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Announcing the 2021 Winners of The Insider Prize, Selected by Mitchell S. Jackson

by Emily Chammah & Maurice Chammah | July 28, 2021

A few weeks ago, we typed the name “Eva Shelton” into the website of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, looking for an address so that we could send her some exciting news: she’d won The Insider Prize for fiction. Sponsored by American Short Fiction and now in its fourth year, the prize highlights work by incarcerated writers in Texas, whether they live in state or federal prisons, local jails, or immigration detention centers. This time around the guest judge was Mitchell S. Jackson—who … [Read more...] about Announcing the 2021 Winners of The Insider Prize, Selected by Mitchell S. Jackson

The Very Last Time I Set Out to Stargaze

by C Pam Zhang | October 16, 2020

I’m in Joshua Tree, California, the very last time I set out to stargaze. I’ve come for the month of July to this hallucinogenic desertscape inland of Los Angeles, where my goal is to disconnect from daily life. Oneness with the universe and all that. As a debut author, I’ve been spooked by too much attention, and so I look up and think about how good it is to disappear into these constellations, so far from human concerns. This is one of the last nights I see the stars in California. Two … [Read more...] about The Very Last Time I Set Out to Stargaze

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.

Story Sessions: Percival Everett in Conversation with Roger Reeves

By ASF Editors

Join us for the first installment of Story Sessions, a literary series that brings exceptional authors together for a freewheeling discussion about the power of stories and the ways we share them, on September 27, 2024, at Huston-Tillotson University from 6 – 8:00 p.m. We’re thrilled to welcome the nationally award-winning novelist Percival Everett to the stage alongside the distinguished poet and National Book Award finalist Roger Reeves.

Announcing the winners of the 2024 American Short(er) Fiction Prize

By ASF Editors

We are delighted to announce that Dantiel Moniz has chosen the winners of our 2024 American Short(er) Fiction Contest. Thank you to our judge and to everyone who submitted—it is always inspiring to read your work. Congratulations to the winners!