This second edition of On Writing Short Stories collects nine essays on the elements of a short story from renowned authors such as Tom Bailey, Frank Conroy, Andre Dubus, Atonya Nelson, and Francine Prose. From the importance of reading to character building to publishing, the essays guide writers through the craft of the short story and the writing process. The second part of the book is an anthology of exemplary classic and contemporary short stories by Frank Conroy, Junot Díaz, James Joyce, Jhumpa Lahiri, John Updike, and others, further proof of the signifance and power of the short story. “The story form excites the immediate, intimate feeling of memory by mimicking its narrative habits and accepting its limits,” writes Tobias Wolff in the book’s foreward. “We always have a welcome ready for the old stories, and the new story slips in under that welcome and draws on all its privileges and powers.”
