Featuring new stories by Lydia Conklin, Darby Jardeleza, Matthew Neill Null, Roger Reeves, Eric Schlich, Caroline Schmidt, Jackie Thomas-Kennedy, and Emma Törzs. Lydia Conklin, "Belong to the Night" A hangover was already running her down, her lungs full of fiberglass. En route to the subway, a rat skittered from under a bulkhead door down the sticky, empty street and into the neon light of a taco sign. The rat carried a mouse in its teeth. The mouse’s eyes were points of light straining … [Read more...] about Issue 75
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Playing the Ghost
I quit Texas after Lorelei troubled my waters. Ten, fifteen years ago. I drove to New Orleans, then Biloxi and Kansas City, wherever there was nine-ball action. If I found a motor court laid out like a horseshoe, I’d rent a room for a week. A month if the pool hall had Gold Crown tables, longer yet if I met a friendly waitress. I’d been hustling in Knoxville for a year before Jesse Vodinh kicked in my door at the Sunset Motel and accused me of throwing games. Jesse was a stake horse with a … [Read more...] about Playing the Ghost
On Sale Now: Get Your Tickets to Our 2022 Stars at Night Celebration
Each fall, the editors and staff of American Short Fiction host a grand celebration that recognizes literary excellence, extraordinary literary service, and a debut writer from Texas. We had to postpone our party last year because of the pandemic, but we’re so excited to see everyone at last on our new date, April 16, 2022, at a beautiful new venue in Austin’s Pease Park. This year, we'll celebrate and honor literary stars Yiyun Li, Stacey Swann, Danielle Evans, and Meg Kuehn. For full … [Read more...] about On Sale Now: Get Your Tickets to Our 2022 Stars at Night Celebration
Pioneers
ASF is recognizing Black History Month by sharing, for the first time online, four stories from our Winter 2020 issue, which showcased emerging Black writers selected by guest editor and PEN American Robert W. Bingham Prize winner Danielle Evans. Here is author Maya Perez, reflecting on the experience of writing this story: My initial idea for the story was two people with a shared history having a reunion and realizing that while they don’t know each other at all, they share an overwhelming … [Read more...] about Pioneers
Issue 74
Featuring new stories by Sanjay Agnihotri, Mala Gaonkar, hurmat kazmi, Taisia Kitaiskaia, Morgan Thomas, and Kirstin Valdez Quade. Kirstin Valdez Quade, “After Hours at the Acacia Park Pool” Laura’s breasts notwithstanding, the summer seemed to be shaping up perfectly. But then, toward the end of June, Mr. Swanson from next door ran away with an eighteen-year-old girl who worked at the Breezy Freeze. “Of course I knew about her,” Laura overheard Mrs. Swanson telling her mother … [Read more...] about Issue 74
American Short(er) Fiction Prize 2022
We are thrilled to announce that Brandon Hobson—author of Where the Dead Sit Talking, a National Book Award Finalist, and the 2021 novel The Removed, hailed by the NPR as "deeply resonant and profound"— will judge our 2022 American Short(er) Fiction Prize. The prize recognizes extraordinary short fiction under 1,000 words. The first-place winner will receive a $1,000 prize and publication. Previous winners of the Short(er) Fiction Prize have gone on to be anthologized in places such as The … [Read more...] about American Short(er) Fiction Prize 2022