Fiction Issue

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.

The Atlantic - Fiction Issue

Other articles in this issue

The Safe

A junkyard mystery

Arts & Letters

This is the seventh in a series of archival excerpts in honor of the magazine's 150th anniversary.

Stories

Whitmore, 1969

Back from Vietnam, seeking salvation in Bob Dylan

Horseman

“Oh, you’ll succeed just fine,” he told her. “You’ll just never be any good.”

Night Bus

The treacherous route to Lagos
Interviews: Ada Udechukwu, author of the short story "Night Bus," discusses art, writing, and the politics of her troubled homeland

What Happened to the Baby?

Uncle Simon was crazy about words. Really crazy

Essays

Close Reading

Learning to write by learning to read
Interviews: Novelist and critic Francine Prose talks about creativity, literary craftsmanship, and her new book, Reading Like a Writer.

Notes on the History of Fiction

Who would give up the Iliad for the “real” historical record?


Video

Miami: The Next Big Start-Up City?

How the city became a center for innovation

Video

Video

A Brief History of Romantic Comedies

From The Atlantic's Chris Orr

Video

Life in 'the New Arctic'

A moving portrait of a fading landscape

Video

Video

The Rise of New York City

A fascinating look at Manhattan in the 1940s

Video

What Is Methane Hydrate?

"Flaming ice" is a vast natural energy source

Video

NASA's Time-Lapse of the Sun

Now with epic dubstep music

Video

Shaken Not Tuned: Cocktail Experiments

Can a tuning fork improve a cocktail?

Video

Video

Is He Cheating? A 1950s Guide

'That little blonde secretary from the office?’

Video

New Yorkers: Vintage Vacuum-Tube Amps

Risking electric shock to restore old amplifiers

Video

The DIY Piano-Bicycle

Everybody needs a hobby

Video

What Does It Take to Make Real Craft Gin?

Tour the Green Hat Gin distillery

Video

What Straights Can Learn From Same-Sex Couples

New insight from decades of research

Video

The End of the Mall Rat

A tribute to that pillar of teen culture

Video

The Wonderful World of Capitalism

An adorable 1950s cartoon

Video

New Yorkers: Miss New York USA

An unconventional beauty queen.

Writers

Up
Down
More back issues, Sept 1995 to present.

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