sirens

Web Exclusive Interview: Lee Conell

by Erin McReynolds | November 16, 2015

This season, as the nights turn ever longer and we turn ever inward to contemplate life’s mysteries, stories like our November exclusive, “A Guide to Sirens,” seem especially to speak (or sing) to us. We talked to author Lee Conell about her inspiration for the story, about magic and the unexpected, and about creatures real and imagined. Erin McReynolds: What part of “A Guide to Sirens” came to you first: the island hotel, Frank and his job, or the wife/vision dynamic? Lee Conell: When I … [Read more...] about Web Exclusive Interview: Lee Conell

A Guide to Sirens

by Lee Conell | November 2, 2015

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

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.