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”
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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
Online Fiction Interview: Alison McCabe
Alison McCabe's "Heirloom" deftly trades in contrasts. Over the course of a few hundred words, the diction evolves from the colloquial to the lyrical, and the strangest of details—a cat toy mistaken for a rodent, a son-in-law's name long forgotten—are also the story's most humorous. We recently emailed McCabe to ask about her work, about how she approaches the drafting process, and about how she manages to move so dramatically in time and in tone in such a short work. Nate Brown: “Heirloom” … [Read more...] about Online Fiction Interview: Alison McCabe
Online Fiction Interview: Kim Addonizio
Earlier this month, we brought you Kim Addonizio's "The Other Woman," a piece that depicts three people in a tight, tense orbit. Addonizio is a poet, essayist, and fiction writer, and we were curious to ask her about working across so many different forms, and about what leads her to write in one over another. Over the course of our back-and-forth, a few things became clear: the assumptions we bring to fiction—even pieces we think we've read carefully and several times—don't always match the … [Read more...] about Online Fiction Interview: Kim Addonizio
Imaginary Enemies
Elbow and I ducked out of our nephew’s birthday party and drove to Walmart to check on ammo prices. I didn’t care about ammo prices. I was along for the ride. Elbow was married to my sister and just out of the Marine Corps. His hair was still high and tight, and he strutted around with a purposeful intensity that I had a difficult time keeping up with. He stood at the ammo display—closed and fortified with a brass lock. He peered at the inventory. “Figures,” he said. “They’re out of .22 and 9 … [Read more...] about Imaginary Enemies