The O. Henry Prize Stories

TWO COLLECTIONS of the best stories from the best literary magazines in the U.S. and Canada that you must have on your bookshelf.

1. The O. Henry Prize Stories 2006 (Anchor, 2006) / Laura Furman (ed.)
A radiant reflection of contemporary fiction at its best, The O. Henry Prize Stories 2006 features stories from locales as diverse as Russia, Zimbabwe, and the rural American South. Series editor Laura Furman considered thousands of stories in hundreds of literary magazines before selecting the winners, which are accompanied here by short essays from each of the three eminent jurors on his or her favourite story, as well as observations from all twenty prizewinners on what inspired them. Ranging in tone from arch humour to self-deluding obsessiveness to fairy-tale ingenuousness, these stories are a treasury of potential classics.

2. The O. Henry Prize Stories 2007 (Anchor, 2007) / Laura Furman (ed.)
An arresting collection of contemporary fiction at its best, these stories explore a vast range of subjects, from love and deception to war and the insidious power of class distinctions. However clearly spoken, in voices sophisticated, cunning, or naïve, here is fiction that consistently defies our expectations. Selected from thousands of stories in hundreds of literary magazines, the twenty prizewinning stories are accompanied by essays from each of the three eminent jurors on which stories they judged the best, and observations from all twenty prizewinners on what inspired them.