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American Short Fiction

Publishing exquisite fiction since 1991.

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EOD

by Serena Lin | February 8, 2024

EOD

Sam feared old people. She feared their drooping folds, their soft edges, like a block of butter left out for too long. They haunted the office in their squelching orthopedic sneakers, moving so slowly that Sam sometimes expected them to leave behind snail trails of mucus. She drifted behind them in the hallways, keeping at least ten paces of distance. She didn’t like to get too close to their odor of mothballs and lye soap; she didn’t want to see where their hair had thinned to reveal the … [Read more...] about EOD

Filed Under: NOTEBOOK, Uncategorized, WEB EXCLUSIVES Tagged With: Fiction, office humor, publishing industry, short story, termination, Web Exclusive

Shouting Is at Least Talking

by Sumil Thakrar | December 29, 2023

Shouting Is at Least Talking

For six years I dated Ian, but only once we broke up did everyone close to me reveal they never liked him anyway. “We didn’t want to tell you,” my mother said. “We?” “Your father never liked him either.” She went quiet. “Ian’s tone was a little off. Do you know what I mean?” “He was good at communicating his needs,” I said. I found myself defending Ian, or at least defending my choice to spend six years with him, after a week of convincing myself I wasn’t right for him. “If you didn’t like … [Read more...] about Shouting Is at Least Talking

Filed Under: NOTEBOOK, WEB EXCLUSIVES Tagged With: breakups, dating, Fiction, lifestyle, pyramid scheme, short story, skin, spa, Web Exclusive

Bleed and Bleed

by Hedgie Choi | December 26, 2023

Bleed and Bleed

Christopher was the nicest man I had ever met and so I was engaged to him. We got engaged during his residency and I told people we would get married when he became a doctor, but he never became a doctor he became a physician-scientist at the university researching von Willebrand disease because he thought this way he could help many people at once instead of one at a time. He often told me just how many people in the US alone suffered from von Willebrand disease, but I forgot immediately … [Read more...] about Bleed and Bleed

Filed Under: NOTEBOOK, NOTEBOOK FEATURE, Uncategorized, WEB EXCLUSIVES Tagged With: Fiction, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Lowes, medical research, Relationships, short fiction, short story, theft, von Willebrand disease, Web Exclusive

The Potatoes

by Acie Clark | June 13, 2023

The Potatoes

The potatoes came out of the compost pile thick-limbed and determined, looking almost like tomatoes, given their height. You shook your head. “Once there are potatoes, there’s always potatoes.” I liked the infinity of this. I thought Beget! The potatoes are begetting more potatoes! I thought of who would live in the little house after me, their wonder at the potatoes and the potatoes wondering at them. I liked the idea of this happening: someone happening upon a stock of potatoes behind their … [Read more...] about The Potatoes

Filed Under: NOTEBOOK, Uncategorized, WEB EXCLUSIVES Tagged With: A Little Life, aquaponic systems, bills, coding, compost, down payments, English, fate, Fiction, foundations, fresh dirt, houses, Latin, loans, miracles, pizza, potatoes, Proust novels, roommates, short story, Tate Harold, Web Exclusive

Swung

by J Eric Miller | April 12, 2023

Swung

I came along to this place called the Squirrel Ranch, where they had actual live squirrels and rabbits and a rooster in a big outdoor hut of mesh wire. A few deer wandered around in the grass. Postings announced that all these creatures had been rescued but not from what. A series of cabanas and tall fencing sheltered it all from the world beyond. On the varnished log walls inside hung the antlers, heads, and hides of all kinds of animals, antique-looking fishing rods, canoes, snowshoes, old … [Read more...] about Swung

Filed Under: NOTEBOOK, Uncategorized, WEB EXCLUSIVES Tagged With: Deer, Fiction, grief, madame, over-forty, sex club, short story, squirrel, Swingers, Web Exclusive

The Chiropractor

by Marcus Ong Kah Ho | December 31, 2022

The Chiropractor

A giant mirror sat in front of the massage table. On the floor were bath towels that smelled of mold and alcohol. I watched the chiropractor place his thick, hairy hands on Ma’s ribs—watched him, watched him—pushing against her breasts as he hugged and pulled and lifted her from behind. The chiropractor urged Ma to relax and imagine herself floating on the sea. “You’re on holiday now,” he said, and Ma closed her eyes and leaned into him. “Yes,” he said. “Oh yes, that’s it.” The sky was … [Read more...] about The Chiropractor

Filed Under: NOTEBOOK, Uncategorized, WEB EXCLUSIVES Tagged With: chiropractor, Fiction, mother, short fiction, short story, son, Web Exclusive

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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.
 

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