You don’t remember Grammy saying the words, although you were there. You were the baby. You’ve heard the story a million times, if you heard it once. “We don’t boil babies,” is the punch line—at least the way your mother tells it. Your mother is a great storyteller....
First, blanch the peaches. Run them under cold water to peel their skin away. Feel the flesh underneath. This is the last thing your mother taught you— get your house in order. The heat is urgent and unforgiving, but soon you will be far from here. The storm will hit...
Jack is sixteen when he sees Marie the first time, then 84 when he sees her again, though he doesn’t know he saw her before, and those caring for him—tolerating him—wouldn’t believe him anyway, for the brain is falling away from the man, who’s always looking...
The passion with which she took to the house and garden surprised him. She told him her grandmother taught her to cook when she was a girl. She’d just been waiting for a kitchen. She cooked hard, rolling pastry, stirring sauces with a wooden spoon, punching down yeast...
Five hungry blonde girls, sitting pertly on their haunches, holding court in the lounge. You all live on the same floor in the freshman dorm, go to the same classes, but still you take their orders. Marcie, the leader, asks, “You don’t mind, do you?” Of course not....
Multilingual We’re in the garden. There are fragrances there, fluent in many languages. Cassie digs, plants, pats the earth. We’ll soon be wedding cake toppers—her lacy gown/my penguin-wear. There are wind chimes, tinkling. They were once...
We’re so excited to announce the 25 titles on our shortlist! We'll announce the winners' titles in the next few days! Thank you for your patience! From this list, K-Ming Chang has chosen 3 winners! "I got so excited about these amazing stories that I spent all of...
We’re so excited to announce the 52 titles of our longlist! The submissions we received were so original, exciting, and creative that we’ve had a hard time narrowing down the list! We'll announce the shortlist titles in the next few days! Thank you for your patience!...
My five-year-old walks the sidewalks with me into town. There is no other place for him. He holds my finger with one hand. His other hand clutches a headless black bird. He nibbles on it from time to time. I cannot wrench it away from him. It wouldn’t matter. There...
1. Tangerines Rodney and Chelsea have decided this is the day. They are sixteen years old and they are in love. Neither of them has ever done it, though Rodney has come close, with a girl he worked with at Dairy Queen who smelled like French fries and who had perfect,...
N says we’re looking for that Leo and Kate love that crashes sudden, veins fire and ice, the kind where you go down with the ship. I tell N that Kate didn’t die, except inside, but N doesn’t mind because she’s lusting after Leo while I’m trying not to stare at Kate’s...
“A Guide to Small Town Ghosts” is actually four linked micro-stories, each of which devises and fulfills its own narrative shape while overlapping with the others to create a macro-shape. Think of that carnival game that requires you to drop four metal disks so that...