Favorite New Short Story Collections

Is it a myth that the short story collection is overlooked, that the era of the short story has passed? Certainly, the days of prominence for publications like The Saturday Evening Post are gone. The Atlantic has cut fiction from their monthly issue.

To us, the short story is undoubtedly not dead - rather it is flourishing and often the form for some of the most groundbreaking and genuinely unique writing. While there isn't necessarily a single magazine that satisfies the demand for short fiction (one could argue that The New Yorker does for a certain audience, though they don't often stray from the safety of established--and certainly talented--writers), there are several magazines that we love to pick up. For instance, we are particular fans of McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, The Oxford American, Milwaukee's own Cream City Review, Hobart, AGNI, and Conjunctions as venues for new short fiction (and poetry).

Over the next few weeks, we'll tell you about our favorite collections, all published within the past year. Enjoy - and let us know what we we've missed!