With soaring sales, viral hits like Cat Person and a cameo by Tom Hanks, the form seems to be staging a comeback. But did it ever go away?In 2017, almost 50% more short story collections were sold than in the previous year. It was the best year for short stories since 2010. Booksellers are reporting a surge in popularity for the form, commentators note publishers are buying more collections and issuing them with greater care and enthusiasm; in December the newcomer Kristen Roupenian cut five- and seven-figure deals in the UK and US after her New Yorker story “Cat Person” went viral. On top of all that, collections are being reviewed more than ever before, the Sunday Times EFG short story award (worth £30,000) has received its highest ever number of entries and the BBC national short story award continues to grow in popularity. We are experiencing the renaissance of the short story form, right?Wrong; which isn’t to say 2017 wasn’t a good year for the short story – it was, but the “renaissance of the short story” story is an old one that is rolled out year after year. Does that matter? I think it does. By getting caught up in this recurring phantom narrative, and dwelling on press release froth rather than the work being produced, we spurn the opportunity to talk about short stories in a way that might actually deepen how they are understood and engaged with by readers.How can the short story ever have time to wither, given the frequency of its rebirth?In the cases of Tom... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2018-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sci-fi and fantasy fiction is entering a golden age of short fiction thanks to social media, crowdfunding and a loyal community of ardent fansA man wakes up from a car crash to find that he is an "electric ant": an android programmed to believe it is human. At home he uses micro-tools to open... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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We're in a new golden age of science fiction, especially science fiction short stories. These are some of the best stories you can read right now online. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-01-09 11:35:44 UTC ]
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First Story and the University of Cambridge are the new partners of the BBC’s short story awards, replacing BookTrust, in a three-year collaboration starting in 2018. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How historical fiction gave one reader deeper and more vivid insights into history and guided her career in teaching and librarianship. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-09-28 10:35:00 UTC ]
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Sarah Hall has been shortlisted for the £15,000 BBC National Short Story Award for the fourth time, after winning the prize in 2013. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-11 10:46:38 UTC ]
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The Little Mermaid sacrifices her tail for a human soul. The Navajo Changing Woman grows old and is reborn with the seasons. The nymph Daphne becomes a tree to escape lovesick Apollo. Women transform because we are hungry. We transform because we’re restless, and because we’re dangerous. Women... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-08-28 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Last year, I put together this list of the most iconic poems in the English language; it’s high time to do the same for short stories. But before we go any further, you may be asking: What does “iconic” mean in this context? Can a short story really be iconic in the way of a […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-08-13 08:50:36 UTC ]
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This past weekend in Japan, Haruki Murakami released his new story collection Ichininshō Tansū (The First Person Singular). The collection comprises eight stories, seven of which were first published in the literary magazine Bungakukai between summer 2018 and winter 2020. Many of these... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-20 08:49:52 UTC ]
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Niamh Campbell has been awarded the Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award for her "original and touching" piece "Love Many". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-02 16:30:36 UTC ]
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Indian author Kritika Pandey has been announced as the overall winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-29 13:25:57 UTC ]
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Faber is to publish a collection of short stories by John Lanchester this autumn. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-18 08:59:04 UTC ]
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Short stories by contemporary Italian writers are hard to come across and almost none of them make it across the Atlantic. Booksellers and publishers seem to stay away from them because—what’s new?—they sell less, as they apparently lack “the immersive factor.” However, readers in the twentieth... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-16 08:48:49 UTC ]
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Louise Kennedy has made the six-strong shortlist for this year's Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award for the second year running. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-07 17:27:57 UTC ]
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The regional winners of the 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize have been announced, with 20-year-old Reyah Martin taking the title for Europe and Canada. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-03 23:09:53 UTC ]
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New production company Complete Fiction will develop Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood & Co series with Netflix. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-20 15:05:10 UTC ]
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Have a quick bite of these excellent small press short story collections and anthologies sampling a wide variety of genres, themes, and perspectives. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-05-05 10:34:09 UTC ]
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Roddy Doyle and Joseph O'Neill have been longlisted for the £30,000 Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-02 23:49:24 UTC ]
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The shortlist for this year's Commonwealth Short Story Prize has been announced, and features 20 entries from countries across the Commonwealth. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-21 15:26:21 UTC ]
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A new collection contains stories that cover a surprising amount of emotional territory but can still be read in a sitting. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-04-20 07:41:00 UTC ]
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