Fiction on Vice

Pen Pals

HardWhite and Harry Potter

Harry Potter was fresh from the world and had a sickness to feed. The weakling fiend probably hated everything right now, but mostly he hated that his drug was gone. All Harry Potter will want is to get high and the boys are about to swarm on him. Little white wizards get no play in county lockup. Full story

The VICE Reader

Sort by Kind

The VICE Reader is a series in which we publish original fiction—mostly. We will also feature the occasional poem, essay, book review, diary entry, Graham Greene-style dream-diary entry, Zemblan fable, letter to the editor, letter to a fictional character, and anything else that… Full story

Thought and Memory

Back in 2008, when my first novel, 'A Tree Grows in Baghdad,' came out, my publisher sent me on a West Coast tour. Sometimes folks came out in droves, sometimes they didn’t. It was great to see my public, regardless. I found I liked signing books. I must have shaken a thousand ha… Full story

Anton Chekhov Versus Jeffrey Dahmer

For some reason I think about the cannibalistic serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer every time someone mentions Anton Chekhov, a forefather of the contemporary short story. I can’t help but want to draw them out, to put them together in a cage and watch their brains bump. And so the oth… Full story

The Future of Japan Is 'Very Dark,' Says Ryu Murakami

Ryu Murakami is one of Japan’s most celebrated and controversial authors. 'From the Fatherland with Love,' published in 2005 and now being translated into English for the first time, envisions a Japan wrecked by complete economic collapse, abandoned by the international community… Full story

The Minor Outsider

He was 29 and he liked to watch people shoot drugs into their arms on YouTube while he ate the Safeway version of Cheerios. He believed this had something to do with being afraid of, but interested in, death. He’d never done heroin. He was a coward. Full story

Pen Pals

RockBottom Heads Toward Bottom

The early morning air stunk of pissy pussy and unwashed balls. RockBottom did his thing all night like always, dispensing drugs to the party people. The fiends were nodded out, neck-cramp proper, and the freaks spun out on E were in the bedroom, fruitlessly masturbating each othe… Full story

Philip K. Dick's 4-Dimensional Gun

3D-printed guns? Please. Here's what the late sci-fi master had to say about the ultimate weapon. Full story

Zanesville

Nathaniel Rich was inspired to write “Zanesville” after hearing the real-life tale of Terry Thompson, who killed himself a few years ago after releasing 56 tigers, bears, lions, wolves, leopards, and monkeys from the animal refuge he ran in Ohio. All names and details in Nathanie… Full story

Pen Pals

HardWhite Loves Twerk ’n’ Jerk

The county jail ain't that bad. I lie in bed all high and toasty listenin’ to music, plottin’ on my next move, and readin’ the Scrabble dictionary to build my vocab massive. I’m focused and dedicated to suck the most love outta the stinkin' clink while languishin’ in anguish in t… Full story