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 writer Mike Scalise, author of The Brand New Catastrophe, reflecting on some of the particularities of revealing character details in nonfiction. Given that we all grow up (and, presumably, learn a lot about ourselves and the world around us), how does a writer of memoir go about ... [READ MORE]
NOTEBOOK
Contest Closed: American Short(er) Fiction Contest
The American Short(er) Fiction Contest is now closed. Thank you all for your submissions. This year we are honored to have Justin Torres as our guest judge. We will be announcing the winners on this site. General Guidelines – Submit your entry online between October 25, 2016 – February 1, 2017. The submission deadline has been extended to February 17th. The contest is now closed. – The first-place winner will receive a $1,000 prize and publication in a future issue of ASF. One ... [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]
Web Exclusive Interview: Merrill Feitell
In December's web exclusive story, "The Cupcake Factory," we bear witness to a moment between siblings that we know will become, for one of them, a searing memory. We know because it's told as if the scene is already crystallizing as it unfolds, and with a weight that can only manifest for him down the line. It's an exercise in recognizing ourselves, and in being in multiple places at once: in the present and in the future, looking back at the past. We talked to author Merrill Feitell about how ... [READ MORE]
Bourbon and Milk: “Oh, My Dear. Where Is That Country?”
Bourbon and Milk is an ongoing series that dives into the perplexing spaces parenting sometimes pushes us, and explores the unexpected ways writers may grow in them. If you’re interested in joining the conversation or contributing a Bourbon and Milk post, query Giuseppe Taurino at: giuseppe [at] americanshortfiction.org. — The world, like the Tower of Babel… [is] made out of stories, and it [is] always on the verge of collapse. That [is] proverbial.” ... [READ MORE]
Web Exclusive Interview: Siân Griffiths
In our January web exclusive story "The Key Bearer's Parents," a pair of loving parents (clowns, by trade) explain how they raised their son in order to try and make sense of his very troubling decision—a decision whose implications seem to depend entirely on the reader's point of view. It's a story that prompts an endless number of questions, so we were thrilled to have the chance to ask them of author Siân Griffiths. Erin McReynolds: This story supposes an alternate present—or a plausible ... [READ MORE]
The Stars at Night 2025: Celebrating Joy Williams, Emily Hunt Kivel, Carrie R. Moore, and Leila Green Little.