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 ]
From ghost stories to chilling horror tales to short retellings of classic fairy tales, the short story form has often been at home to the supernatural. Below, we select and introduce ten of the very best short stories which feature some supernatural element: a ghost, a magical talisman, a... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-06-24 14:00:29 UTC ]
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From one-tweet fiction to serialized short stories and retellings, Twitterature demonstrated the literary possibilities of Twitter. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-06-23 10:36:00 UTC ]
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Through the deal, the U.K.-based talent agency Curtis Brown, which reps such authors as Nigella Lawson and Jojo Moyes and such estates as those of Ian Fleming and A.A. Milne, will continue to operate under its existing structure and management team. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-06-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Genuinely classic and canonical short stories with twist endings are hard to find. For the ‘twist’ to be a true surprise, it needs to appear to come out of nowhere while also being completely credible, so we as readers don’t feel cheated. It should also be a twist in the […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-06-10 14:00:35 UTC ]
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Two previously unseen short stories by Jackson, rated by Stephen King as one of the great horror fiction writers, are to appear in US magazine the StrandTwo previously unpublished short stories by Shirley Jackson, the queen of gothic fiction, have been released.Charlie Roberts and Only Stand and... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-06-09 14:05:30 UTC ]
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Do you like the Best American series? Of course you do! Each book in the annual series showcases of best short fiction and nonfiction in a given year, from short stories to essays, travel writing, to food writing. Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-06-06 14:51:57 UTC ]
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‘The Veldt’ is a short story by the American author Ray Bradbury (1920-2012), included in his 1952 collection of linked tales, The Illustrated Man. The story concerns a nursery in an automated home in which a simulation of the African veldt is conjured by some children, but the lions which […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-06-06 14:00:03 UTC ]
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Fathers are often domineering or formative presences in fiction, and the following classic short stories all focus on the important influence of fathers on their children, even though, in at least one of the stories listed here, the father is absent from the story itself. These stories are among... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-06-03 14:00:08 UTC ]
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Thousands of short stories are read each year in order for editors to create Best of anthologies. Here is a look at a few. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-06-01 10:39:00 UTC ]
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Family plays an important part in much fiction, of course, but sometimes the short story form has offered us an insight into family life that the longer novel does not. Because it can only provide us with a few snapshots, or a handful of moments, perhaps even just one episode […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-05-27 14:00:35 UTC ]
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‘The Snake’ is a short story by the American author John Steinbeck (1902-68), published in The Monterey Beacon in 1935 before being included in Steinbeck’s collection The Long Valley in 1938. The story tells of a young scientist who is at work experimenting with animals in his laboratory when he […] Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-05-26 14:00:50 UTC ]
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Sisters confront racism with humor, a fantasy novelist delves into short stories, a military history expert salutes the civil rights movement, and a movie star's memoir goes behind the scenes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-05-25 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was a prolific novelist, short-story writer, and poet, who is perhaps best-known for classic children’s books like The Jungle Book and for poems like ‘If—’. But Kipling’s short stories for adults often get overlooked – a fact which is perhaps hardly surprising given... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-05-18 14:00:38 UTC ]
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Sometimes in interviews I catch myself speaking of my book of short stories about the Iraq War as though it is a kind of literary journalism. I want people to think about their recent history, imagine the lives of soldiers, and get a sense of what it’s like to go to war. And I do […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-05-17 08:53:40 UTC ]
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‘The Nine Billion Names of God’ is a short story by the British-born science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008). It was first published in the 1953 anthology Star Science Fiction Stories #1, before being collected in Clarke’s The Other Side of the Sky. A short tale about religion,... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-05-16 14:00:02 UTC ]
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Colin Barrett's second collection, 'Homesickness,' expands the reach of this mordantly funny Irishman beyond the small-town millennials of his debut. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-05-03 13:00:20 UTC ]
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Holiday print sales in children's books helped the US market gain 3 percent in the week ending April 16. The post An Easter Surprise in the States: 30 Million More Books Sold Than in 2019 appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-04-25 18:01:38 UTC ]
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Very short stories–also known as flash fiction, micro fiction, drabbles, and the like–are a delightful form of fiction. Start with these. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-04-19 10:34:00 UTC ]
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Literature is full of monsters whose names and appearance have passed into general circulation: we all recognise Frankenstein (even if, as pedants will be quick to point out, Hollywood has made us confuse the ‘monster’ with his creator), Dracula, and the Minotaur, among many others. But what are... Continue reading at Interesting Literature
[ Interesting Literature | 2022-04-13 14:00:46 UTC ]
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