Ann S. Epstein writes novels, short stories, memoir, essays, and poems. Please use the links or site menu to go to the HOME PAGE; learn about her NOVELS, SHORT STORIES, MEMOIR, ESSAYS, and POEMS; find interesting facts in BEHIND THE STORY; read REFLECTIONS on writing; check NEWS for updates on publications and related events; see REVIEWS; learn about her END-OF-LIFE DOULA credentials and services; and CONTACT US to send webmail.
I’m pleased to share that my short story “Housewidow” was accepted by The Woven Tale Press, scheduled to be published in their Fall/Winter 2021 issue. In “Housewidow,” set during the post-WWII housing shortage, a third-grader’s world is upended when her family is evicted after her father’s uncharacteristic outburst against their demanding landlady. Read more in SHORT STORIES.
My essay “Where Do Elders Belong: Shuffling in the Old Folks Home or Marching in the Street?” is now online in the May 2021 issue of Vine Leaves Press SPILL IT! The essay protests demeaning myths about aging and issues a call to social action by older people. Use the buttons at the bottom of the essay to share and voice your opinion. Follow the links to my other articles and check out the voices of other authors. Sign up to receive SPILL IT! every month. It’s free. Read about my other recent publications in NEWS.
“Too Old for Grievances,” a work of microfiction, has been published at 50 Give or Take. This online publication from Vine Leaves Press emails a story of 50 words or less to each subscriber’s inbox every day. All are welcome to read, subscribe, and submit. FREE. Check out these stories of mine:
Hit SEND November 25, 2020
Test Results December 22, 2020
Fido’s Lament February 13, 2021
Window Seat March 17, 2021
Too Old for Grievances April 04,2021
More of my microfiction has been published at 50 Give or Take. This online publication from Vine Leaves Press emails a story of 50 words or less to each subscriber’s inbox every day. All are welcome to read, subscribe, and submit. FREE. Check out these stories of mine:
Hit SEND November 25, 2020
Test Results December 22, 2020
Fido’s Lament February 13, 2021
Window Seat March 17, 2021
Bark (definition): A short, sudden laugh. My fifty-word story “Fido’s Lament” is now online at 50 Give or Take, 50-word stories published daily by Vine Leaves Press. Subscribers get a story in their email inbox every day. Read this one and bark (or indulge in a long, leisurely chuckle). To subscribe and/or submit your own story — both are free — go to 50 Give or Take. Everyone is welcome.
The Sister Knot, my novel-in-progress, progresses today with the help of coffee sipped from my new progressive mug. The novel, about a fraught but resilient female friendship that endures despite the damage of childhood trauma, is told from the alternating perspectives of Liane and Frima, World War Two orphans who survive on Berlin’s streets through cunning, theft, and prostitution. Brought to the United States by a Jewish refugee agency, their lives soon diverge when Frima is adopted and Liane is sent to a group home. The novel follows their seesawing relationship through school and work, marriage and motherhood, incarceration and death. As Liane says, “how people turn out is not always the way you’d predict.” Read about my published books in NOVELS.
I’m thrilled to announce that my story “Death, Shmeath” will be published by North American Review, the oldest literary journal in the U.S., with a jaw-dropping roster of authors since its founding in 1815. Here’s the log line: In “Death, Shmeath,” set in 1932 Brooklyn and based on a real character, an Orthodox father struggles with his son’s worldwide fame as the first and only gay Jewish matador. I first read about Sidney Franklin, the real-life matador, two years ago in a series of articles written during Gay Pride Week. I knew there was a story there, but it took a while to figure out who it belonged to. When I decided it was the father, I was ready to write this work of fiction. Read more in SHORT STORIES.
I’m delighted to announce that The Blue Nib has published my creative nonfiction piece “Bear Watch,” which describes how my first encounter with antisemitism, on a cross-country camping trip to Yellowstone at age fourteen, taught me the true meaning of adventure. Here’s the link. Read more in MEMOIR. On an added note (see photo below), I have a quill pen tattooed on my right hand but the nib is black, not blue.
I’m happy to announce that my essay “Getting Above My Raisin’” is now online at The Blue Nib: The Write Life. The essay looks at why writers feel they don’t merit top-tier agents or publishing contracts. Unlike “imposter syndrome,” a psychological condition whose sufferers doubt their competence, “getting above one’s raisin’” is rooted in the conviction that one is from the wrong social demographic. I’d love to hear back if you do (or don’t) experience something similar and how you interpret your reaction. Please leave a comment here or on the essay link. Read more about this article and others in ESSAYS.
My story “Sophie’s Confession” has just been published in Ramblr, Issue #3. Here’s the log line: “Sophie Tucker, The Last of the Red Hot Mamas, makes a surprising admission on her death bed and leaves the public to ponder its response to discovering the truth behind an illusion.” Copies of the nonprofit Ramblr PDF are available for a nominal contribution. Enjoy the stories, poems, interviews, and art from around the world in this issue.
