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Publishing exquisite fiction since 1991.

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Keith Lesmeister

Online Fiction Interview: Keith Lesmeister

by Nate Brown | March 25, 2014

Online Fiction Interview: Keith Lesmeister

This month, our online fiction came from Keith Lesmeister, whose tight fist of a story "Imaginary Enemies" clocks in at a trim 965 words. That's less than half of the 2,000 word maximum we here at ASF have  imposed on our web fiction. That cap exists, in part, because we know that great stories come in all sizes and that the web—for all of its faults and all of its cat videos—is a particularly good venue for short work. Still, it'd be a mistake to think that any story, regardless of length, pops … [Read more...] about Online Fiction Interview: Keith Lesmeister

Filed Under: NOTEBOOK, Web Exclusive Interview Tagged With: Inadequacy, Keith Lesmeister, War

Imaginary Enemies

by Keith Lesmeister | March 1, 2014

Imaginary Enemies

Elbow and I ducked out of our nephew’s birthday party and drove to Walmart to check on ammo prices. I didn’t care about ammo prices. I was along for the ride. Elbow was married to my sister and just out of the Marine Corps. His hair was still high and tight, and he strutted around with a purposeful intensity that I had a difficult time keeping up with. He stood at the ammo display—closed and fortified with a brass lock. He peered at the inventory. “Figures,” he said. “They’re out of .22 and 9 … [Read more...] about Imaginary Enemies

Filed Under: Uncategorized, WEB EXCLUSIVES Tagged With: Imaginary Enemies, Keith Lesmeister, Online Fiction, Web Exclusives

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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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