David Naimon's "The Battle" is an oddball buddy tale of sorts set in a Black Sea bunker in some not-too-far-off future. The stakes are high—international tensions run deep as global warming has opened the arctic to shipping lanes—and Sergei, Naimon's protagonist, is charged with monitoring the progress of Russian submarines as they stake claims on the seafloor. This story has the distinction of being the ASF online exclusive in which the least actually happens, and yet, as Naimon told us in the … [Read more...] about Online Fiction Interview: David Naimon
Uncategorized
Best Words of 2014
Tick-tock, and another year rolls off the clock. We asked our staff here at American Short Fiction what they were reading in 2014. Words, words, words, they said, and proceeded to specify. Here, in no particular order, are some of our favorite lines of literature from the past year, with a few rediscovered oldies thrown in for good measure. The Germans have a saying they like to share around this time of year: Guten Rutsch, they say, which means, good slide, as in slip easily into the new … [Read more...] about Best Words of 2014
An Interview with Marie-Helene Bertino
I first met Marie-Helene Bertino last summer, when she was my workshop instructor at the One Story Workshop for Writers. In person, she is meticulous, charming, and bright. And her writing is the same. Her short story, “Carry Me Home, Sisters of Saint Joseph,” was first published in Issue 47 of American Short Fiction. Her second book, 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas, will be published this August by Crown. Set in Philadelphia, the novel takes place over the course of a single day—Christmas Eve … [Read more...] about An Interview with Marie-Helene Bertino
Inside the Issue: Tia Clark Reads from “Nutcracker”
Tia Clark's story, "Nutcracker," opens our current issue. Set in a Modell's Sporting Goods store in one of New York City's shabbier suburbs, the story is told in the sharp, funny, and frequently affecting voice of a teenaged girl trying to define herself at the edge of a brave new world of independence and sexuality. As Shelly attempts to reconcile the dull daily grind of her outer world with the sizzle of her fantasies, she finds herself suddenly unsure in which space she feels more like … [Read more...] about Inside the Issue: Tia Clark Reads from “Nutcracker”
Online Fiction Interview: Amber Sparks
There are at least as many ways to title a story as there are to write one. An author might conjure up a title that points to a story's symbolic weight ("A Perfect Day for Bananafish," say) while another might employ a seemingly benign phrase ("Family Furnishings") only to have it churn and reverberate in the mind of a reader throughout the reading experience. And then there are the deceptively simple titles like Cheever's "The Swimmer," which, yes, is literally about a swimmer, but that doesn't … [Read more...] about Online Fiction Interview: Amber Sparks
Until It Isn’t: An Interview with Antonya Nelson
Antonya Nelson's eleventh book, Funny Once, was published this past May. It includes the story "Winter in Yalta," which appears in the most recent issue of ASF. Over a slew of emails, she took some time to talk to me, among other things, about the origins of her love of reading, obsessive fascinations, and the difference between therapy and writing fiction. GT: Growing up, I liked to read, but it wasn’t with a genuine sense of curiosity. It was more of a two-dimensional kind of interaction. … [Read more...] about Until It Isn’t: An Interview with Antonya Nelson