Skip to content

A New Kind of Literary Pulse

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

Sweet Lou

Andrew Lowry

The reporter knew the first rule of journalism: never let go of the mic. He learned the sacred rule while watching a peer concede her interview to a drunkard with a good grip. Still, he threw over the ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

The Lonely Hearts Division

Emily Brown

Julia walked into The Paper Hound Bookshop. Julia loved books and every Saturday would spend the day discovering a new bookstore. She instantly fell in love with the store, she admired the floor to ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 3 min

In Heavenly Peace

Heather Johnson

The look in the mother’s eyes turned from desperation to gratitude as I leaned over the back of my pew, offering to take the eighteen-month-old. He almost leapt to me, ready to get away from the ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 3 min

Aren't We Playing God?

Minh Nguyen

“It has been three days since the search began, and we have yet to find the girl who is going to collapse the sky upon our heads. The president has refused to make any statement. I suppose all I have ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

The Cycle

Neelam Batra-Verma

Nina sat all dressed up, in clumsy makeup and low cut silver shiny blouse, on a bright magenta saree, her bright red lipstick, staining her teeth and bleeding on the corner of her mouth. Every ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 4 min

The Palace of Light

Dexter Bellingham

Javier: “Francisco.”
Francisco: “yes, Javi?”
Javier: “Can we take a break? My feet are sore.”
Francisco: “No, just a little farther we are almost there.”
Javier: “You said the same thing ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

Candy Hearts

Isabella Miranda

“Be mine”, crunch. “XOXO”, crunch. “Say Yes”, crunch. I alternate sips from the glass of Merlot sitting in my left hand with the candy hearts I’m gorging with my right. Looking at the box, the amount ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 5 min

The Red Dress

Sophia Whitney

Memory is a tricky thing. It could be altered too easily, Arthur thought. But maybe that was just because he was particularly good at tripping people up, getting them to confuse real events with ones ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 2 min

The Shore

Hoi Yat LEUNG

So heavy...feeling sick...my tummy hurts...

I slowly open my eyes, only to see myself lying on an unknown beach. The sand stings my body—still better than lying on rough pointy stones, I ...  [+]
Short Fiction
Short Fiction
 3 min

Butterflies

Sarika Chawla

I met you on a tired Parisian morning, half-asleep as I stumbled off a plane into an oversized airport and nearly fell to the ground because I couldn’t believe I was actually in Paris. My parents were ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 4 min

Catching My Death

William Martindale

Well, since you ask me for a tale of the doomy and macabre, I think I may have something which will tickle that spooky bone of yours. Which is to say, any of them. Ugh.

It was on a midsumme ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 4 min

Swallowing The World

Christien Anastacio

Her son, she often boasted, was serving as a fighter pilot for the military—and from the look of things she believed it herself. Mrs. Gallows seemed quite proud of her little soldier. Although he did ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 4 min

The Runaway

Wendell Loh

Justin looked up at the tired faces sitting opposite him in the waiting lounge. Most looked travel-weary, and all of them were asleep. Except him. He was still awake at 1am in the morning, waiting fo ...  [+]
Short Fiction
Short Fiction
 3 min

Our Sign of Parting

Daniel Arias

Suddenly, everything became blurry and dark. When he awoke, the Raven, having left its perch above the bust of Pallas, had settled on his chest.

“This is a curious place to take a nap,” the ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 4 min

Quarantined Bonds

Peter Jaskiewicz

The morning rain was loud, and it took away the light. As much as I wanted to head out, I couldn’t. But the weather wasn’t the only thing keeping me inside. Our world was under attack by a virus ...  [+]
Short Fiction
 3 min

Brows

Akosua Amoabeng

I’m blind. I lied. I want a do-over.
Yeah, it’s all true.
“Dude, how are we going to finish our dance?” my partner Jake screams as we pace backstage.
“Shush, I don’t know! And at least pick ...  [+]