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American Short Fiction

Publishing exquisite fiction since 1991.

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FICTION

WEB EXCLUSIVES

Cat’s-Eye

—January 27, 2021

Cat’s-Eye

Jennifer Tseng

At night I oil the door, whose hinges have been squeaking all year, and in the morning when I open it, they’re quiet. The rest is the same. I don’t wake anyone. The cat follows me into the bathroom. … [READ MORE] about Cat’s-Eye

New Folktale About Myself

—November 09, 2020

New Folktale About Myself

Lindsay Vranizan

I’m sweeping the floors one morning when I notice a gouge in the wood like a fingermark in cake icing. I cover it back up with the rug and resolve to sand it down, but a few days later I see that the … [READ MORE] about New Folktale About Myself

The North

—October 02, 2020

The North

Babak Lakghomi

My uncle was driving us north, where the enemy planes hadn’t yet attacked. He took turns drinking from a bottle with the man sitting up front. My parents and I were squeezed in the back. My mother … [READ MORE] about The North

Less Than Five Miles from Home

—August 20, 2020

Less Than Five Miles from Home

Christen Enos

My mother and I were heading north out of Marathon, Florida, in the middle of the night, everything we owned in the back of the car. I was thirteen, and she was driving. We were coming off an … [READ MORE] about Less Than Five Miles from Home

Karst

—July 15, 2020

Karst

Ben Jackson

He wakes in the landscape of his childhood, the karst. The house is surrounded by stone that dissolves in water, limestone that becomes fissured and hazardous because of its own weakness. The clints … [READ MORE] about Karst

I Hold a Wolf by the Ears

—July 01, 2020

I Hold a Wolf by the Ears

Laura van den Berg

Margot’s destination is a walled medieval village several thousand feet above Trapani, overlooking Punta del Saraceno and the Mediterranean Sea. The village can be accessed only by a single road … [READ MORE] about I Hold a Wolf by the Ears

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CURRENT ISSUE

American Short Fiction Issue 82

Featuring

New stories by Lydi Conklin, Annie Liontas, Kyle McCarthy, Carrie R. Moore, KJ Nakazawa-Kern, and Colleen Rosenfeld.

MFA for All Spring 2026: New classes from Jonathan Lethem and Katie Kitamura. Register now!

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