Fiction
Short stories and imaginative prose selected for publication in Open Arts Forum. Discover fiction by emerging and established contributors, then follow the linked author pages to read more of their work. Explore our quarterly and annual collections, or read the fiction submission guidelines.
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FictionWe Drove to LA from Phoenix in 1965 to Buy French Fries
Both of us had taken our parent’s cars for joyrides a handful of times before we were old enough to drive. We helped each…
FictionWatercolour Lake
I flung out of the loose cottage and stood on the ragged path the door beating shut behind me. There was a birch forest…
FictionSisters
Summer itself got into the fire last night we all felt the gasp. Shell looked at me and made a sort of explosion face…
FictionIf I Should Die
The musty shed with the slanted roof collects rot like the Blair Witch collects teeth. Inside it there are two freezers, one that buzzes,…
FictionI Got Bats
Every so often – such a vague beginning I know but stick with me – every so often Marty calls me on the telephone,…
FictionJack Struggles with an Equation
Jack was tired of endless approximations; he couldn’t quite pin down the things that seemed important —god, explanations, love, even life itself. Nothing was…
FictionSnowfire
All day we laboured under the threat of rain: faced hedges with a slasher, cut weeds with a scythe, mended gaps in fences, shovelled…
FictionA face of regal splendor
In the sleeper class from Pune to Aurangabad I sat across from a man. Next to him, on his bag, a book with ducks…
FictionTwo Requests
August 31, 2023 To: Ms. Theresa Cotter Eldercare at Mayfield Village, Inc. 290 North Commons Blvd Mayfield Village OH 44143 Dear Ms. Cotter: I…
FictionMy Father’s Minutes
I feel like reading somebody else’s book today maybe even on their couch or if they have a boat my presence on the water I…
FictionWhy I Believe Everything
Uncle John was a bullshitter through and through. People always came up to me and said, astonished, things like I didn’t know your uncle was…
FictionClose to Christmas, after all
I sat up and read the alarm clock dial from the bed. 10 a.m. It was too late. I should have been at work…