We received 100 short story collections as entries for The Story Prize in 2015. Beyond the three finalists and the winner of The Story Prize Spotlight Award, here's a long list of some other collections that particularly stood out for us:
- The Wonder Garden by Lauren Acampora (Grove Press)
- In the Country by Mia Alvar (Alfred A. Knopf)
- The State We're in by Ann Beattie (Scribner)
- Refund by Karen E. Bender (Counterpoint Press)
- Mothers, Tell Your Daughters by Bonnie Jo Campbell (W.W. Norton)
- Half an Inch of Water by Percival Everett (Graywolf Press)
- A Hand Reached Down to Guide Me by David Gates (Alfred A. Knopf)
- Louisa Meets Bear by Lisa Gornick (Sarah Crichton Books/FSG)
- Counternarratives by John Keene (New Directions)
- Get in Trouble by Kelly Link (Random House)
- The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra (Hogarth)
- Crow Fair by Thomas McGuane (Alfred A. Knopf)
- Honeydew by Edith Pearlman (Little, Brown)
- Night at the Fiestas by Kirsten Valdez Quade (W.W. Norton)
- The Water Museum by Luis Urrea (Little, Brown)
- The Visiting Privilege by Joy Williams (Alfred A. Knopf)
It's very difficult to narrow this list down to a reasonable length. Every author who published a short story collection in 2015 deserves a great deal of credit, and at least a dozen other books we read could easily have been included.
We'll announce the winner of The Story Prize at an event co-sponsored with The New School's Creative Writing program at the Auditorium at 66 W. 12 Street on March 2. At the event, finalists Charles Baxter, Adam Johnson, and Colum McCann will read from and discuss their work. You can buy tickets in advance online or that night at the box office.
