The Apparition Milford did not want to draw too close to Lorena. At his age, he preferred to observe at a safe distance.
by John Updike
by Marjorie Kemper
Running Out of Music Lucinda felt like a spy, trading dangerous information with Private Nately that could end the Cold War in one fell swoop—and she really wanted that Rolling Stones album.
by Constance Squires
Bible Her abductor didn't want money or sex. So what was he after?
by Tobias Wolff
Maia in Yonkers It was hard to be alone, so far away from her son. Could she bear to deny him this one thing?
by Sana Krasikov
Missionaries Elder Case wanted to win enough converts to make district leader. Elder Joseph was ... confused.
by Bradford Tice
"The Love Between Two Women is Not Normal"
Are good books bad for you?
by Ann Patchett
INTERVIEWS My Pornography Ann Patchett talks about writing, friendship, and defending her work against censorious detractors. [Web only]Where Great Writers Are Made
Assessing America's top graduate writing programs
by Edward J. Delaney
INTERVIEWS Writers in Training Edward J. Delaney discusses the country's best graduate writing programs and how to compare them. [Web only]
The Topaz Room
by Carl Dennis
The Mice
by Brendan Galvin
The Believer
by Danielle Chapman
Ash
by Linda Pastan
Winners of The Atlantic's Student Poetry Contest
How Killer Blue Irises Spread by Kelli Russell Agodon
The Wide Receiver Declares Himself Ready
by Lytton Smith
Tío Pancho’s Farewell
by Sonia María Quiñones
ALSO SEE Fiction Issue 2006 Stories by Richard Russo, Cynthia Ozick, Tim Gautreaux, and others; E.L. Doctorow on historical fiction, Francine Prose on reading like a writer, Megan Marshall on academic discourse and adulterous intercourse; and much more.
Fiction Issue 2005 Joyce Carol Oates, "*BD* 11 1 86"; Charles Baxter, "Poor Devil"; Adam Haslett, "City Visit"; Shira Nayman, "The House on Kronenstrasse"; George Singleton, "Director's Cut"; Curtis Sittenfeld, "The Perils of Literary Success"; Rick Moody, "Writers and Mentors"; Mary Gordon, "Moral Fiction"; and much more.
Literary Interviews An index of Atlantic Unbound interviews with fiction writers, poets, and critics from Chinua Achebe to Tobias Wolff.