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American Short Fiction

Publishing exquisite fiction since 1991.

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Web Exclusive Interview

Web Exclusive Interview: Joy Baglio

by Erin McReynolds | March 4, 2020

Web Exclusive Interview: Joy Baglio

Though our Web Exclusive "Belly of the Beast" was published on Halloween, it's a timeless story, drawing on folk tale traditions of employing monsters to contend with painful human realities. In this case, a spouse grows distant, frightening, and dangerous, lost (literally) inside of a beast. It's a tender and desperate story that accommodates any number of ways in which our partners can abandon us. We talked with author Joy Baglio recently about the flash form, the Master Switch of Life, and … [Read more...] about Web Exclusive Interview: Joy Baglio

Filed Under: NOTEBOOK, Web Exclusive Interview Tagged With: Interview, Online Exclusive Interview, short fiction, Web Exclusive Interview

Web Exclusive Interview: Nora Lange

by Clara Spars | October 25, 2019

Web Exclusive Interview: Nora Lange

In Nora Lange's flash fiction, “Her Cousin Lena,” Rose records a long-distance phone call with her mother. Their exchange reveals a disconnect that, though often funny, describes the “love and horror” of a certain flavor of mother-daughter relationship. Haunting the conversation is the absent figure of Rose’s cousin, Lena, to whom the mother constantly compares her daughter, and who becomes the axis point of their unaddressed tensions. We chatted recently with Nora about her story and … [Read more...] about Web Exclusive Interview: Nora Lange

Filed Under: NOTEBOOK, NOTEBOOK FEATURE, Web Exclusive Interview Tagged With: Interview, Nora Lange, Web Exclusive Interview, writing

Web Exclusive Interview: Amy Stuber

by Erin McReynolds | May 13, 2019

Web Exclusive Interview: Amy Stuber

Amy Stuber's flash fiction story "I'm on the Side of the Wildebeest" distills a familiar modern dilemma into a crystallized moment. On a road trip, a mother contemplates a very different childhood for her kids than the one she had—one in which technology, the constant deluge of information, and the threat to the planet create anxieties that are harder to escape. But despite these anxieties (or maybe because of them) we feel the sweet gratitude for a moment that is good, one we know will become a … [Read more...] about Web Exclusive Interview: Amy Stuber

Filed Under: NOTEBOOK, Web Exclusive Interview Tagged With: Amy Hempel, Anxiety, Erin McReynolds, Family, Interview, Joy Williams, Online Exclusive Interview, parenting, Web Exclusive Interview, writing

Web Exclusive Interview: Keenan Walsh

by Erin McReynolds | March 12, 2019

Web Exclusive Interview: Keenan Walsh

January's Web Exclusive, "Flood," describes a significant moment of change in a troubled family's life. It's notoriously hard to master a run-on sentence, but author Keenan Walsh does it here. In editing, we realized there was no way to break it up without losing its very necessary urgency, that the whole thing was an intricately woven tapestry that needed to stay intact. What's more, the form forces the modern, harried reader to slow down and take in shimmering details that they might otherwise … [Read more...] about Web Exclusive Interview: Keenan Walsh

Filed Under: Web Exclusive Interview Tagged With: Flash Fiction, flood, Hajar Bali, Interview, Keenan Walsh, Online Exclusive Interview, Web Exclusive Interview, writing

Web Exclusive Interview: Zach Powers

by Erin McReynolds | February 25, 2019

Web Exclusive Interview: Zach Powers

In Zach Powers' flash fiction story, "Surface Treatments," a father paints himself into a corner—literally. While the circumstances are absurd, there is such an accuracy and familiarity in the helpless acceptance of his wife and children alternating between observing and gamely participating in his self-exile. We spoke to Powers about writing, this story, and—since he's also an expert on the subject—what to do when you're in Savannah. — Erin McReynolds: Something about this scenario—an … [Read more...] about Web Exclusive Interview: Zach Powers

Filed Under: Web Exclusive Interview Tagged With: Fiction, Savannah, Short Stories, Web Exclusive Interview, writing advice, Zach Powers

Web Exclusive Interview: G.E. Stiteler

by Erin McReynolds | December 2, 2018

Web Exclusive Interview: G.E. Stiteler

"Sickness had reached our valley at last." In August's Web Exclusive flash fiction, "Father as Astronaut," a young woman mourns the loss of her father in an increasingly hostile world where everyone is fighting for survival. It's a story that's wildly imaginative, unsettling, and full of heart. We talked to G.E. Stiteler about this story, about a world in trouble, and what gives her peace.  Erin McReynolds: What led you to decide to set the narrator's loss in the midst of widespread … [Read more...] about Web Exclusive Interview: G.E. Stiteler

Filed Under: Web Exclusive Interview Tagged With: animals, apocalypse, Interview, loss, Online Exclusive Interview, Web Exclusive Interview, writing

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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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