Short reads: "The Fig Queen," "My Superstitions Are Your Inheritance"

Enjoy two free short stories, one from an award-winning writer and one that is itself an award winner.

The former is "The Fig Queen" from the collection Ninetails by Sally Wen Mao.

Mao is a recipient of two Pushcart Prizes and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship.

The latter is "My Superstitions Are Your Inheritance" by Esther Hayes.

Acclaimed writer Carmen Maria Machado chose this story as the winner of the 2024 Stella Kupferberg Memorial Short Story Prize.

Hayes is currently working on a collection of short stories as well as a novel.

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