In November's web exclusive, "America," a white teenager in Ohio finds herself awakening in the body of the Puerto Rican "Marisol" from A West Side Story. The story is beguiling at first because of its voice and given the comic richness inherent in the world of high school theater. But then layer upon layer quickly opens up, revealing truths about identity via the innocence and volatility of adolescence. We chatted briefly with author Erin McGraw about appropriation, empathy, and identity in ... [READ MORE]
NOTEBOOK
Things American: In the Air, Election Night 2016
My ears won’t pop, and the bites on my right arm itch, my arm and neck—red flares I can’t ascribe to any particular predator, just marks of Texas. I get a second tiny bottle of whiskey. My taller-than-me daughter sleeps against my shoulder, too old these days, too grown up. We are over the Rockies, Denver to Helena, a tiny plane half full. I get the second whiskey because the flight attendant asks if I want another before she closes out her till. No flight attendant has ever asked me this. I ... [READ MORE]
Things American: Thoughts on Last Night
It felt sad and strange today to be sitting at the helm of a magazine called American Short Fiction. That first word on our masthead, our understanding of what that word means, pulled and pinched and pummeled as it has been over the last few months by our leaders and our pundits and by the new president-elect most of all, took a violent final beating last night, and it was hard, this morning, not to hear a bitter, bruised irony in its syllables. “We’re taking our country back,” cheered an eager ... [READ MORE]
Announcing our American Short Fiction Contest Winners!
We are delighted to announce that Victor LaValle has chosen the winners of our 2016 American Short Fiction Contest. The first-place prize goes to Amanda Emil Anderson, for her story “The Goodnow Guide.” Look out for the story in an upcoming issue of American Short Fiction! Amanda Emil Anderson is a writer from Vermont. Her fiction has appeared in Sonora Review. She has an MFA from Emerson College and is the recipient of a Vermont Studio Center fellowship. The second-place prize goes ... [READ MORE]
THE STARS AT NIGHT 2016 [Please note that this event has passed. Please visit our Stars at Night page for information about this year's event.] Join us on the night of Thursday, November 3rd, for the first annual The Stars at Night, a beer-and-boots gala celebrating ASF's 25th anniversary, our Texas heritage, and our city's writers and those who champion them. Come for the country songs and dancing, and stay for the free cocktails, light snacks, and the bright view of the city skyline. ... [READ MORE]
https://americanshortfiction.org/asf-presents-stars-night-gala/
Web Exclusive Interview: Jeanne Jones
In October's fiction web exclusive, "Choose Your Own," author Jeanne Jones explores a familiarly adult dilemma in a familiar childhood format. She takes you (well, you take yourself) on a labyrinthine journey that's designed to reflect just how existential this whole finding-love thing can be. We talked with Jeanne about interaction; what Julie Otsuka, George Saunders, and Kanye West have in common; and how liquid intake is a sign you're doing a-okay. EM: First of all, I love the interactive ... [READ MORE]