A New Kind of Literary Pulse

Home
Logo Long Story Short Award - Fall 2020
Short Fiction
 5 min

Crystal Ball

Sarah Lindsey

What a fraud. Lies, lies, lies.
Cindy was so mad. Two years ago she had seen this day and, today, it had finally come.
It had been a strange day, that afternoon two years prior. She had run ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 3 min

The Stage

Linglin Yang

20 minutes ago,......
Teresa’s on her way to go home.
Well, her husband, Square Bob was washing dishes in the kitchen.
Phone rang.
“hello?”
“yes, it’s Square Bob.”
(we can’t ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

Astronaut

Victoria Gong

When Logan Shu blew up, the world knew her as the first Asian American woman in space. Her Internet fanbase often compared her odd facial expressions to the late Grumpy Cat. They knew she’d gotten he ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 3 min

The Fix

Bianca Sauro

The first words I ever heard my mother say were, “Fix it.”
A man responded to her then, I remember it clearly, though it was still dark for me.
He said, “Are you sure this is what you want ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 2 min

The Hotel

Liza Craig

It's a weird thought, a strange feeling, cold and unsettling, like a dank wet basement illuminated by a single 40 watt light bulb swinging from an unknown force.
Your hands and palms sweat ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

More than Revenge

Eugenia Trevino De Coss

Alice had just arrived in front of Sara’s house, knocking at her front door, hearing her conscience complain about what she did to her best friend and tears came down her face, as she had no idea what ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

Kulning

Sophie Cassidy

She woke with the birds and went where she pleased, when she pleased, and nobody gave a damn, and it was fantastic. No one gave her strange sideways glances. Nobody whispered when they saw her at the ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

On the Backs of Dragons

Percival Skalski

This is how the end begins:
Nearly twenty years and you can’t say you saw it coming. Browned hair and leathered shoes, he picked up his satchel of broken parts, long feet trudging down the side ...  [+]
Short Fiction
Short Fiction
 4 min

One Last Time

Ismarie Olmo

I don’t like to think of myself as a bad person; just someone who has made awful decisions. Someone who has had rotten luck for a long time. For years, I’ve been confined in a room with no people ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 3 min

Home

Athena Kholin

Jannya remembers before the Growing.
Of course she does. It was only a year ago, and she’s been traveling ever since. She remembers traveling before, too, but always staying in Chicago, traveling ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

Letters

Charles Alger

Sent: May 13th
Lovely Kokóly,
It’s hard to imagine that I just saw you ten days ago; it already feels like it’s been a month to me. Not much has happened since I saw you last. Gomena is in my ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

You Never Saw Me

Blair Johnson

She had spent a particularly long morning in the forest. Too long. She knew the risks, but they were hard to remember on that idyllic morning, the rays of sunlight stroking her into submission to the ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 2 min

Mnemonics

Christine X

The exam coming up was very important. Monica sat at her desk, surrounded by open books, colored highlighters and pens, numerous empty cans of seltzer water and a mug with the dried remnants of he ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 4 min

How I Lie to Children

Michael Frim

Have you ever been in a confined space with three to five small children? I have. I spend three hours each summer morning teaching kids how to sail. It’s fun, and I love it. But it’s also a special ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

Persephone's Choice

Elizabeth Keeney

In the shade of a blooming magnolia tree, bows bowing under the weight of the fat pink blossoms, stood a pale god. He looked on as a woman with curly brown hair danced in the petals that fell with the ...  [+]
Short Fiction
Short Fiction
 3 min

Start With a Homicide

Samuel Cottam

“Go kill somebody,” said one of the boys.
“Go kill yourself!” A burst of laughter.
“That’s stupid!” said Dimitur.
“Disappear then, ah!” another one said.
“We’re stupid huh?” This one ...  [+]