Recently I learned that the character, Mona Simpson, of the famed Simpsons television show, was named after the real-life author. She was...

“The Yellow Wallpaper” written in 1892 by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a slow, brilliant descent into madness, an early feminist triumph...

In my effort to celebrate the short story form, I have come across a piece I think especially relevant for today. It strikes me that “The...

It may be as simple as speaking up. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” published by The New Yorker in 1948, no one spoke up. The story...

I’m not sure where I first came across Israeli writer Etgar Keret . His collection of short stories, The Girl on the Fridge , has been a...

When a widower remarries, his life hits rock bottom. In Annie Proulx ’s  Heart Songs and Other Stories , I chose “Bedrock” to feature,...

As a short story writer, Yiyun Li is a stunner. Her stories are like multi-layered cakes, held together by a variety of tasty fillings...

“I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen  demonstrates the power of the short story form. While studying journalism in college I used...

Kevin Moffett ’s sublime short story, “ Bears Among the Living ,” packs the power of a novel in a few pages. It’s an entire meal in small...

Rapid water and rapid heartbeats. “Selway,” by Pam Houston , is a primer on escalating action one excruciating drop at a time. The young...

There's another better Otto and he knows it. Is he willing to do what it takes to become that guy?

“The trailer park was our domain.” Hiding behind a wall of corrugated tin at Rancho View Mobile Estates in rural Southern California, a...

I love stories that dive headfirst into the messiness of life. I want to be challenged, as well as entertained. Silver Water by Amy...