The Best American Short Stories 2003

Brief Description: "Selected from U. S. and Canadian magazines."Brief Description: Includes the Yearbook of the American short story, 1978-. Brief Description: An annual selection of short stories taken from American and Canadian periodicals. Brief Description: Presents twenty works of American short fiction selected by guest editor Walter Mosley as the best of 2002, and includes contributors' notes, a list of one hundred additional stories, and editorial addresses for American and Canadian magazines. Brief Description: Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind. Lending a fresh perspective to a perennial favorite, Walter Mosley has chosen unforgettable short stories by both renowned writers and exciting newcomers. The Best American Short Stories 2003 features poignant tales that explore the nuances of family life and love, birth and death. Here are stories that will, as Mosley writes in his introduction, "live with the reader long after the words have been translated into ideas and dreams. That's because a good short story crosses the borders of our nations and our prejudices and our beliefs." Dorothy Allison Edwidge Danticat E. L. Doctorow Louise Erdrich Adam Haslett ZZ Packer Mona Simpson Mary Yukari WatersTable of Contents: Contents Foreword ix Introduction: Americans Dreaming, by Walter Mosley xiii Mary Yukari Waters. Rationing 1 from Missouri Review Susan Straight. Mines 16 from Zoetrope Mona Simpson. Coins 28 from Harper's Magazine Jess Row. Heaven Lake 38 from The Harvard Review Emily Ishem Raboteau. Kavita Through Glass 51 from Tin House Sharon Pomerantz. Ghost Knife 62 from Ploughshares Marilene Phipps. Marie-Ange's Ginen 80 from Callaloo Dean Paschal. Moriya 91 from Ontario Review ZZ Packer. Every Tongue Shall Confess 113 from Ploughshares Nicole Krauss. Future Emergencies 128 from Esquire Adam Haslett. Devotion 140 from The Yale Review Ryan Harty. Why the Sky Turns Red When the Sun Goes Down 155 from Tin House Louise Erdrich. Shamengwa 173 from The New Yorker Anthony Doerr. The Shell Collector 189 from The Chicago Review E. L. Doctorow. Baby Wilson 214 from The New Yorker Edwidge Danticat. Night Talkers 233 from Callaloo Rand Richards Cooper. Johnny Hamburger 253 from Esquire Dan Chaon. The Bees 268 from McSweeney's Kevin Brockmeier. Space 286 from The Georgia Review Dorothy Allison. Compassion 297 from Tin House Contributors' Notes 327 100 Other Distinguished Stories of 2002 341 Editorial Addresses of American and Canadian Magazines Publishing Short Stories 345 Review Citations:

Booklist 10/15/2003 pg. 387 (EAN 9780618197330, Paperback)

Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2003 pg. 1095 (EAN 9780618197330, Paperback)

Publishers Weekly 03/01/2004 pg. 28 (EAN 9780618197521, Compact Disc)

Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2003 pg. 1095 (EAN 9780618197323, Hardcover)

Booklist 10/15/2003 pg. 387 (EAN 9780618197323, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Mosley, Walter Walter Mosley is the "New York Times" bestselling author of five Easy Rawlins mysteries: "Devil in A Blue Dress", "A Red Death", "White Butterfly", "Black Betty, " and "A Little Yellow Dog"; three non-mystery novels, "Blue Light", "Gone Fishin'", and "R. L.'s Dream"; two collections of stories featuring Socrates Fortlow, "Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned", for which he received the Anisfield Wolf Award, and which was an HBO movie; and a nonfiction book, "Workin' On The Chain Gang". Mosley is also the author of the Leonid McGill, and Fearless Jones mystery series, "The Tempest Tales" and "Six Easy Pieces". He is a former president of the Mystery Writers of America, a founder of the PEN American Center Open Book Committee, and is on the board of directors of the National Book Awards. A native of Los Angeles, he now lives in New York City. Contributor Bio:  Kenison, Katrina Katrina Kenison has been the series editor of The Best American Short Stories since 1990. She currently resides in Massachusetts.