Short stories published in American Short Fiction

Listing 14 stories.

A young woman tutors a rich thirteen-year-old girl, and their sessions together prompt the woman to reflect on her less-privileged teenage years and how she ended up with the job she has.

During a vacation in France, old friends and family struggle to connect with each other when they are unable to see past their own problems.

A five-year-old girl and her mother go into hiding with some less-than-savory friends at an upstate New York cabin. While there, the girl sees the ghosts of a past tragedy and, for the first time, confronts the insecurity and inexplicability of her own life.

A black teenage boy experiences a brief and fragile relationship with his Mexican neighbor who recently migrated to the U.S. As two boys who explore their sexuality together, they find solace in their simple yet intimate experiences despite struggles at home with parents.

In 21st-century China, a journalist and a former dissident, once the best of friends, lead very different lives. When one goes to jail, the other confronts rampant corruption to find his friend.

After a man gets into a hit-and-run accident with his girlfriend, he frantically tries to right the wrong, hoping to save both their relationship and their freedom.

After a groom leaves town the night before his wedding, the bride-to-be embarks on a road trip, only to find him with one of her absentee fiancé's female friends.

After a failed sale, a middle-aged realtor who doubles as a murderous clown shows his true colors. Dennis, real estate agent by day and murderous clown by night, reveals his secret to a coworker.

A man meets his girlfriend’s mother. While at first she is cold to him, because of a secret his girlfriend won’t speak of, they grow close, begin to depend on each other.

A girl quietly watches as her uptight father takes up fly tying. One night, the girl's father allows her to make her own fly tie.