The prestigious annual anthology features prize-winning stories by an international array of talented writers, including Weike Wang, Colm Tóibín, Louise Erdrich, Samanta Schweblin, Jenny Xie, Kevin Wilson, Brandon Taylor, and Catherine Lacey.
Continuing a century-long tradition of cutting-edge literary excellence, this year’s edition contains twenty prizewinning stories chosen from the thousands published in magazines over the previous year. Guest editor Tommy Orange has brought his own refreshing perspective to the prize, selecting stories by an engaging mix of celebrated names and emerging voices. The winning stories are accompanied by an introduction by Orange, observations from the winning writers on what inspired them, and an extensive resource list of magazines that publish short fiction.
Read: Tender by Sarah LaBrie, Electric Lit
First lines: The girl is going to be late for school and Melora is going to be late for work, but Melora’s daughter is always late for school and Melora is always late for work. Melora sits in the kitchen and watches her daughter through the window.