We are thrilled to announce that the brilliant Tony Tulathimutte—author of the 2024 National Book Award longlisted novel Rejection—will judge the 2025 American Short(er) Fiction Prize. The prize recognizes extraordinary short fiction under 1,500 words. The first-place winner will receive a $1,000 prize and publication. Previous winners of the Short(er) Fiction Prize have gone on to […]Read More

Illustrations by Xiao Hua Yang Part 1 FRESHMAN They were the only vegetarians, a fact that was highlighted every game day when the other girls loaded up on chicken sandwiches or steak fajitas while Yoon and Carmen ate salads of iceberg lettuce and shredded cheese, forgoing the ranch that came in rectangular packets, which they […]Read More

Reading Time: 7 minutes I come from a long line of cowards. The exception is my grandfather, who to my knowledge has never had to rely on anyone. When he approached me after the funeral and asked for a ride to the vet, it pretty much drop-kicked me into orbit. I wasn’t shocked that he […]Read More

Reading Time: 2 minutes She is driving. It’s late and they’re the only car on the road. She says to him, “If someone said they would kill you unless you pulled out your own eyeball, would you do it?” She loves him, has for a little over two years, but who really knows what’s love […]Read More

Reading Time: 10 minutes There was a sense of violation in his conversation. I could never quite pinpoint it. It occurred after dinner, standing in, or around the pool, sipping aperitifs, sweet vermouths, and biting single malts. I tried to ignore it, to…slough it off, but couldn’t. It botherd me.             “There’s something about Arthur,” […]Read More

Featuring new stories by Dave Eggers, Becky Hagenston, Jane Kalu, Diane Oliver, and Kate Tighe-Pigott. Dave Eggers, “Keeper of the Ornaments” His doorbell rang. Cole looked at the time: 6:46 a.m. He opened the door to find his new neighbor. Her hair was black, shoulder-length, streaked with pink. Her eyes were wide set, her face […]Read More

Join ASF for the first installment of Story Sessions, a literary series that brings exceptional authors together for a freewheeling discussion about the power of stories and the ways we share them, on September 27, 2024, at Huston-Tillotson University from 6 – 8:00 p.m. We’re thrilled to welcome the nationally award-winning novelist Percival Everett to […]Read More

MFA for ALL MFA for All was born from our desire to create a space where MFA-quality instruction is widely accessible to writers no matter their age, background, location, or financial situation. MFA for All is not a degree-granting program—it is a community-rich online educational experience led by top-notch faculty, free of the significant hurdles […]Read More

We are delighted to announce that Dantiel W. Moniz has chosen the winners of our 2024 American Short(er) Fiction Contest. Thank you to our judge and to everyone who submitted—it is always inspiring to read your work. Congratulations to the winners! First-Place Prize “Jack Sprat’s Wife” by John McManus In selecting this story, Moniz called […]Read More

We’re so pleased to announce that our judge for this year’s Halifax Ranch Fiction Prize will be Daniel Mason, author of The Piano Tuner, A Far Country, The Winter Soldier, A Registry of My Passage Upon the Earth, and most recently North Woods, a New York Times bestselling novel, a New York Times and Washington Post Top 10 Book of 2023, […]Read More