Fiction Issue

Stories by John Updike, Tobias Wolff, Marjorie Kemper, Constance Squires, Sana Krasikov, and Bradford Tice; Edward J. Delaney assesses America's top writing programs; poems by Brendan Galvin, Linda Pastan, and others; Ann Patchett on writing, friendship, and censorship; our 2007 student poetry contest winners; and much more.

The Atlantic - Fiction Issue

Poetry

The Topaz Room

The Mice

The Believer

Ash

How Killer Blue Irises Spread

A winner of the Atlantic's 2007 Student Poetry Contest

The Wide Receiver Declares Himself Ready

A winner of the Atlantic's 2007 Student Poetry Contest

Tío Pancho’s Farewell

A winner of the Atlantic's 2007 Student Poetry Contest

Features

The Apparition

Milford did not want to draw too close to Lorena. At his age, he preferred to observe at a safe distance.

Specific Gravity

Father Timothy’s generosity had caused money problems. How much would he give up to solve them?

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.

Bible

Her abductor didn’t want money or sex. So what was he after?

Maia in Yonkers

It was hard to be alone, so far away from her son. Could she bear to deny him this one thing?

Missionaries

Elder Case wanted to win enough converts to make district leader. Elder Joseph was … confused.

Where Great Writers are Made

Assessing America’s top graduate writing programs


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

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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

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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

Letter From the Editor

The June 2013 issue

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

Writers

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More back issues, Sept 1995 to present.

In Focus

Picking up the Pieces After the Tornado in Moore, Oklahoma

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