We’re so pleased to announce that our judge for this year’s Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize will be Eric Puchner, author of the 2025 New York Times bestselling novel Dream State as well as the novel Model Home, a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, and two story collections. Puchner lives in Baltimore, where he is the director of the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University. The deadline to submit has been extended to June 15, 2025. In addition to publication and a $2,500 prize, we are ... [READ MORE]
NOTEBOOK
The Halifax Prize Winners
We are thrilled to announce the winners of this year's Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize, judged by Daniel Mason. 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! _____ First-Place Prize: "The Skilled Anatomist" by Colleen Rosenfeld Judge Daniel Mason writes, "'The Skilled Anatomist' takes a strange and beautiful conceit and runs with it, treading the uncanny space between ... [READ MORE]
The Stars at Night 2025
Join us for American Short Fiction’s grand party, The Stars at Night, on Friday, May 2, 2025, at the Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum in Austin. This year’s program will honor Joy Williams as the Literary Star for her extraordinary body of work, Carrie R. Moore as the Constellation Star for the story collection Make Your Way Home (Tin House, 2025), Emily Hunt Kivel as the First Star for the debut novel Dwelling (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2025), and Leila Green Little as the Community Star ... [READ MORE]
MFA for All Spring 2025
MFA for ALL Registration is open for individual classes of MFA for All Spring 2025, with new faculty Matt Bell, Kristen Arnett, and ZZ Packer. Full-semester registration is closed. MFA for All was born from our desire to create a space where MFA-quality instruction is widely accessible to writers no matter their age, background, location, or financial situation. MFA for All is not a degree-granting program—it is a community-rich online educational experience led by top-notch faculty, free of ... [READ MORE]
Deadline Extended: The 2025 American Short(er) Fiction Prize
We are thrilled to announce that the brilliant Tony Tulathimutte—author of the 2024 National Book Award longlisted novel Rejection—will judge the 2025 American Short(er) Fiction Prize. The prize recognizes extraordinary short fiction under 1,500 words. The first-place winner will receive a $1,000 prize and publication. Previous winners of the Short(er) Fiction Prize have gone on to be anthologized in places such as The Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses. All entries will be considered for ... [READ MORE]
MFA for All Fall 2024
MFA for ALL MFA for All was born from our desire to create a space where MFA-quality instruction is widely accessible to writers no matter their age, background, location, or financial situation. MFA for All is not a degree-granting program—it is a community-rich online educational experience led by top-notch faculty, free of the significant hurdles of time, expense, and geography that MFAs demand. These master classes will offer structured insight into your craft and writing practice, ... [READ MORE]