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 ]
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 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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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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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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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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Jojo Moyes' latest novel, 'The Girl You Left Behind,' is a tale of two unsinkable women generations apart and the painting that connects them.At first glance, Jojo Moyes' third novel, "The Girl You Left Behind," bears a striking resemblance to a popular book for kids: "The Daring Book for Girls"... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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China's Douban is experimenting with crowdsourced translations of English literature, including SF and short stories by David Mitchell. Can it help authors enter the market? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tom Hanks is expected to reprise his role as Robert Langdon in the film adaptation of Dan Brown... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-07-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's Little A imprint will release novels, memoirs, and story collections, while Day One will focus on short stories and new writers. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-03-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin imprint Hamish Hamilton will publish a new short story by Zadie Smith later this year.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-03-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One collection of short stories and four novels—including Jeet Thayyil’s Narcopolis, winner of the DSC Prize—have been shortlisted for The Hindu Literary Prize. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Eoin Colfer has been named as the author of the first of Puffin's eleven Dr Who short stories... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Erotic novelist EL James beats Kate Mosse and JoJo Moyes to win the National Book Awards popular fiction book of the year. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2012-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Perhaps the muse only came to you at the same time those first few gray hairs popped up on your head. But when you pick up the odd book review or magazine, you are disturbed by the cult of youth.You’re a writer of a certain age. Perhaps you started a family when you were younger, and now your... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2012-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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EL James' best-selling Fifty Shades of Grey will compete with novels by Kate Mosse, JoJo Moyes and Bernard Cornwell at this year's National Book of the Year Awards. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2012-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary events organiser Book Slam is releasing its second book of short stories, with... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Glasgow-based independent Freight Books has bought a collection of short stories by Rodge Glass,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Science-fiction great Ray Bradbury died Tuesday night in California at the age of 91. He was renowned for his short stories as well as for the dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, which cast readers into a Cold War-inspired future of paranoid book burning. Back in 2005, Bryan Curtis argued that,... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2012-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Emily Smith, executive director of Lookout Books, has been in and out of the office more in the past few months than she has been in years, thanks to the success of her imprint’s very first release, a collection of new and previously published work from a 75-year-old master of the short story,... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2012-04-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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JoJo Moyes’ Me Before You has come top of an online voting poll for the Richard and Judy... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2012-04-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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