In Zach Powers' flash fiction story, "Surface Treatments," a father paints himself into a corner—literally. While the circumstances are absurd, there is such an accuracy and familiarity in the helpless acceptance of his wife and children alternating between observing and gamely participating in his self-exile. We spoke to Powers about writing, this story, and—since he's also an expert on the subject—what to do when you're in Savannah. — Erin McReynolds: Something about this scenario—an ... [READ MORE]
NOTEBOOK
A Person Who Looks: An Interview with Lacy M. Johnson
Houston-based Lacy M. Johnson’s recent essay collection, The Reckonings, grapples with vital questions: the concept of evil, police killings, the BP oil spill, and the complexity of speaking truth to power. Finalist for the 2018 National Book Critics Circle Award in the category criticism, Johnson’s essays move between the personal and the political with deftness and precision. This interview was conducted via email where we talked about Johnson’s curatorial project, the Houston Flood Museum, ... [READ MORE]
Editorial Outtake: American Pop by Snowden Wright
Editorial Outtakes is a series in which we publish excerpts from recent books that you won’t find anywhere else because, prior the publication, these sections were cut. This installment of Editorial Outtakes features a deleted scene from American Pop, the new novel by Atlanta-based author Snowden Wright. Published by Harper Collins earlier this week, the novel follows the Forster family, a clan whose fortune is made via patriarch Harold's famous Panola Cola Company. With their roots planted in ... [READ MORE]
How to Make a Life for Ourselves: An Interview with Kevin Wilson
In Issue 67, Kevin Wilson’s "The Lost Baby” haunts readers with the sudden, small-town disappearance of a couple’s infant child. The story, which also appears in Wilson’s newest collection, Baby, You’re Gonna Be Mine, is emblematic of Wilson’s superb and thrilling prose, his stories as compassionate as they are strange. Every one of his characters, from the grieving mothers to the flailing young men, are so deeply human, so reassuringly like us, we can’t help but root for them in spite of their ... [READ MORE]
Reading RX with Danielle Dutton
We're thrilled to have Danielle Dutton, author of three remarkable books and editor of Dorothy, a publishing project, as the judge for this year’s American Short(er) Fiction Prize—a contest for extraordinary short stories under 1,000 words. (The deadline to submit is February 1, 2019. You can find more information here.) We asked Danielle about her favorite books this year, and she compiled this wonderful reading list of titles new and old, a confection of styles and genres and small-press gems ... [READ MORE]
Make a Year-end Contribution to ASF, and We’ll Send You Some of Our Favorite Things
As we continue our year-end giving campaign, we want to take this opportunity to look back with gratitude for all that our readers, authors, staff, and supporters have helped American Short Fiction accomplish. So far this year, we've published 21 writers in our gorgeously designed literary journals and online exclusives, paying our writers competitive rates for their work and promoting them at events in Austin and around the country. We've published dozens of author interviews, reviews, and ... [READ MORE]