Our Manifesto
Like jazz, the short story is a truly American art form. While Americans didn’t invent it, we honed it, much like the Italians did so many years ago when they looked at Chinese noodles and said: Throw some tomatoes and cheese on those bad boys and now we’re talking. Take a few blank pages and with some hard work, you’ve planted your flag of creativity and rosy optimism and made something out of nothing. Not to mention, short stories are SHORT, and considering the attention span of our current society being whittled away by video games, cable TV, ipods and high speed Internet, they are the perfect medium for a good ol’ shot of literature. A short story gives a reader the opportunity to, in one fifteen minute sitting, have a complete, complex, artistic experience. How many plays and movies can say the same?
And yet today the habitat of the short story is being encroached. Every year, celebrity biographies, political back stabbers, and sweet books by and about dogs have no trouble finding a home on bookshelves, while short story collections languish in piles on the desks of uninterested publishers and editors. Short stories don’t sell. This is hammered into writers from day one, from the moment they hatch from their little writer shells. Meanwhile, the once protected sanctuary of magazines has been cutting fiction to make more room for more advertising and exposes on gastric bypass surgery. WE REFUSE TO LET THIS STAND. It is time to gather forces and save the short story. And in return, the short story will save us.
Popularity: 24% [?]
To the list of short story writers, I’d add RIchard Bausch, Charles D’Ambrosio, Joy Williams, Edward P. Jones, David Bezmozgis, J.D. Salinger, Ralph Lombreglia, David Means, Tobias Wolff, YiYun Li and Ben Fountain
Comment by Elliott Holt — September 17, 2007 @ 12:29 pm
Oh, and I’d also add Lydia Davis and Matthew Klam and Dave Eggers…
Comment by Elliott Holt — September 17, 2007 @ 12:32 pm
Oh, and we can’t forget Mary Gaitskill or Joyce Carol Oates. They should be on the list of short story writers too.
Comment by Elliott Holt — September 17, 2007 @ 12:36 pm
Yes, it’s true, the greater publishing world seems to be interested in story collections mainly as a means to a novel. But some of us carry on, and some of us love to actually read short stories as well as write them! I could go on…
Comment by Elizabeth Crane — September 17, 2007 @ 3:32 pm
Thank you, One Story, for setting out to save the short story! I think classrooms have a part to play: retire those antiquated anthologies, use short story journals to teach fiction!
Comment by Autumn Kindelspire — September 17, 2007 @ 7:41 pm
So glad you’re doing this. The short story is not a toddler novel! It’s an art form. A few years ago I went a little nuts on this subject in The American Poetry Review. Here’s a link to an excerpt:
http://www.aprweb.org/issues/july01/trueblood.html
The whole thing’s at FindArticles.
Comment by Valerie Trueblood — September 19, 2007 @ 8:35 am
Let’s not forget Grace Paley. And Deborah Eisenberg. As a short story writer myself, I like to imagine that there’s a special level of hell reserved for those obnoxious pinheads who ask, “When are you going to write a novel?” (When they get to the aforementioned postmortem destination, they’ll be the ones asking, “Hot enough for you?”)
Comment by E.K. Narey — September 23, 2007 @ 4:24 pm
Oh, and we must add Jim Shepard and Jonathan Baumbach to the list at right.
Comment by Elliott Holt — September 24, 2007 @ 11:37 am
I fell in love with short stories in the seventh grade when I read an anthology that included “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant and other classics. Then I read J.D. Salinger’s Nine Stories and after that, I started devouring short fiction wherever I could find it. I can’t get through a day without reading a short story. It’s such a graceful and glorious form with such a diverse group of practitioners. And speaking of practitioners, I keep thinking of more names to add to that wonderful list of writers at right: Earnest Hemingway, Colette, Guy de Maupassant, Andre Debus, Ben Marcus, A.M. Homes…
Comment by Elliott Holt — September 24, 2007 @ 12:04 pm
FLANNERY O’CONNOR: THE LIFE’S BLOOD OF THE SHORT STORY
Comment by Johnson — September 24, 2007 @ 7:55 pm
ALICE MUNRO.
