PEN America Best Debut Short Stories 2018: PEN America Best Debut Short Stories

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. As with last year's inaugural edition, selections for the second volume of PEN America Best Debut Short Stories will be made by three award-winning writers, themselves champions and innovators of the short story form: Jodi Angel, Lesley Nneka Arimah, and Alexandra Kleeman. Each story comes with an introduction by the editor of the literary magazine who originally published it. These commentaries provide valuable insight — not only for students of writing particularly but also for readers generally — about what editors look for and how they read, and celebrate the vital work literary magazines do to nurture contemporary literature's newest voices. 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..."These dozen stories tend to the dark side, with rare moments of humour in a moody fictive landscape; they're thus just right for their time . . . A promise of good things to come from this year's roster of prizewinners." —Kirkus Reviews"A book of gems, each carrying its own 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 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 form: 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. THE ESSENTIAL YEARLY GUIDE TO THE NEWEST VOICES IN SHORT FICTION "These dozen stories tend to the dark side, with rare moments of humor in a moody fictive landscape; they're thus just right for their time . . . A promise of good things to come from this year's roster of prizewinners." — Kirkus Reviews "A book of gems, each carrying its own 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... "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 form: 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."--provided by Amazon.com. Introduction -- Yuka Igarashi Six months -- Celeste Mohammed Candidates -- Megan Tucker Videoteca fin del mundo -- Ava Tomasula y Garcia Brent, bandit king -- Grayson Morley Zombie horror -- Drew McCutchen Black dog -- Alex Terrell New Years in La Calera -- Cristina Fríes Appetite -- Lin King 1983 -- Elinam Agbo Stay brave, my Hercules -- Ernie Wang Bellevonia Beautee -- Lauren Friedlander The Crazies -- Maud Streep About the judges -- About the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers -- List of Participating Publications -- Permissions. The essential yearly guide to the newest voices in fiction, selected by in 2018 by judges Jodi Angel, Lesley Nneka Arimah, and Alexandra Kleeman