A New Kind of Literary Pulse

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Logo Long Story Short Award - Fall 2020
Short Fiction
 2 min

Comfortable

Krista Sanders

“I got Fruity Pebbles,” David says before setting down his load of groceries in the middle of the tiled kitchen floor.

“Cool, thanks.”

He opens the refrigerator door with his foot but it ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 2 min

The Commodore

Charles Williamson

The quiet that came with being on land was what annoyed the commodore most. A vessel underway had music to it, men and machine moving in time as if playing a symphony with him as the conductor. At the ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

Trees

Caleb Litster

He must have been walking for half an hour before he turned around to go home. He wasn't sure what it was that impelled him to frequent these woods. Maybe it was anger, taking some savage pleasure ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

The Mountain's not Enough.

Joseph Henderson

Like garden weeds, the worries of Vost Saepe seemed to appear everywhere in his life. They were omnipresent and vicious: in work, in school, with friends, at church. There was no escaping. Before ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

Dancing Blue

Estelle Bookwalter

/You seem disoriented.
It can’t really be helped, what you just went through is pretty shocking. Although, to be honest, it’s actually a minor occurrence in the grand scheme of things. After all ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

Panther

Mallorie Evans

“Land ahead!”
The guide’s thickly accented voice pierced the heavy, humid air, signaling to his small crew to prepare for a collision with the shore. The sun was starting to peer over the horizon ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

Koala Customer Service

Dion Sanders

from: care_bentley@gmail.com
to: help@auwildlife.org
Sent 05/06 2:19 PM
Dear AWPS,
My daughter and I have still not received our koala.
I acknowledge that there may be difficulties ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 3 min

The Griot's Tale

Ruel Beresford

I saw my children enter my humble abode earlier this morning, with sullen expressions on their face. I was confused. “What is wrong young ones?” I inquired as they were quite happy yesterday yet in ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 1 min

Cemetery

Dylan Robinson

My intention was to head West, up the road towards my brother’s ranch. But upon spotting a squirrel crossing the road and making its way leftwards down the rare-visited dirt trail, I turned my horse ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 3 min

Night Time Run

Max Chambers

Glacier's purple spotted tongue, common to the Malamute Breed, displayed a joyousness that few humans dare to dream of.

But in this moment I dared. We were a team after all. And like a team ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 3 min

Unwelcomed Guest

Brennen Serre

One afternoon I was driving up the mountain to the place my grandparents used to live. It was a warm day for fall, but it was still overcast. It was the kind of day that you idolize when you dream of ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

The Friend from the Stars

Monasa Lo

Huff and puff went Abe, his short legs brough him across the wide grass plain. He held his favored toy truck in both of his hands.
“Hello!” He shouted into the trees. “I’m back!” His eyes darted ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

Story of My Life

Victoria Kuo

I let go of my most important friendship. I bad-mouthed my parents under my breath. I constantly searched for approval.

I met people who were more successful than me and compared myself to ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 3 min

Getaway Car

Jaidyn Eardley

The road stretched across the desert like a flattened serpent. It was a highway, but was rarely used anymore. A new highway had been constructed that traveled in a much straighter line. This old one ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 2 min

The Picture

Grace Tanner

It hung right above her bed, a spot of color on the white wall of her dorm room. Every morning, she woke up to the picture looming over her.
Why did she have it up? Of all the possible ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

The Beauty of the Beast

Angela Larson

The beast sunk into his chair, hazily gazing at the ceiling of the darkened room, nothing but the faint glow of fire and moonlight illuminating the outline of his satin throws and pillows. As he tried ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 2 min

Lady in a Skate

Jacob Heiner

There was once was a lady that lived in a shoe
She had lots of kids, and knew not what to do

She had twenty children, but they all were lazy.
They wouldn't do anything, and it drove he ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

Muse, or Dante's Inferno

Rae Bailey

It is a lonely life chasing inspiration.
Perhaps there are those who believe my eight sisters and I to be wellsprings of idea, belief, and inspiration; but one cannot enliven that which is dead ...  [+]