NEA Revokes $20K Grant to American Short Fiction Amid Policy Shift

American Short Fiction (ASF), the acclaimed literary magazine based in Austin, has lost a $20,000 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant following a sudden policy shift by the federal agency. 

The news arrived just as ASF staff and supporters were concluding their flagship event, The Stars at Night, a gathering of writers and readers in Austin’s vibrant literary community. Here, Llano resident Leila Green Little received a Community Star Award for her dedication to the fight against book banning in Llano County. 

“It was jarring and surreal,” ASF wrote in an email to supporters, “to come home and open a message from the NEA with the subject line ‘Notice of Termination.’”