The Best Short Stories 2023

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The prestigious annual story anthology includes prize-winning stories by Jamil Jan Kochai, David Ryan, Kirstin Valdez Quade, Lisa Taddeo, Ling Ma, Catherine Lacey, and Cristina Rivera Garza.

“[A] standout collection . . . . Dazzling performances from some of today’s most exciting writers. . . . This is one of the best fiction anthologies in years.” —Publishers Weekly starred review

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 Lauren Groff has brought her own refreshing perspective to the prize, selecting stories by an engaging mix of celebrated names and emerging voices and including several stories in translation. The winning stories are accompanied by an introduction by Groff, observations from the winning writers on what inspired them, and an extensive resource list of magazines that publish short fiction. AN ANCHOR BOOKS ORIGINAL.

THE WINNING STORIES:
“Office Hours,” by Ling Ma
“Man Mountain,” by Catherine Lacey
“Me, Rory and Aurora,” by Jonas Eika,
translated from the Danish by Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg
“The Complete,” by Gabriel Smith
“The Haunting of Hajji Hotak,” by Jamil Jan Kochai
“Wisconsin,” by Lisa Taddeo
“Ira & the Whale,” by Rachel B. Glaser
“The Commander’s Teeth,” by Naomi Shuyama-Gómez
“The Mad People of Paris,” Rodrigo Blanco Calderón,
translated from the Spanish by Thomas Bunstead
“Snake & Submarine,” by Shelby Kinney-Lang
“The Mother,” by Jacob M’hango
“The Hollow,” by ’Pemi Aguda
“Dream Man,” by Cristina Rivera Garza,
translated from the Spanish by Francisca González-Arias
“The Locksmith,” by Grey Wolfe LaJoie
“After Hours at the Acacia Park Pool,” by Kirstin Valdez Quade
“Happy Is a Doing Word,” by Arinze Ifeakandu
“Elision,” by David Ryan
“Xífù,” by K-Ming Chang
“Temporary Housing,” by Kathleen Alcott
“The Blackhills,” by Eamon McGuinnessForeword by Jenny Minton Quigley, series editor
Introduction by Lauren Groff, guest editor

“Office Hours,” by Ling Ma

“Man Mountain,” by Catherine Lacey

“Me, Rory and Aurora,” by Jonas Eika,
translated from the Danish by Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg
 
“The Complete,” by Gabriel Smith

“The Haunting of Hajji Hotak,” by Jamil Jan Kochai

“Wisconsin,” by Lisa Taddeo

“Ira & the Whale,” by Rachel B. Glaser

“The Commander’s Teeth,” by Naomi Shuyama-Gómez

“The Mad People of Paris,” Rodrigo Blanco Calderón,
translated from the Spanish by Thomas Bunstead
 
“Snake & Submarine,” by Shelby Kinney-Lang

“The Mother,” by Jacob M’hango

“The Hollow,” by ’Pemi Aguda

“Dream Man,” by Cristina Rivera Garza,
translated from the Spanish by Francisca González-Arias
 
“The Locksmith,” by Grey Wolfe LaJoie

“After Hours at the Acacia Park Pool,” by Kirstin Valdez Quade

“Happy Is a Doing Word,” by Arinze Ifeakandu

“Elision,” by David Ryan

“Xífù,” by K-Ming Chang

“Temporary Housing,” by Kathleen Alcott

“The Blackhills,” by Eamon McGuinness

The Writers on Their Work
Publisher’s Note: A Brief History of the O. Henry Prize
How the Stories Are Chosen
Acknowledgments
Publications Submitted
Permissions “Widely regarded as the nation’s most prestigious awards for short fiction.” —The Atlantic MonthlyLAUREN GROFF is a three-time National Book Award finalist and The New York Times–bestselling author of the novels The Monsters of Templeton, Arcadia, Fates and Furies, and Matrix, and the celebrated story collections Delicate Edible Birds and Florida. She has won The Story Prize, the PEN/O. Henry Award, and been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her work regularly appears in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and elsewhere, and she was named one of Granta’s 2017 Best Young American Novelists. Her most recent novel is The Vaster Wilds.

JENNY MINTON QUIGLEY is the author of a memoir, The Early Birds, and editor of the anthology Lolita in the Afterlife. She lives in West Hartford, Connecticut, with her husband, sons, and dogs.US

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