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American Short Fiction

Publishing exquisite fiction since 1991.

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Black History Month

Audition

by Denne Michele Norris | February 2, 2022

Audition

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 Denne Michele Norris, reflecting on the experience of writing this story: I wrote "Audition" in a four week fury of inspiration during my first year living in New York City. It was a chaotic time, as first years in New York often … [Read more...] about Audition

Filed Under: NOTEBOOK, WEB EXCLUSIVES Tagged With: Audition, Black History Month, cello, Denne Michele Norris, fathers and children, fathers and sons, Issue 72, Music, musicians, New York, Ohio, queer love, religion, Subway station, teenagers, The Juilliard School, young love

ASF Celebrates Black Writers

by ASF Editors | February 25, 2020

ASF Celebrates Black Writers

As Black History Month 2020 nears an end, we asked members of our staff compile a list of their favorite short fiction by Black writers. For this list, our scope was broad. After all, while Black History Month has its roots in American history, it's not an exclusively American endeavor. Canada celebrates along with us during February, but in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands, Black History Month is aligned with the start of the school year in October. So, rather than give our … [Read more...] about ASF Celebrates Black Writers

Filed Under: NOTEBOOK Tagged With: Aaron Teel, Adam Soto, Adeena Reitberger, Alexander Lumans, Amanda Farone, Anabel Graff, Ashley Whitaker, Black History Month, Bryan Washington, Charles W. Chestnutt, Chester Himes, Danielle Evans, Edward P. Jones, Giuseppe Taurino, Helen Oyeyemi, Jamaica Kincaid, Jamel Brinkley, James Alan McPherson, James Baldwin, John Edgar Wideman, Lesley Nneka Arimah, Marta Evans, Maurice Chammah, Melinda Moustakis, Michelle Raji, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Nate Brown, Patricia Ruiz-Rivera, Percival Everett, Peter Kispert, Philip Baker, Rebecca Markovits, Reginald McKnight, short fiction, Siân Griffiths, Stacey Swann, Stephanie Macias Gibson, Tia Clark, Toni Morrison, Uriel Perez, Venita Blackburn, Victor LaValle, Zadie Smith, ZZ Packer

Primary Sidebar

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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