCracken writes, "This unsettling story about a 1970s summer sneaks up on the reader: at first it seems as aimless as its main character, but in the end it is a curiously moving story about self-knowledge and moral quandaries; it's also darkly funny, and ... [READ MORE]
ASF & Lit Crawl Austin Present: Whose Line Is it Anyway?
We are excited to join Lit Crawl Austin to present our second installment of "Whose Line Is it Anyway?" a hilarious and highbrow night of literature, guessing games, and other foolish fun. Come hang out at Wonderland Austin with Texas Book Festival authors Elizabeth McCracken, Lauren Groff, Alexandra Kleeman, Benjamin Markovits, and Skip Horack, and watch these authors blindly guess which of them is the writer of the sentences we culled from their latest books. Short readings by the authors will ... [READ MORE]