Fiction | The Center for Fiction

San and Bert

First Place — San lived in a strawberry. It was a large strawberry, plump with a spongy outer skin and as grand as a boulder

Second Place — The doorbell trills, ding-ding-ding, and then the door is open and Dee is pulling me inside her apartment.

Third Place — After a full minute of laughing and wheezing James blurts, “She didn’t even get the slur right

We’re pleased to share an excerpt of Brad Kessler’s latest novel, North, in anticipation of his conversation...

Fiction has the power to help us understand one another. As readers, we may take comfort in storytelling that reflects our own experiences...

First Place — It had the makings of a quiet summer. We strapped pink wings to our shoulders and dove headfirst into blue...

Second Place — Dear Mama, I find it difficult to keep track of the days without my regular routine. I no longer feed pigeons...

Third Place — Syla’s palms were sweaty as she stared at the birch door and golden handle. Regardless of how she used the...

First Place — The ground is perpetually damp, the buildings creak, and the sun seems more like a hole forced into the sky...

Second Place — If we whispered the name of a dead person, it winked like a friend. If we suppressed our fright and kept quiet...