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American Short Fiction

Publishing exquisite fiction since 1991.

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FICTION

WEB EXCLUSIVES

A Shameful Citizen

—February 09, 2022

A Shameful Citizen

By Selena Anderson

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 … [READ MORE] about A Shameful Citizen

Audition

—February 02, 2022

Audition

By Denne Michele Norris

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 … [READ MORE] about Audition

On Balconies

—December 31, 2021

On Balconies

By Isabelle Burden

Everybody loved Berlin except for me and Emory. From my rented bed I could hear the others laughing in the streets. I’d pass the empty bottles on the curbs, lined up like tiny cities for the homeless … [READ MORE] about On Balconies

What the Tide Returns

—December 29, 2021

What the Tide Returns

By Amina Gautier

She counts the children as they come through the door—one, two, and three—to reassure herself that they are hers. She can’t say just how happy she is to see them; she’s missed them all summer long. … [READ MORE] about What the Tide Returns

Balikbayan

—December 28, 2021

Balikbayan

By Alexander Salerno

Two of my uncles hoisted the balikbayan box out of the truck bed. I heard the package hit the ground even though I was ten meters away, sitting on the porch, where I always sat. My seven younger … [READ MORE] about Balikbayan

Matt’s

—December 21, 2021

Matt’s

By Kathryn Savage

Day after the school shooting in Florida, my son’s elementary practices lockdown. When I pick his five-year-old self up in the parking lot crowded with parents I don’t breathe. I’ve been drinking, … [READ MORE] about Matt’s

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Issue 81

Guest-edited by Fernando A. Flores, featuring new stories by Yvette DeChavez, Julián Delgado Lopera, Carribean Fragoza, Alejandro Heredia, Carmen Maria Machado, Ruben Reyes Jr., and Gerardo Sámano Córdova.

You can preview the issue here.

NEWS

Read the winners of the 2024 Insider Prize

Read the winners of the 2024 Insider Prize

By ASF Editors

“Memories are a nuisance,” Peter wrote to one of our writers after reading his short story, “but nonetheless they seem to make us who we are, as this story confirms.” This year’s submissions told many stories burdened with memory, but just as many stared bravely into the face of hope, satirized the state of politics, speculated on the future of the world, or else built entirely new worlds to inhabit. In short, the stories written on the inside reflected the stories we wrote this year on the outside. Stories of human toil and dreams and everything in between.
 

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