Bret Anthony Johnston, “Half of What Atlee Rouse Knows About Horses” “His daughter’s first horse came from a traveling carnival where children rode him in miserable clockwise circles. He was swaybacked with a patchy coat and split hooves, but Tammy fell for him on the spot, and Atlee made a cash deal with the carnie. A lifetime ago, just outside Robstown, Texas. Atlee managed the stables west of town; Laurel, his wife, taught lessons there. He hadn’t brought the trailer—buying a pony hadn’t … [Read more...] about ISSUE 63 – Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Issue
Joyce Carol Oates
ISSUE 67
Mark Mayer, “The Clown” “Cruelty and pain were easy quantities, but murder used to express something in him. Take the kings of Greece and Persia who entertained guests with hollow bronze bulls that seemed to bay when wheeled over a fire, when in fact it was condemned queens screaming from inside. It was cruel, it was painful—but it was so kingly too. The court clapping and marveling, pretending they didn’t know, while the king spat seeds from his grapes. The Aztecs murdered like Aztecs, the … [Read more...] about ISSUE 67
ISSUE 70
Annesha Mitha, “No One Wants to Be Here Forever” “When Mrithika first came home, she expected, selfishly, that she would be taken care of. She didn’t account for the tumors found on the ultrasound screen, curled up with the dog’s wet organs. She didn’t understand how much care a small body like the dog’s could absorb. But now, the dog is fed pills stashed in Vienna sausages three times a day. She’s held until she falls asleep, and her messes are cleaned up with bleach that warps the … [Read more...] about ISSUE 70
The 2019 Insider Prize, Fiction Honoree: “Mother’s Son” by F.R. Martinez, Selected by Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates has a long history with prisons—she’s sprinkled them throughout her stories, tweeted about their poor conditions, and edited a collection of stories by incarcerated men and women. At least one of her novels is banned in some facilities. So she was the perfect judge for American Short Fiction’s 2019 Insider Prize, our contest for incarcerated writers. In the fiction category, she selected “Mother’s Son” by F.R. Martinez, calling it “intense, lyrical, nostalgic — a kind of prose … [Read more...] about The 2019 Insider Prize, Fiction Honoree: “Mother’s Son” by F.R. Martinez, Selected by Joyce Carol Oates
The 2019 Insider Prize, Memoir Honoree: “Bucknaked Gurney Unit” by Kevin Murphy, Selected by Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates has a long history with prisons—she’s sprinkled them throughout her stories, tweeted about their poor conditions, and edited a collection of stories by incarcerated men and women. At least one of her novels is banned in some facilities. So she was the perfect judge for American Short Fiction’s 2019 Insider Prize, our contest for incarcerated writers. In the memoir category, she selected “Bucknaked Gurney Unit,” by Kevin Murphy, writing that his “memoir of humiliation and the … [Read more...] about The 2019 Insider Prize, Memoir Honoree: “Bucknaked Gurney Unit” by Kevin Murphy, Selected by Joyce Carol Oates
Summer Film Club: Joyce Carol Oates
In this weekly series, Intern Alyssa, your fearless reader, will review popular short stories and their film adaptations. We’ll explore what works in each medium and what doesn't and how exactly the allure of literature can translate to film. Alyssa has no formal training in film, unless subscribing to Netflix and following Roger Ebert on Twitter count as formal training. She would also like to issue one big standing Spoiler Alert now. In 1966, twenty-three-year-old Charles Schmid was … [Read more...] about Summer Film Club: Joyce Carol Oates