Short Fiction Competition

Many thanks to all who entered the 2020 Short Fiction Competition. We appreciate the opportunity to read such bright and brilliant new work. From more than 2,200 submissions, guest judge Téa Obreht has announced results.

Spring 2021 Edition

The editors are thrilled to announce the release of the Spring 2021 Edition, designed by the acclaimed artist Jeffrey Gibson, with contributions from Pulitzer Prize-winner Steven Millhauser, PEN/Hemingway Award-winner Tommy Orange, and 2020 Zoetrope: All-Story Short Fiction Competition-winner Deborah Forbes, among others.

Five Questions with Jeffrey Gibson

Why did you accept the invitation to design the Spring 2021 edition of All-Story?
It was an opportunity that I’ve not had previously, and I’m working on a book project for which I’ll be the editor. So I’ve been paying a lot of attention to print material lately, and I thought this would be a perfect chance to have some fun with the format of a publication. 

My Own Private Idaho
Gus Van Sant

Released twenty-five years ago, in 1991, and starring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves, My Own Private Idaho remains a landmark of American independent cinema. The source story appears publicly for the first time.

IDAHO

A boy enters the frame wearing an oversize Texaco gas station attendant’s shirt with the name Mike sewn on it. His name is George. He is a twelve-year-old Chicano. He has a six-year-old dog with him that looks like an Australian dingo. The clouds are puffy against a deep blue sky. The road is red, with a solid white line dividing the two lanes.
      George looks at the road, he talks to someone offscreen. He says, “You can always tell where you are by the way the road looks. Like I just know I’ve been to this place before . . .