Complete fiction: why 'the short story renaissance' is a myth

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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Moyes' One plus One still one in the charts

Jojo Moyes' The One Plus One (Penguin) has topped the official UK Top 50 for a second week.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Moyes knocks Green off top spot

Jojo Moyes has ended John Green’s eight week run at the top of the chart with her first UK... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling pens a new 'Harry Potter' story and a new 'Potter' theme park opens

J.K. Rowling recently released a short story about the futures of such characters as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, while the new section of Universal Studios titled The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley just opened to the public. J.K. Rowling also recently... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J.K. Rowling pens a new 'Harry Potter' story and 'Potter' theme park opens (+video)

J.K. Rowling recently released a short story about the futures of such characters as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, while the new section of Universal Studios titled The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley just opened to the public. J.K. Rowling also recently... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Distribution: Authors Sign with INscribe

Nine romance writers are distributing an anthology of short stories, "Naught Nine," through INscribe Digital. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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BEA 2014: A Civil War Female Voice: Laird Hunt

An obscure but fascinating aspect of the Civil War, when hundreds of women disguised as men enlisted in the army as Union soldiers to fight, is at the heart of Neverhome (Little, Brown; Sept.) by Laird Hunt, the author of five novels and a collection of short stories and a two-time finalist for... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-05-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facts & Figures 2013: All Our Coverage

Our annual collection of sales numbers for books sold in the last calendar year provides a granular portrait of the book business. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Master

We last heard from Elizabeth Spencer more than a decade ago. In 1998 she published a memoir, Landscapes of the Heart, followed in 2001 by a “greatest hits” roundup of her novellas and short stories, The Southern Woman, which was followed by a quiet 12 years. One could be forgiven the thought... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2014-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Polar vortex takes us back to the coldest story in American literature

The unnamed protagonist in Jack London's 'To Build a Fire' gets into trouble while hiking in the frozen Yukon with his dog. Widely considered to be London’s best short story, 'To Build a Fire' captures the cold with painful accuracy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Polar vortex takes us back to the coldest story in American literature (+video)

The unnamed protagonist in Jack London's 'To Build a Fire' gets into trouble while hiking in the frozen Yukon with his dog. Widely considered to be London’s best short story, 'To Build a Fire' captures the cold with painful accuracy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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VIDEO: Wonderland artist's books sold

A collection of first edition books illustrated by the Edwardian artist Arthur Rackham has sold for more than £40,000 at auction. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2013-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amina Cain builds slow, intimate portraits in 'Creature'

In 'Creature,' Amina Cain presents personal tales of female characters at loose ends.The peril of reading literary short stories is that one tends to encounter characters who behave not like you or me but like the kind of people one finds only in short stories. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Scott Turow's 'Identical' has Greek myth proportions

Novelist Scott Turow's 'Identical' is a compulsively readable crime story about brothers, feuding families and a long-ago murder.Over the course of nine novels, Scott Turow's Kindle County has become one the best-known settings in American literature. While fictional locations are not uncommon... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Munro short story to be Waterstones exclusive

Profile is to republish a short story by Alice Munro, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2013-10-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nothing small about short story Nobel

The first Canadian winner, Alice Munro has published nothing but short stories in a 50-year career.     Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nothing small about story Nobel

The first Canadian winner, Alice Munro has published nothing but short stories in a 50-year career.     Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald

[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2013-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alice Munro wins 2013 Nobel Prize in literature

Alice Munro is the winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in literature. The Canadian author was lauded for being "master of the short story" by Peter Englund, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy.Alice Munro is the winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in literature. The Canadian author was lauded for... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-10-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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More than half of American adults read books for pleasure in 2012

The good news: According to a new report from the National Endowment for the Arts, more than half of American adults read books for pleasure in 2012.The good news: According to a new report from the National Endowment for the Arts, more than half of American adults read books for pleasure in... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jhumpa Lahiri comes up short in 'The Lowland'

Pulitzer winner Jhumpa Lahiri is a master of the short story, but in applying that crisp, neatly tied style to her second novel, she comes up with a flat, detached tale."A short story is like a toothache and you must drill it and fill it. A novel is more like bridgework," said the writer T.C.... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon once again gets exclusive streaming rights for Under the Dome

Many of novelist Stephen King's books and short stories have found their way to the screen either through a movie or mini-series. Some, like The Shining, have become classics in the eyes of fans, while others...well... This season a King novel has returned the author to prominence on the small... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2013-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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