User:Callie.collins/American Short Fiction

American Short Fiction is a nationally-circulated literary magazine based in Austin, Texas. Issued quarterly, American Short Fiction publishes short fiction, novel excerpts, and the rare novella, and strives to publish work by both established and emerging contemporary authors. The magazine searches out stories “in which transformations of language, narrative, and character occur swiftly, deftly, and unexpectedly.”

American Short Fiction sponsors two annual short fiction contests, the American Short Fiction Contest, judged this year by Rick Moody, and the new American Short(er) Fiction Prize. The magazine also sponsors a reading series in Austin as well as online workshops for fiction writers.

History and Publication
Founded in 1991 by editor Laura Furman, American Short Fiction was published until 1998 by the University of Texas Press in cooperation with the Texas Center for Writers and “The Sound of Writing” broadcast on National Public Radio. During its initial run, the magazine was a two-time finalist for the National Magazine Award for Fiction and contributors’ work was anthologized in Best American Short Stories, The O. Henry Prize Stories, and the Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses.

The defunct journal was purchased in 2003 by Badgerdog Literary Publishing and released the first issue of its second run in Winter 2006. The journal maintains high standards for publication. Two recent stories, Ethan Rutherford’s "The Peripatetic Coffin" and Karl Taro Greenfeld’s "NowTrends" have been chosen to appear in Best American Short Stories 2009. Contributions have also been anthologized in Best American Non-Required Reading and will appear in Best American Fantasy 2010.

American Short Fiction Editors

 * 1991-1994: Laura Furman
 * 1994-1998: Joseph Kruppa
 * 2005-2006: Rebecca Bengal
 * 2006-2009: Stacey Swann
 * 2009-present: Jill Meyers

Past Contributors

 * Joyce Carol Oates
 * Don Lee
 * Dagoberto Gilb
 * Dan Chaon
 * Louise Erdrich
 * Charles Baxter
 * Ursula K. Le Guin
 * Antonya Nelson
 * Nathan Englander
 * Benjamin Percy
 * Vendela Vida
 * Desmond Hogan
 * Ander Monson
 * Paul Yoon
 * Jess Row
 * Maud Casey
 * Ethan Rutherford
 * Karl Taro Greenfeld
 * Karen Brown
 * Christie Hodgen
 * Patrick Somerville
 * Josh Weil