Comment by Anne Feher — September 25, 2007 @ 10:59 am
Please add Bruce Holland Rogers, two-time World Fantasy Award recipient, to your list of short story writers. His site: www.shortshortshort.com. Also Lunch Hour Stories magazine, of which I am the editor, publishes short stories and ONLY short stories at www.lunchhourstories.com. Thanks for your efforts to save the short!! I applaud and join you. Nina Bayer
Comment by Nina Bayer — September 28, 2007 @ 11:41 am
And who could forget the short stories of Barry Yourgrau (Wearing Dad’s Head), and, of course, Dorothy Parker.
Comment by Nina Bayer — September 28, 2007 @ 11:44 am
I hate to play devil’s advocate in such a venue, but I take issue with the notion that the short story is American. What about Borges?
Comment by Tom Roberge — September 28, 2007 @ 12:30 pm
Amy Hempel.
Let’s all bow down.
Comment by Ava — September 28, 2007 @ 12:44 pm
Thank you ONE STORY for wanting to save the short story!
You are doing a wonderful service for all of us writers who have published a book of short story collections! My book is selling pretty well, so I guess NOT ALL of the readers out there want to get rid of the short story as those publishers in the big publishing houses do.
Comment by Rosanne Catalano — September 28, 2007 @ 1:03 pm
Wake up, people. teh British had a similar cmapaing that ran for several years recently
Misisng from your list are Eudora Welty and
Wake up, folks. The British ran a Save Our Short Story campaign several years ago. Among the many great short story writers MIA from your list are Eudora Welty and Katherine Anne Porter.
Comment by Pat Tompkins — September 28, 2007 @ 2:50 pm
Wake up, people. teh British had a similar cmapaing that ran for several years recently
Misisng from your list are Eudora Welty and
Wake up, folks. The British ran a Save Our Short Story campaign several years ago. Among the many great short story writers MIA from your list are Eudora Welty and Katherine Anne Porter. Excuse my typing. I can’t edit this text.
Comment by Pat Tompkins — September 28, 2007 @ 2:53 pm
Also Chris Offutt, Andre Dubus, Richard Yates, Michael Chabon.
Comment by A.G.E. — September 28, 2007 @ 2:56 pm
Oh, and Jayne Anne Phillips
Comment by A.G.E. — September 28, 2007 @ 2:58 pm
I second the calendar idea. We need pin-up authors.
Comment by Shahnaz — September 28, 2007 @ 3:14 pm
John Cheever! Guy Davenport! Donald Barthelme! Kellie Wells! Katherine Mansfield! YAY!
Comment by Rachel Cantor — September 28, 2007 @ 9:24 pm
To “Short Story Friends,” might be added www.newpages.com and The New Short Fiction Series of Beverly Hills — www.newshortfictionseries.com.
Comment by m. cunningham — September 29, 2007 @ 8:36 am
More short story writers to celebrate: Tim O’Brien, Ethan Canin, Rick Bass, Graham Greene, William Gay, Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, Franz Kafka, Henry James.
Comment by m. cunningham — September 29, 2007 @ 8:51 am
William Trevor! Lorrie Moore, Ursula K. Le Guin, Edward P. Jones: so much talent.
Comment by Pat Tompkins — September 29, 2007 @ 9:17 am
Pirandello wrote a number of short stories that I enjoy as much as I enjoy his plays.
Comment by Austin Alexis — September 29, 2007 @ 11:01 am
With a novel, a writer can drift, dawdle , roam and recover. With a short story, every word must count!
Comment by David James — September 29, 2007 @ 2:36 pm
I posted about the campaign and put a link to this site on my blog, The upstreet Fan Club. Do you have a button or a t-shirt, or something?
Comment by Vivian Dorsel — September 29, 2007 @ 5:30 pm
I see that Edgar Allen Poe is already included. That is reason enough to save the short story for your Tell-Tale Heart!
Comment by Poe — September 29, 2007 @ 7:44 pm
Stuart Dybek, a newly minted MacArthur fellow, has to be on the list. See: http://www.publishersweekly.com:80/article/CA6482855.html
Comment by Glenn Deutsch — September 30, 2007 @ 5:52 pm
Jim Shepard is getting incredible reviews for his latest book of short stories, “Like You’d Understand, Anyway.” He’s certainly helping the cause. His name should be on that list, no question.
