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Pen America Best Debut Short Stories #2
PEN America Best Debut Short Stories 2018
THE ESSENTIAL YEARLY GUIDE TO THE NEWEST VOICES IN SHORT FICTION
"A book of gems, each one carrying its own particular clarity and cut, that teaches students of writing how limitless the short story form can be." —Marie–Helene Bertino, author of 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas
PEN America Best Debut Short Stories 2018 celebrates twelve outstanding stories by today’s most promising new fiction writers and the literary magazines that discovered them. The characters within these pages include a college dropout dressed up as Hercules at Disney World; a college graduate playing a prostitute in a ghost town in Montana; a father from Trinidad leading a double life on a temporary visa; and a housewife in Taipei perfectly performing her familial and marital duties while harboring secret desires.
This year’s selections were made by three award–winning writers, themselves innovators of the short story Jodi Angel, Lesley Nneka Arimah, and Alexandra Kleeman. Each work is accompanied by commentary from the editors who first published it, explaining what made the piece stand out from the submissions pile, and why they were moved to share it with readers.
"A book of gems, each one carrying its own particular clarity and cut, that teaches students of writing how limitless the short story form can be." —Marie–Helene Bertino, author of 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas
PEN America Best Debut Short Stories 2018 celebrates twelve outstanding stories by today’s most promising new fiction writers and the literary magazines that discovered them. The characters within these pages include a college dropout dressed up as Hercules at Disney World; a college graduate playing a prostitute in a ghost town in Montana; a father from Trinidad leading a double life on a temporary visa; and a housewife in Taipei perfectly performing her familial and marital duties while harboring secret desires.
This year’s selections were made by three award–winning writers, themselves innovators of the short story Jodi Angel, Lesley Nneka Arimah, and Alexandra Kleeman. Each work is accompanied by commentary from the editors who first published it, explaining what made the piece stand out from the submissions pile, and why they were moved to share it with readers.
224 pages, Paperback
First published August 15, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 29, 2018
As with any set of stories, there'll be some that are more your speed than others. And some of the stories in this collection were SUPER-DUPER my speed. I'm committed to reading this collection every year, because I guarantee there are going to be some superstar writers coming out of these batches and I can't wait to've been in on the ground floor.
August 23, 2018
I got my hands on an ARC of this through the publisher and was just as delighted by this year's selections as I was by last year's. I am also biased, having nominated stories that ended up in both the 2017 and the 2018 anthology :)
April 10, 2019
Every story here was absolutely breathtaking.
February 26, 2019
This collection was STUNNING. I was glued to every word. The way these writers command prose to show complex emotions, identities, and human struggles took my breath away with every single paragraph. Absolutely captivating. These are stories you have to read slowly to savor all the meaning in them. I don't regret a single sentence I read in this collection.
September 25, 2018
This years crop of stories are gritty, touching and timely. These new writers clearly are going places. Their prose made me think, cry and be furious. I look forward to reading more from each of them.
August 25, 2018
Great collection of short stories.
April 4, 2019
Lin King's story was a masterpiece
January 11, 2019
What a treat! I don't read a ton of short story collections, but this was outstanding. It is hard to believe these gems are debuts. Even those that I can't say I liked sparkled with amazing writing. This is a perfect collection if are short on time and want to actually finish something in one sitting. Each story is fairly brief, but all are powerful, affecting, and sometimes heartbreaking. Keep an eye out for the included authors.
November 12, 2019
Good book! Read it in two days! The best pieces were:
“Brent, Bandit King” by Grayson Morley, published in The Brooklyn Review
“Stay Brave, My Hercules” by Ernie Wang, published in McSweeney's
But the generally anthology was nice and warm, a great selection of Latinx stories and authors I want to follow. Not all hitting my mark so it's 8/10.
Connection: One of the judges taught at the Tin House Summer Workshop where I worked.
“Brent, Bandit King” by Grayson Morley, published in The Brooklyn Review
“Stay Brave, My Hercules” by Ernie Wang, published in McSweeney's
But the generally anthology was nice and warm, a great selection of Latinx stories and authors I want to follow. Not all hitting my mark so it's 8/10.
Connection: One of the judges taught at the Tin House Summer Workshop where I worked.
April 11, 2019
I only got about halfway through this book - maybe it was just the anthology format, but I wasn't grabbed by these stories. I know these are EMERGING writers, but the stories felt a bit rough around the edges in a way that was wearing when read consecutively. I could see some of these writers having promising careers and there's some good ideas explored here, but nothing that made me feel like I HAD to keep going.
February 3, 2020
Pros: love me a good anthology, enjoyed the forwards to each story, enjoyed more stories toward to the end of the collection
Cons: despite being short, some were dense - not necessarily bad just expected to read more quickly; didn’t enjoy the beginning ones as much.
Cons: despite being short, some were dense - not necessarily bad just expected to read more quickly; didn’t enjoy the beginning ones as much.
January 13, 2022
Zombie Horror (Drew McCutchen)
Bellevonia Beautee (Lauren Friedlander)
The Crazies (Maud Streep)
Bellevonia Beautee (Lauren Friedlander)
The Crazies (Maud Streep)
December 15, 2020
“My sleep feels like a nothingness. I am either a one, or I am a zero. There is either all of me, or none of me.”
I really enjoyed reading these writers’ first publications, initially printed in various literary journals! Such energy! Such hope! There’s everything from a protagonist who’s an AI to a zombie yet non post-apocalyptic plot. Read and be entertained and encouraged.
I really enjoyed reading these writers’ first publications, initially printed in various literary journals! Such energy! Such hope! There’s everything from a protagonist who’s an AI to a zombie yet non post-apocalyptic plot. Read and be entertained and encouraged.
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January 15, 2022Wonderful debuts from a group of writers who I'll be eagerly watching to see what they do next. My favorites from the bunch: "Six Months," "Brent, Bandit King," "Zombie Horror," "New Years in La Calera ," "Stay Brave, MY Hercules," and "The Crazies." That's half of the book right there.
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December 14, 2018Impressive collection.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews