Tia Clark's story, "Nutcracker," opens our current issue. Set in a Modell's Sporting Goods store in one of New York City's shabbier suburbs, the story is told in the sharp, funny, and frequently affecting voice of a teenaged girl trying to define herself at the edge of a brave new world of independence and sexuality. As Shelly attempts to reconcile the dull daily grind of her outer world with the sizzle of her fantasies, she finds herself suddenly unsure in which space she feels more like … [Read more...] about Inside the Issue: Tia Clark Reads from “Nutcracker”
podcast
Inside the Issue: Kellie Wells reads from “A Unified Theory of Human Behavior”
The young heroine of Kellie Wells' "A Unified Theory of Human Behavior," the opening story in Issue 56 of American Short Fiction, observes the world around her with an affecting mixture of sorrow and humor. "Kellie Wells," writes the wonderful Matt Bell, "will break your heart with a sentence, with a story, with the irrepressible smile at her wit that lights across your face even as on the page sadness swells and grief abounds." The story chronicles a young girl's tangled efforts to make sense … [Read more...] about Inside the Issue: Kellie Wells reads from “A Unified Theory of Human Behavior”