Comment by L. Good — October 1, 2007 @ 10:30 am
I’d also speak up for my friend, Dale Ray Phillips, the Maestro.
Comment by Jack Cobb — October 1, 2007 @ 10:39 am
You know, Poetry has its own month, as does Novel Writing. Can we get a National Short Story month going? A month where all of us pool together to create venues honoring and promoting the short story!
Comment by Autumn Kindelspire — October 1, 2007 @ 10:51 am
Please add GOOD HOUSEKEEPING to your roster of magazines that feature short stories on a regular basis
Comment by Laura Mathews — October 1, 2007 @ 11:36 am
Somebody mentioned Ben Fountain. I second that motion. “Fantasy For Eleven Fingers” is the most startlingly original story I’ve read in years. Also hysterically funny.
Comment by tony van witsen — October 1, 2007 @ 1:23 pm
Short stories are perfect for any mass transit ride. I do wish short story collections were marketed more aggressively at train stops, like newspapers. When I have a new collection, I usually read one story each way, to and from work. A short story is the commuter’s best companion.
Comment by Gail Louise Siegel — October 3, 2007 @ 8:23 am
Thank you everyone for your comments. We will be updating our database to include all of your wonderful suggestions. It is good to know that there are still those who care about the short story. And, no one would ever be silly enough to imply the short story is an American invention. Where there are people, there are short story writers! The British website to which an earlier guest referred is www.theshortstory.org.uk/introduction.html. They are also doing great work to save the short story which, if this board is any indication, still has a heap load of supporters.
Comment by Marie-Helene Bertino — October 3, 2007 @ 1:08 pm
Check out the essay by Stephen King, editor of The Best American Short Stories, 2007, in the Sept. 30 issue of The NYT Book Review called “What Ails the Short Story.” He cites the competition of best-selling hardcover fiction (calling most of it “disposable,” bless his heart as he includes his work in the list) and the obsession with the Hollywood crowd whose designer dresses and gastric by-pass surgery have usurped ink formerly earmarked for stories. Nice national media attention, anyway.
Comment by Dorene O'Brien — October 5, 2007 @ 10:32 am
Although an obvious plug for The Best American Short Stories 2007, Stephen King’s NYT essay last Sunday on “What Ails the Short Story,” may interest many readers of this site. He says the short story market is apt to deteriorate in the years ahead but forgets to add as a measure to be taken a subscription to One Story or this blog!
Comment by Lynn Biederman — October 7, 2007 @ 1:22 pm
Some more great short story writers: Alistair MacLeod (Newfoundland), Borges, Nabokov, William Faulkner, Bobbie Ann Mason, James Joyce, John McGahern, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Comment by Billy O'Callaghan — October 8, 2007 @ 5:17 am
Jean Thompson: I just discovered her short stories. THROW LIKE A GIRL, what a book!
Comment by Gail Louise Siegel — October 12, 2007 @ 9:00 am
I’d like to add Karen Joy Fowler and Lee Smith.
Comment by Margot — October 13, 2007 @ 7:02 am
I “third” the pinup calendar motion. Story writers are HOT, and people need to see us in the nude! And indeed Joy Williams should be on that list, her name glowing.
Comment by Amanda G. — October 13, 2007 @ 11:39 am
Did anyone mention Barry Hannah?
Comment by Amanda G. — October 13, 2007 @ 11:40 am
I agree with Gail Louise Siegel: a short story is the commuter’s best companion. I think it would be amazing if we could hand out short stories at subway stations. I’d rather be handed a copy of One Story than a copy of Metro. This is a distribution model we should seriously consider.
Comment by Elliott Holt — October 14, 2007 @ 7:51 am
I fell in love with short stories as a freshman in college: Sony’s Blues by James Baldwin.
