“Find the key emotion; this may be all you need know to find your short story.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hi friends, I’m celebrating all things short story today.
I love reading and writing short stories — they are my favourite fictional form — and I’d love to hear your thoughts on them. Who is your favourite short story writer? I’m a huge fan of Alice Munro so was very sad to hear of her passing this week. I had just shared a story of hers, Free Radicals, as a reading in the Year of Mindful Writing course as I often use her work in my workshops. Other favourites include Ted Chiang, Annie Proulx, Haruki Murakami and A.M. Homes, but I read short stories by many writers. What about you? Do say hello in the comments and let me know as I’m always looking to connect with readers, and discover new writers and stories.If you’ve had a short story published recently do share a link as well.
I’m currently reading lots of stories in The New Yorker, making the most of my discounted subscription before it expires! A recent favourite is “Late Love” by Joyce Carol Oates, which left me pondering long after I finished reading it; and I also enjoyed the interview with her about the story.
Looking forward to hearing about you, and your reading and writing!
With love,
P.S. If you want to spend some dedicated time with your writing, join one of my free Writing Hours.
P.P.S. I am excited about the new Slow Story Course that will get us writing together and supporting each other as we do. In case you missed the announcement, you can see it here:
Ooh lots that are new to me. I’ve read the Raymond Carver and George Saunders. Both brilliant. But not the others. I’m going to have so much new stuff to read!
I really love Danticat. I think she’s one of those unsung greats. A high school class I was tutoring was reading it, and since then I’ve read most of her novels. The Farming of the Bones is one of my top favorites.
I’ve never heard of her before. I’ll definitely seek out her work though seeing as she comes so highly recommended! I’ve not heard of Edwidge Danticat either.
I gave it five stars on Goodreads, but I read it so long ago that I don’t really remember it. That’s why I didn’t list it here. I guess I’m due for a reread!
My favorite short story author is G.D.K. Huffman. Partly, I will admit, because he's my best friend. So far he only has one published work, "To Face a Lion", but I love it because in just a few short pages it does a fantastic job of showcasing orcish culture in his world (within which he is working on other projects). His orcs have the interesting twist of appearing from the perspective of other cultures to be warmongering barbarians, but from an inside look they are a rich honor-based society.
Here are some of my favorite short story collections. (I meant to list only 3 but just couldn't do it!)
1) Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat
2) Tenth of December by George Saunders
3) The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr
4) If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, by Italo Calvino
5) What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, by Raymond Carver
Ooh lots that are new to me. I’ve read the Raymond Carver and George Saunders. Both brilliant. But not the others. I’m going to have so much new stuff to read!
I really love Danticat. I think she’s one of those unsung greats. A high school class I was tutoring was reading it, and since then I’ve read most of her novels. The Farming of the Bones is one of my top favorites.
I’ve never heard of her before. I’ll definitely seek out her work though seeing as she comes so highly recommended! I’ve not heard of Edwidge Danticat either.
Oh, I meant to mention that she is Haitian-American, and much of her work is set in Haiti.
I meant to say not head or Anthony Doerr either! Haiti - brilliant. I love learning about other places and cultures when I read fiction.
Oh! He wrote All the Light We Cannot See, which is one of my top five novels of all time.
Two stories come to mind at this moment: Orange Horses by Maeve Kelly, Dimension by Alice Munro. Both deal with tough content and to me are memorable.
Dimension is amazing. I don’t know the Maeve Kelly. Will seek it out.
I liked Jhumpa Lahiri’s collection Interpretation of Maladies and how she weaves all together at the end.
Thank you for sharing this. I’ve never read it so will add it to my list.
Loved that book!
So did I. I didn’t realize at first how she was tying all the stories together. Very thoughtful.
I gave it five stars on Goodreads, but I read it so long ago that I don’t really remember it. That’s why I didn’t list it here. I guess I’m due for a reread!
I just bought it for my Kindle!
The Lady with the Lapdog by Chekhov.
It’s been many years since I read any Chekhov. I shall revisit.
It’s been years since I’ve read it, but the mood of it haunts me and its window onto middle-age.
I’ll let you know what I think when I read it again. I can’t really remember it at all so it’ll be like coming to it new again!
oh wow. what a great question!
-Chekhov
-Alice Munro
-Flannery O'Connor
-Ljudmila Petrushevskaya
-Truman Capote
-Fazil Iskander
-O'Henry
-Kafka
-Salinger
-Teffy
...can I think some more?
Great list!
My favorite short story author is G.D.K. Huffman. Partly, I will admit, because he's my best friend. So far he only has one published work, "To Face a Lion", but I love it because in just a few short pages it does a fantastic job of showcasing orcish culture in his world (within which he is working on other projects). His orcs have the interesting twist of appearing from the perspective of other cultures to be warmongering barbarians, but from an inside look they are a rich honor-based society.
Thanks for sharing, Michael!