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]
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]
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]
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: Bryan Washington
In September's web exclusive story, "Lockwood," a young boy gets a new neighbor, with whom he shares a brief friendship. The story's brilliance is in how clearly it manifests in the mind, as if happened to you. And in many ways, it has—each of us has experienced a similar convergence of moment, setting, and person that formed something like an enduring star in our memory. What we look for in fiction is to have our stars reflected back to us so that they shine a little brighter. The magic really ... [READ MORE]
Web Exclusive Interview: Heather Wells Peterson
In our August web exclusive story, "Gorman, CA," a couple's car runs out of fuel on the side of the road in a land that is foreign to them both. Heather Wells Peterson indicates lack throughout the landscape and the action as a skilled painter would, in the wilt of the odometer's needle, in the drought-stricken hills, in the protagonist's silence. It's one of those subtle revelations that's so sublime in short fiction: a moment, seemingly insignificant from an outside perspective, that casts a ... [READ MORE]