Comment by Brenda C. Wilson — October 20, 2007 @ 7:17 pm
Leonard Michaels! We must add him to the list. There’s a panel about his work at the NYPL on October 22nd at 7 pm. http://www.nypl.org/research/calendar/eventdesc.cfm?id=3365
Comment by Elliott Holt — October 22, 2007 @ 1:25 pm
Please don’t forget about genre short fiction. At Penny Publications, we publish four genre magazines with long careers of supporting the short-fiction author: Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Asimov’s Science Fiction, and Analog Science Fiction and Fact.
Comment by Christine Begley — October 25, 2007 @ 9:48 am
Why just literary shorts? I subscribe to several short story magazines (which have lit stories, genre stories and all kinds of short stories!)
www.CoyoteWildMag.com
www.TheTownDrunk.org
Baen’s Universe (pay magazine)
On the more Lit side:
www.Pulp.net
I just finished reading “Heroes in Training” a short story collection edited by Jim Hines and Martin Greenberg. Excellent stories–I enjoyed almost all of them. It’s one of the best collections of short stories I’ve read.
Comment by Maria — October 25, 2007 @ 12:54 pm
I think it’s just bull about shorts not selling. I have a number of collections, and when we reorganized our library last month, the shorts got a few shelves of their own. Keep up the fight guys.
Comment by Christine, Water and Ink — October 26, 2007 @ 6:44 am
Anyone mention Lorrie Moore? Not to be forgotten.
Comment by Lauret — November 8, 2007 @ 10:21 am
Barry Hannah
The Oxford American
a
Comment by Mark — November 18, 2007 @ 8:03 pm
You need to get Samuel Edmonson involved. When it comes to the short story and today’s magazine market, he pulls no punches.
Comment by Jess B. — December 4, 2007 @ 8:40 am
I’m a short fiction writer (gothic genre), and I appreciate what you guys are trying to do here. Kudos.
Al the best,
Heather S. Ingemar
http://catharsys.wordpress.com/
Comment by Heather S. Ingemar — December 13, 2007 @ 10:35 am
Here’s a bunch: Richard Ford, Richard Russo, Robert Boswell, and Russell Banks. Yay short stories!
Comment by Erin — December 14, 2007 @ 7:14 am
Stephen Millhauser has good short stories too.
Comment by Amanda — December 22, 2007 @ 8:07 am
What a great idea! Please add The Short Review to your links, we have the same mission as you do - reviving the short story by reviewing as many short story collections and anthologies as possible! More power to all of us.
Comment by Tania Hershman/The ShortReview — January 7, 2008 @ 1:00 am
I’m a publisher and definitely want to save the short story - I think it’s a beautiful art form. Kudos for this site!
L.
Comment by Lisa — January 13, 2008 @ 10:54 pm
Oh and for Aussie short story publications, check out my Mini Shots - featuring excellent writing by emerging Australian authors.
Comment by Lisa — January 13, 2008 @ 10:56 pm
PD Wodehouse, EL Doctorow, and Patricia Highsmith. The Wow. As for online SS pubs, I’m fond of Wheelhouse Magazine.
Comment by Eliza — January 24, 2008 @ 12:39 pm
no lovecraft or weird tales?
Comment by brandon — January 25, 2008 @ 11:31 pm
There’s a new short fiction ezine now, Membra Disjecta: http://membradisjecta.com
It covers literary as well as genre in the weird, spec-fic, gothic, fantasy, faerie tale areas….
Comment by Heather S. Ingemar — February 6, 2008 @ 9:21 pm
We’re doing short stories as their own little mini-books, we love em so much!
http://www.featherproof.com/Mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=4&id=17&Itemid=41
Comment by zach — March 19, 2008 @ 5:03 pm
While I am inclined to agree that America has contributed massively to the short story genre: Nathaniel Hawthorn, Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway just to name only a few. The short story genre is underpinned by the English language of all five continents of our planet and the nourishment of the many cultural attitudes that come from the English language. Where would the short story be without; D.H. Lawrence, Rudyard Kipling and Charles Dickens (English), Elizabeth Bowen (Irish), Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott (Scottish), Joseph Conrad (Naturalized British), Katherine Mansfield (New Zealand), Morley Callaghan (Canadian).
Comment by Luke — May 20, 2009 @ 10:45 am