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American Short Fiction

Publishing exquisite fiction since 1991.

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divorce

What the Tide Returns

by Amina Gautier | December 29, 2021

What the Tide Returns

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. She hardly recognizes them; they’re browner than ever before, and somehow warmer to the touch. She hugs them and her hands come away coated with fine grains of sand.  Both boys come back taller and sporting fresh haircuts. The girl is fuller around the hips and her hair is braided in a different … [Read more...] about What the Tide Returns

Filed Under: NOTEBOOK, NOTEBOOK FEATURE, WEB EXCLUSIVES Tagged With: Brooklyn, divorce, estrangement, Puerto Rican, Puerto Rico, short story, summer vacation

A Guide to Sirens

by Lee Conell | November 2, 2015

A Guide to Sirens

Frank’s island tour—offered free to hotel guests—is described by the Paradise Inn’s brochure as a brief excursion into the island’s myths, mysteries, and mermaids, its selkies and sirens. What the brochure fails to mention is that most of the tour is aimed at selling extra-cost amenities. Frank has today’s group look at the hotel’s spa, the sea-themed restaurant, the saltwater pool, and some pinkish seashells with purported medicinal properties. Only after that does he finally gather the handful … [Read more...] about A Guide to Sirens

Filed Under: WEB EXCLUSIVES Tagged With: a guide to sirens, divorce, Flash Fiction, hallucination, honeymoon, island, mermaids, selkies, sirens, Web Exclusive

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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.
 

Issue 81 is out now: guest-edited by Fernando A. Flores, with stories by Julián Delgado Lopera, Carmen Maria Machado, Ruben Reyes Jr., and more. Order yours today!

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