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 ]
In 2016, the internet was rife with divisive opinions over Jojo Moyes’ Me Before You. The novel, published in 2012, chronicled the relationship between a recently-paralyzed man, Will, and his caregiver, Louisa. The 2016 film, starring Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin, faced significant backlash... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-17 19:59:59 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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‘The Man of the Crowd’ is one of the shorter short stories written by Edgar Allan Poe (who pioneered the short story form when it was still an emerging force in nineteenth-century magazines and periodicals). Written in 1840, the story is deliciously enigmatic and, in some ways, prefigures later... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2020-06-02 14:00:22 UTC ]
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While many readers have understandably found refuge from pandemic anxiety with thick biographies and door-stopping classics, others have had trouble focusing for long periods. With work laptops constantly open and homeschooled children orbiting, the solution to our short attention spans might be... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-02 08:48:22 UTC ]
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Jojo Moyes has written a story featuring the heroine of her bestselling novel Me Before You, Lou Clark, and exploring how the character may be coping in lockdown. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-31 14:08:36 UTC ]
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It’s a long-standing joke in lockdown now – among those of us quarantined, self-isolating, or lucky enough to keep working from home – that we don’t know which day it is. Or even which week. And did I shower this morning, or was it yesterday? Our immediate surroundings have been so similar for... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-05-15 14:46:20 UTC ]
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Robin Sloan, the author of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, discusses his new short story for The Atlantic. Continue reading at The Atlantic
[ The Atlantic | 2020-05-15 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Whether delving into chunky historical narratives or listening to short story podcasts, we’ve all been approaching reading differently during lockdown. Our reading habits can take us back in time, allow us to examine our present, or give us hope for the future. In time for the May bank holiday... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-05-07 13:58:54 UTC ]
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Cultural Cross Sections Alex Wade View inland from the top of Zennor Hill / Courtesy of the author Walking his dogs through the Zennor moors, a writer in Cornwall contemplates the area’s literary history and discovers the ever-growing distance between... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-05-07 13:18:25 UTC ]
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Book Reviews Svetlana Tomić Neva Lukić / Courtesy of Cultural Institution Blesok The recent collection of short stories by Neva Lukić, Endless Endings (Bokeh, 2018), originally written in Croatian and translated into English by Jeremy White, was... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-05-06 13:13:29 UTC ]
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Book Reviews Indrajit Bose The author at the Zakir Hussain Delhi College during the Bengali Literary Festival 2018 / Photo courtesy of bitanchakraborty.com Simplicity and quiet elegance never fail to impress us. The effect of a good short story often is... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-04-21 13:18:37 UTC ]
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A reviewer reflects on reading “The Moment of Tenderness,” a collection of short stories, and then returning to the 1963 novel she loved growing up. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-04-17 23:14:00 UTC ]
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A reviewer reflects on reading “The Moment of Tenderness,” a collection of short stories, and then returning to the 1963 novel she loved growing up. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-04-17 23:14:00 UTC ]
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A reviewer reflects on reading “The Moment of Tenderness,” a collection of short stories, and then returning to the 1963 novel she loved growing up. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-04-17 23:14:00 UTC ]
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As quarantine continues, we’re all noticing that we respond to lockdown differently. While many spend each day providing care, food and other necessities, those of us privileged enough to be 'stuck at home' are seeing our friends’ and family members’ behaviour change under the new... Continue reading at British Council global
[ British Council global | 2020-04-17 15:42:05 UTC ]
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In the midst of researching news reports and washing your hands, here is a list of 15 funny short stories and books to brighten your mood. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-03-27 10:34:44 UTC ]
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W&N is publishing Irish author Cathy Sweeney's debut collection of short stories, described as a "look at the world from a lopsided perspective", following a "heated" auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-27 07:58:19 UTC ]
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A reader who fell out of love with short story collections ponders how best to make reading short stories part of the routine again. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-03-18 10:39:38 UTC ]
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Ken Liu, the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of more acclaimed SFF short stories than you can shake a futuristic stick at, will soon be bringing his expansive imagination to the small screen. As Publishers Marketplace announced earlier today, AMC has acquired the rights to the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-13 14:30:21 UTC ]
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